Google
Tuesday 
July 1, 2025 

AmosWEB means Economics with a Touch of Whimsy!

AmosWEBWEB*pediaGLOSS*aramaECON*worldCLASS*portalQUIZ*tasticPED GuideXtra CrediteTutorA*PLS
WAGE: A factor payment to the owner of labor for using labor services in the production of goods and services. Wages are included in the National Income and Product Accounts maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis under the official title compensation of employees. Wages is the largest of the four factor payments, accounting for about 70% of the income earned by the household sector. The other factors of production (and their corresponding resource) are: interest (capital), rent (land), and profit (entrepreneurship).

Visit the GLOSS*arama


FALLACY OF DIVISION:

The logical fallacy of arguing that what is true for the whole is also true for the parts. In the study of economics, this takes the form of assuming that what works for the aggregate, or macroeconomy, also works for parts of the economy, such as households or businesses. The contrasting fallacy is the fallacy of composition.
The fallacy of division, together with the fallacy of composition, highlights the difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics. Macroeconomics operates according one set of laws and principles, while microeconomics operates according to another set. Assuming what works for the aggregate economy also works for parts of the economy leads to the fallacy of division.

For example, during economic bad times (recession), the appropriate action for the Federal government (as "caretaker" of the aggregate economy) is to increase spending and reduce taxes. A recessionary period is not the time for government to act prudently, to save, to set aside extra funds for a rainy day.

However, should a family or business try to operate in a similar manner, then they are bound to encounter problems, and to commit the fallacy of division. Saving less and spending more during a recession can be disastrous at the microeconomic family level.

The aggregate economy is a complex system comprised of smaller microeconomic components. An analogy is the human body. Individuals and firms make up the aggregate economy like cells and molecules make up the human body. Rules that apply to entire body do not apply to the cells. Rules that apply to entire macroeconomy do not apply to the firms, households, markets, and industries.

What is true at the macroeconomic level is not necessarily true at the microeconomic level. What is true for the whole is not necessarily true for the parts.

<= FALLACY OF COMPOSITIONFALLACY OF FALSE AUTHORITY =>


Recommended Citation:

FALLACY OF DIVISION, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2025. [Accessed: July 1, 2025].


Check Out These Related Terms...

     | fallacies | fallacy of false cause | fallacy of personal attack | fallacy of mass appeal | fallacy of false authority | fallacy of composition |


Or For A Little Background...

     | scientific method | economic thinking | political views | government functions |


And For Further Study...

     | seven economic rules | four estates | macroeconomics | microeconomics | sixth rule of ignorance | seventh rule of complexity | normative economics | economic science |


Search Again?

Back to the WEB*pedia


APLS

GRAY SKITTERY
[What's This?]

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a flea market hoping to buy either an ink cartridge for your printer or a rechargeable battery for your camera. Be on the lookout for the happiest person in the room.
Your Complete Scope

This isn't me! What am I?

Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, was the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson, an accomplished mathematician and economist.
"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other. "

-- Benjamin Franklin

IRT
International Trade Commission
A PEDestrian's Guide
Xtra Credit
Tell us what you think about AmosWEB. Like what you see? Have suggestions for improvements? Let us know. Click the User Feedback link.

User Feedback



| AmosWEB | WEB*pedia | GLOSS*arama | ECON*world | CLASS*portal | QUIZ*tastic | PED Guide | Xtra Credit | eTutor | A*PLS |
| About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Statement |

Thanks for visiting AmosWEB
Copyright ©2000-2025 AmosWEB*LLC
Send comments or questions to: WebMaster