2022 Advance Information Flashcards
(119 cards)
1
Q
What is the basic economic problem?
A
Resources are finite but wants are infinite
2
Q
What 5 things should the PPC be used to show?
A
Maximum productive potential of an economy Economic growth that shifts the PPF Fully employed or unemployed resources Possible and unobtainable production Opportunity cost
3
Q
Name four reasons why producers may not/fail to maximise profit.
A
Business performance influenced by behaviour of others
Having other objectives
Operating as social enterprises
Set up as registered charities
4
Q
What are the 2 ‘Golden Rules’ of demand?
A
Any movement along the demand curve is price-related
Everything non-price related causes a shift
5
Q
What are the 7 factors affecting demand?
A
Population Advertising Substitutes Income Fashion/trend/preference Interest rates Complements
6
Q
How does population affect demand?
A
Direct relationship - as population increases, so does the demand for goods and services
7
Q
How does advertising affect demand?
A
It increases customer awareness, therefore increasing demand for the good/service
8
Q
How do substitutes affect demand?
A
If the price of a good increases, its demand decreases as its substitutes will be cheaper.
9
Q
How does income affect demand?
A
Normal goods - Direct relationship
Inferior goods - Inverse relationship
10
Q
What are normal goods?
A
Goods for which demand will increase if income increases (eg. luxury goods)
11
Q
What are inferior goods?
A
Goods for which demand will increase if income decreases
12
Q
How does fashion/trends/preference affect demand?
A
If a good/service is fashionable, demand for it will increase.
13
Q
How do interest rates affect demand?
A
Inverse relationship - as they increase, demand for goods/services decreases
14
Q
How do complements affect demand?
A
When the demand of a good increases, so does the demand of its complementary good.
15
Q
What is a substitute good?
A
A good bought as an alternative to another but performs the same function
16
Q
What are complementary goods?
A
Goods purchased together as they are consumed together
17
Q
What are the two ‘Golden Rules’ of supply?
A
Any movement along the supply curve is price-related.
Everything else causes a shift.
18
Q
Name the seven factors affecting supply.
A
Productivity Indirect tax No. of firms Technology Subsidies Weather Cost of production
19
Q
How does productivity affect supply?
A
Direct relationship - as it increases, so does supply
20
Q
How does indirect tax affect supply?
A
Inverse relationship - indirect taxes increase costs of production, therefore reducing supply
21
Q
How does the number of firms affect supply?
A
The more firms there are, the more supply is created
22
Q
How does technology affect supply?
A
New technology can increase efficiency and reduce cost of production, therefore increasing supply
23
Q
How do subsidies affect supply?
A
Subsidies reduce costs of production therefore increasing supply
24
Q
How does weather affect supply?
A
Good weather can improve crop yields, increasing supply but bad weather can decrease supply
25
How does the cost of production affect supply?
If production costs rise, firms will reduce supply as their profits will be reduced
26
Define 'excess demand'.
Where demand is greater than supply and there are shortages in the market
27
Define 'excess supply'.
Where supply is greater than demand and there are unsold goods in the market
28
What is the equation for PED?
PED = %∆ in QD ➗ %∆ in Price
29
What is the formula for PES?
PES = %∆ in QS ➗ %∆ in Price
30
What are the numerical ranges for each of the 3 types of YED?
Luxury goods: > 1
Normal goods: Always positive
Inferior goods: Always negative
31
What is a mixed economy?
An economy where goods and services are provided by the public and private sector
32
What is the public sector?
Any organisations owned/controlled by the government
33
What is the private sector?
Any organisations owned/controlled by individuals and firms
34
What are the four types of public sector organisations? Name an example of each.
Central government departments (eg. Central Bank)
Public corporations (eg. DEWA)
Local authority services (eg. KHDA)
Other public service organisations (eg. police)
35
What are the four aims of the public sector?
Improving quality of services
Minimising costs
Allowing for social costs and benefits
Profit
36
What are the three types of private sector organisations?
Sole Traders
Partnerships
Companies
37
What is the aim of the private sector?
They are usually driven on self-interest or profit maximisation but can have other objectives.
38
What are public goods?
Goods and services provided by the public sector
39
What are the 2 characteristics of public goods?
Non-excludability - no individual consumer can be excluded from or refuse consumption
Non-rivalry - consumption by one individual cannot reduce amount available to others
40
What is the free rider problem?
Involves individuals who enjoy the benefit of goods but allow others to pay for them
41
What are private goods?
Goods and services that are provided by the private sector
42
What is the relative importance of the public sector and private sector in different economies?
Some countries rely on public sector - has large stake in large commercial organisations
Other countries rely more on private sector
43
Define 'external benefits'.
Positive spillover effects of consumption or production that bring benefits to third parties
44
Name five positive externalities.
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Job creation
Infrastructure development
Training and education
Research & development
Improved technology
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45
What are the 4 factors of production?
Land
Labour
Capital
Enterprise
46
What does the primary sector involve?
Any activities that extract resources from the Earth to provide essential raw materials
47
What does the secondary sector involve?
Any activities that turn raw materials/semi-finished goods into finished goods
48
What does the tertiary sector involve?
Any business that provides a service
49
Define the term 'de-industrialisation'.
The decline in manufacturing and growth of service industries
50
Give 5 reasons why de-industrialisation occurs.
Service jobs being more skilled and paying more
Automation and machinery replacing workers
Countries' low labour costs (outsourcing)
Demand rising with GDP per capita increasing
Governments growing stronger
51
What are the changes in the importance of the sectors in terms of employment and output in developed and developing countries?
