Economics is the social science of how economic actors interact with things they value, especially goods and services in an economy. Economic behavior is often studied using rational choice theory, which assumes that actors in a social system make decisions so as to maximize their individual utility functions; the subfield of behavioral economics provides evidence as to when, and to what extent, economic actors conform to the assumptions of rational choice theory.

Economic methods are often used to guide cause prioritization and decision-making in effective altruism.