Economists try to address their subject with a scientist’s objectivity. They approach the study of the economy in much the same way as a physicist approaches the study of matter and a biologist approaches the study of life. They devise theories, collect data, and then analyze these data in an attempt verify or refute their theories. To beginners, it can seem odd to claim that economics is a science. After all economists do not work with test tubes or telescopes. The essence of science however, is the scientific method the dispassionate development and testing of theories about how the world works. This method of inquiry is as applicable to studying a nation’s economy as it to studying the earth’s gravity or a species evolution. As Albert Einstein once put it, “The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.” Although Einstein’s comment is as true for social sciences such as economics as it is for natural sciences such as ph...