Economics is the study of how individuals, companies, and nations allocate scarce resources to fulfill unlimited wants and needs. It examines how people make choices with their limited resources and tries to understand human behavior in response to constraints. Adam Smith is considered the father of modern economics for his 1776 book "The Wealth of Nations" which argued that individuals pursuing self-interest can create a prosperous society through free markets. In the late 19th century, economics emerged as its own field of study focusing on individual self-interest, and the 20th century saw the rise of mathematical modeling and assumptions of rational human behavior, known as neoclassical economics.