{"id":298,"date":"2021-03-02T19:57:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T19:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/?p=298"},"modified":"2021-03-02T19:57:38","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T19:57:38","slug":"pandemic-highlights-the-difference-between-economics-and-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/02\/pandemic-highlights-the-difference-between-economics-and-finance\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic Highlights the Difference Between Economics and Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pandemic Highlights the Difference Between Economics and Finance<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the more glaring lessons of the 2020 pandemic was that the economy and the stock market are not the same thing, nor do they necessarily move in lockstep. They are measurements of two different things, often indicating how the other will react. However, as we saw last year, the economy is a greater indicator of how Main Street is doing while the stock market is more a reflection of Wall Street.<\/p>\n

The day-to-day performance of major stock indices, such as the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is not usually an accurate account of what\u2019s happening in the lives of most Americans.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

As a general rule, economics is more of a social science. It conveys a picture that captures the interplay between real resources and human behavior. Finance, on the other hand, is a proactive measure. Its focus is on the tools and techniques of managing money.<\/p>\n

We hear these two terms used interchangeably all the time, though, and that\u2019s because they often do move in the same direction. That\u2019s not what happened last year. While millions of Americans lost jobs and other sources of earned income, after an initial drop in the stock market, many investors saw their portfolios make ample gains. This was a good demonstration of how your money in the market could be working as another source of income. It\u2019s another way of diversifying your assets, so that your investments can keeping earning money even if you can\u2019t. Remember, we\u2019re here to help you put your assets to work, so call on us if you need guidance.<\/p>\n

Economics covers the production, consumption and distribution of goods and services and how people interact with them \u2014 through buying, selling, or working to buy or sell them \u2014 and how they react to price changes driven by supply, demand and inflation. It is, after all, people who drive economic activity and ultimately growth. There are two main branches of economics: macroeconomics and microeconomics.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Macroeconomics measures the overall economy through factors such as inflation, price levels, rate of economic growth, national income, gross domestic product (GDP) and changes in employment levels.3\u00a0<\/sup>Microeconomics tracks specific factors within the economy, largely the choices made by people, households and industries. It is a study of the incentives behind those decisions and how they affect the use and distribution of resources.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

Finance, on the other hand, deals specifically with the use and distribution of money. As a discipline, it comprises three basic categories: public finance, corporate finance and personal finance. Within those realms, we often talk about the difference between Main Street and Wall Street. Main Street describes the average American investor as well as small independent businesses, while Wall Street consists of high net worth investors, large global corporations and the high finance capital markets.<\/p>\n

There are inevitable conflicts between these two sectors. For example, government regulations frequently are designed to protect individual investors and\/or small businesses, but they can pose a detriment to Wall Street profitability. The opposite can also be true, where benefits for large corporations can hurt small businesses, local jobs and small investors.5<\/sup><\/p>\n

Early on, the Federal Reserve and other central banks stepped up to infuse the economy with capital, thus stemming the tide of the economic decline. While these moves helped bolster the stock market, they did not prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs or stimulate consumerism. In other words, policy and even legislative intervention may have helped Wall Street, but it didn\u2019t do that much to encourage economic growth or job creation.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1<\/sup>\u00a0Clark Merrefield. Journalist Resource. Jan. 11, 2021. \u201cThe stock market is not the economy. Right? Here\u2019s what the research says.\u201d\u00a0https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/studies\/economics\/stock-market-not-economy\/<\/a>. Accessed Feb. 4, 2021.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>\u00a0Stephen D. Simpson. Investopedia. Nov. 2, 2020. \u201cFinance vs. Economics: What\u2019s the Difference?\u201d\u00a0https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/articles\/economics\/11\/difference-between-finance-and-economics.asp<\/a>. Accessed Feb. 4, 2021.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup>\u00a0Investopedia. Dec. 29, 2020. \u201cMacroeconomics.\u201d\u00a0https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/m\/macroeconomics.asp<\/a>. Accessed Feb. 4, 2021.<\/p>\n

4<\/sup>\u00a0Investopedia. Nov. 2, 2020. \u201cMicroeconomics.\u201d\u00a0https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/m\/microeconomics.asp<\/a>. Accessed Feb. 4, 2021.<\/p>\n

5<\/sup>\u00a0Corporate Finance Institute. 2021. \u201cWhat is Main Street vs Wall Street?\u201d\u00a0https:\/\/corporatefinanceinstitute.com\/resources\/knowledge\/finance\/main-street-vs-wall-street\/<\/a>. Accessed Feb. 4, 2021.<\/p>\n

6<\/sup>\u00a0Shyam Sunder. Yale Insights. June 17, 2020. \u201cLiquidity Injections May Have Driven the Stock Market Recovery.\u201d\u00a0https:\/\/insights.som.yale.edu\/insights\/liquidity-injections-may-have-driven-the-stock-market-recovery#gref<\/a>. Accessed Feb. 15, 2021.<\/p>\n

We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance and investment products to custom suit their needs and objectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help you understand basic financial planning strategies and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. All investments are subject to risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.<\/em><\/p>\n

The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any of the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text, please contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

2\/21-1517698C<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pandemic Highlights the Difference Between Economics and Finance One of the more glaring lessons of the 2020 pandemic was that the economy and the stock market are not the same thing, nor do they necessarily move in lockstep. They are measurements of two different things, often indicating how the other will react. However, as we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}