Economics and black people are both poorly understood by the public at large. Economics is often confused with (1) business m~agement , (2) general money making, or (3) moralistic evaluations of economic problems. Economics is essentially a cause-and-effect analysis of the production and distribution of goods and resources. Few, ff any, economic principles apply exclusively to black people, and so in that sense there is no "black economics," any more than there is "black mathematics." Yet many of the problems of black p e o p l e and more importantly, the solutions to those p r o b l e m s involve an understanding of economics concepts and analysis. In this sense, economics is not only "relevant" to black people but is vitally important. This can be illustrated by the usefulness of the economic concept of "human capital" and by the economic analysis of various approaches to black economic development.