PEST analysis (political, economic, socio-cultural and technological) describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. It is part of an external analysis when conducting a strategic analysis or doing market research, and gives an overview of the different macro-environmental factors to be taken into consideration. It is a strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations.

Variants that build on the PEST framework include:

• PESTEL or PESTLE, which adds legal and environmental factors. Popular in the United Kingdom.
• SLEPT, adding legal factors.
• STEPE, adding ecological factors.
• STEEPLE and STEEPLED, adding ethics and demographic factors.
• DESTEP, adding demographic and ecological factors.
• SPELIT, adding legal and intercultural factors. Popular in the United States since the mid-2000s.

There is also STEER, which considers sociocultural, technological, economic, ecological, and regulatory factors, but does not specifically include political factors.

The basic PEST analysis includes four factors:

• Political factors are basically how the government intervenes in the economy. Specifically, political factors have areas including tax policy, labour law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include goods and services which the government aims to provide or be provided (merit goods) and those that the government does not want to be provided (demerit goods or merit bads). Furthermore, governments have a high impact on the health, education, and infrastructure of a nation.
• Economic factors include economic