Rebecca Harding, managing partner of Delta Economics and a director of GEM UK, introduces her new regular column on the economics of entrepreneurship

Those who want to keep a handle on the real world sometimes regard economics with suspicion. They see it as heavily theoretical, abstract and numbers-based. Forecasts of how the economy will (or won't) grow largely depend on the assumptions made to start with, so estimates of economic growth vary significantly.

Though touted as scientific, economics has all the trappings of subjectivity. But economists wield a great deal of influence in the corridors of power, both in the UK and around the world.

If economists have something useful to say, they should say it clearly, in a way that is relevant to their audiences. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the area of entrepreneurship. Economics holds valuable insights into entrepreneurs as the founders and owner-managers of their companies.

Economics tells us why we need to be conscious of the prices we charge in relation to other people in the market, for example, but also has precise tools for predicting how much consumer demand will be affected if we decide to put prices up.

But a lot of economic data concerning entrepreneurs—such as who they are, what decisions they make, what risks they take and how they then convert those risks into business opportunities—is heavily theoretical and needs translating into a business context.

Over the next few months, this series will aim to provide that translation, while exploring economics from the entrepreneur's point of view. The goal is to demonstrate the importance of economics to the modern entrepreneur, and equally, the importance of the entrepreneur to economics.