Economics is sometimes divided into two parts: positive economics and normative economics. The former deals with how the economic problem is solved, while the latter deals with how the economic problem should be solved. The effects of price or rent control on the distribution of income are problems of positive economics. The desirability of these effects on income distribution is a problem of normative economics.

Within economics, the major division is between monetary theory and price theory. Monetary theory deals with the level of prices in general, with cyclical and other...