Is Economics a science?

What is a science?
A statement is scientific only if it is open to the logical possibility of being found false. This definition means that we evaluate scientific statements by testing them, by comparing them to the world about us. (Karl Popper)

Most economists see their discipline as scientific in Popper's sense of the word. Economic theory makes statements about how facts fit together, and there are constantly new sets of facts arising that allow one to test the theory to see whether the facts are as theory predicts. However, this process is more difficult for economists than it is for most physical scientists.

 Unlike physical scientists, economists can almost never use controlled experiments to gather facts with which to test theories. Rather they must use whatever facts the world gives them and rely on statistical procedures to draw conclusions

 There is a minority of economists, however, who do not see economics as scientific in Popper's sense. A group of economists called the Austrian school, for example, has argued that economics starts with assumptions and that economic theory is the logically deduced results of those assumptions. If the theory does not fit the facts, one cannot conclude that the theory is wrong, but only that it is inappropriate to apply the theory in that particular situation because the initial conditions do not agree with the assumptions of the theory.

 A positive statement is a statement about what is and that contains no indication of approval or disapproval. Notice that a positive statement can be wrong. "The moon is made of green cheese" is incorrect, but it is a positive statement because it is a statement about what exists.

 A normative statement expresses a judgment about whether a situation is desirable or undesirable. "The world would be a better place if the moon were made of green cheese" is a normative statement because it expresses a judgment about what ought to be. Economists have found the positive-normative distinction useful because it helps people with very different views about what is desirable to communicate with each other

 Economists can confine themselves to positive statements, but few are willing to do so because such confinement limits what they can say about issues of government policy. Both positive and normative statements must be combined to make a policy statement. One must make a judgment about what goals are desirable (the normative part), and decide on a way of attaining those goals (the positive part).

The study of Economics is divided into two parts Micro Economics Macro Economics

The micro economics studies the behavior of individual decision making units such as consumers, resource owners and business firms. The macro economics is concerned with aggregates and averages of the entire economy, such as national income, aggregate output, total employment, total consumption, savings and investment, aggregate demand, aggregate supply, general prices etc.