Economics is a social science that primarily studies the creation, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Although traditionally such activities were inseparable from politics and kinship, as the economy increasingly became a distinct sphere within the modern world, an independent academic discipline developed to study it. Economists tend to use quantitatively-derived models, although there as a significant element of more qualitative theory in the discipline as well. The major subdivision within economics is between microeconomics, and macroeconomics. Microeconomics deals with the components that make up an economy – individual actors, the exchanges they make, and the outcome of those exchanges. Macroeconomics deals with the entire economy, looking at aggregate figures for inflation, GDP, interest rates, and so on. Other divisions include between theoretical and applied economics, between positive economics (what is), and normative economics (what should be), and so on. A Masters in Economics (usually an MSc) is less applied than an MBA or MPA, but it still provides an opportunity to move in to a career the commercial sector, especially finance or public policy. Unlike the more applied courses, completing a Masters in Economics is also a firm foundation upon which to pursue further academic study – such as a PhD – and on to become an academic economist.
