Economic vs economical

[Molly]

‘economical’ means ‘cheap, efficient’.

So what’s the difference here?

He bought the economical model/economic model.

Economic/economical

‘Economical’ has to do with efficiency vs cost…of anything, including cars. An economical car, an economical refrigerator, an economical wife. ‘Economic’ is the adjective for the science of Economics and its study.