To start with I should say that economics is as old as the human race: it is probably the first art which man acquired. For instance, when some cavemen went out to hunt while others remained to defend the fire or when skins were traded for flint axes we had economics.
But economics as an academic discipline is relatively new: the first major book on economics Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" was published in 1776. Since that time the subject has developed rapidly and there are now many branches of the subjects such as microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics and so on.
In general, economics is a comprehensive theory of how society works. The great classical economist Alfred Marshall defined economics as "the study of a man in the everyday business of life".
To my mind, any definition should take account of the guiding idea in economics which is scarcity. You know that virtually everything is scarce; not just diamonds or oil but also bread and water. How can we say this? The answer is that you only have to look around the world to realize that there are not enough resources to give people all they want. It is not only the very poor who feel deprived; even the relatively well-off seem to want more.
Thus when we use the word 'scarcity' we mean that: all resources are scarce in the sense that there are not enough to satisfy everyone's wants. Actually, we have limited resources both in rich and poor countries. In this way the economist's job is to evaluate the choices that exist for the use of these resources.
Another aspect of the problem is people themselves; they do not just want more food or clothing, but specific items of clothing and so on.
One alternative definition of economics is that it is the study of wealth. By wealth the economist means all the real physical assets which make up our standard of living: clothes, houses, food, roads, schools, hospitals, cars, oil tankers, etc. One of the primary concerns of economics is to increase the wealth of a society, i.e. to increase the stock of economic goods.
Modern economics has tried to take account not only of the output of economic goods but also of economics connected with pollution.
As for business I can say that business is a word that is commonly used in many languages. Traditionally, business simply meant exchange or trade for things that people wanted or needed. Nowadays, the concept and activities of business have increased.
One definition of business is production, distribution, and sale of goods or services for a profit. To examine this definition, let us look at its different parts.
First, production is the creation of services or processing of materials into products. Example is the conversion of iron ore into metal car parts. Next, these products need to be moved from the plant to the marketplace. This is known as distribution. For instance, a car might be moved from a plant in Germany to a car dealership in Poland. Third is the sale of goods and services. Sale is the exchange of a product or service for money. A car is sold to someone in exchange for money.
As for goods, they are products that people either need or want; for example, cars can be classified as goods. Services, on the other hand, are activities that a person or group perform for another person or organization. For instance, an auto mechanic performs a service when he repairs a car. A barber renders a service when he cuts your hair.
Business, then, is a combination of all these activities: production, distribution, and sale. However, there is another important factor, i.e. creation of profit or economic surplus. A major goal in the functioning of any business company is making a profit. So, creating an economic surplus or profit is, therefore, a primary goal of business activity.
This is all I can say about economics and business.