Developed countries - Primary sector much less important than tertiary sector
Developing countries - secondary sector is now growing, some expansion in tertiary sector
52
What 4 factors of land affect productivity?
Use of fertiliser - increases yield
Drainage - improves flow of water
Irrigation - increases level of water in land
Reclamation - creates more land
53
What 4 factors of labour can affect productivity?
Improving quality of labour using:
Training - increases workers' knowledge
Improved motivation - using incentives
Improved working practices - adopting new ones
Impact of migration - attracting skilled workers from overseas
54
What 2 factors of capital affect productivity?
Increased quantity
| Technological advances
55
Define the term 'division of labour'.
Breaking down of the production process into small parts with each worker allocated to a specific task
56
Define the term 'total revenue'.
The total income earned by a business from selling their product to customers
57
What is the formula for total revenue?
Total Revenue = Starting Price x Quantity Sold
58
Define 'total costs'.
The total expenses incurred when producing goods and services
59
What is the formula for total costs?
Total Costs = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs
60
Define the term 'fixed costs'.
Costs that don't vary with output and have to be paid even if the business produces nothing
61
Define the term 'variable costs'.
Costs that will increase as the firm expands output
62
Define 'average costs'.
The cost per unit of output
63
What is the formula for average costs?
Average Costs = Total Costs ➗ Quantity Produced
64
Define 'profit'.
The revenue remaining after all costs are paid
65
What is the formula for profit/loss?
Profit/Loss = Total Revenue - Total Costs
66
Define the term 'economies of scale'.
The reduction of a firm's average costs as it increases output and becomes more efficient
67
Define 'internal economies of scale'.
The cost benefits that an individual firm can enjoy when it expands
68
Define 'external economies of scale'.
The cost benefits that all firms in the industry can enjoy when the industry expands
69
What is the difference between internal and external economies of scale?
Internal - due to firm itself increasing in size
| External - due to external/industry/market factors
70
What are the 6 internal economies of scale?
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Risk-Bearing
Financial
Managerial
Technical
Marketing
Purchasing
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71
What are the 3 benefits of economies of scale?
Increase in profitability
Firms can lower prices - attract customers and increase market share
Firms can invest in R&D - become more competitive
72
How might technical economies of scale reduce average costs (3 steps)?
1. More efficient machinery
2. Output is increased
3. Cost is spread over units
73
How might managerial economies of scale reduce average costs (2 steps)?
Specialist managers being hired
Their skills and ideas (or design/use of ICT control systems) lead to increased production
74
In what 2 ways might marketing economies of scale reduce average costs?
Large organisations can hire specialist marketing staff - can negotiate discounts when bulk-buying
Advertising costs can be spread over more units produced
75
In what 2 ways might financial economies of scale reduce average costs?
Lower interest rates on loans due to firm's financial power and stability
Raising extra capital to invest in improving the production process - eg. selling shares
76
How might risk-bearing economies of scale reduce average costs?
Manufacturers selling to many international markets and with a wide product range can spread their risk
77
What are the 4 external economies of scale?
Skilled labour
Infrastructure
Ancillary services
Cooperation
78
How might skilled labour reduce average costs (2 steps)?
1. When identical businesses locate near to each other, there will be a bigger number of skilled staff in one area
2. Training and recruitment costs will be lower for them
79
How might infrastructure reduce average costs (2 steps)?
1. More infrastructure is likely to be provided in an area where more businesses are located (eg. railways, roads, airports)
2. Allows suppliers to provide and customers to receive goods and services quicker
80
How might ancillary services reduce average costs (2 steps)?
1. They are other businesses that set up to support a particular industry (eg. laundromat near hotels)
2. Costs will be lower for all services
81
How might cooperation reduce average costs?
Businesses in the same industry may cooperate with each other to ensure reduced costs
Eg. if one hotel is full, they may contact another to fill each other's rooms
82
How might purchasing economies of scale reduce average costs (2 steps)?
1. Large firms bulk-buy - buy lots of resources
| 2. Suppliers give discounts for bulk purchases - reduces cost of production
83
What are diseconomies of scale?
Rising average costs when a firm becomes too big
84
What are the 3 diseconomies of scale?
Bureaucracy
Staff Relations
Control and Coordination
85
How might bureaucracy increase average costs (2 steps)?
1. Lots of paperwork and form-filling needs to be done as firms grow larger
2. May take up time and resources
86
How might staff relations increase average costs (2 steps)?
1. May be harder for managers and staff to communicate as a firm becomes bigger
2. May lead to demotivated and less productive staff
87
How might control and coordination increase average costs?
A business with many employees may be hard to control
| More managers needed
88
What are the 4 reasons a firm might stay small?
Size of market
Nature of market – niche
Lack of finance
Aims of the entrepreneur
89
What are the 5 advantages of being a small firm?
Flexibility - quick response to changes in the market
Personal service - able to know their customers very well
Lower wages - employees less likely to be part of unions, may not negotiate higher wages
Better communication - few employees = easier to pass messages to staff
Innovation - competition forces them to innovate to attract customers
90
Define 'oligopoly'.
A market dominated by a few large firms
91
What are the 7 features of an oligopoly?
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Dominated by a few large firms
Interdependence
Price rigidity
Collusion
High barriers to entry
Economies of scale
Non-price competition
```
92
What are the 6 types of barriers to entry?
```
Marketing barriers
Economies of scale
Legal barriers
Technical barriers
Intellectual Property
Financial barriers
```
93
What are the 4 advantages of oligopoly firms for consumers?
Lower prices - due to economies of scale
Price stability
Choice
Innovation - better quality G&S
94
What are the 4 disadvantages of oligopoly firms for consumers?
Diseconomies of scale - leads to higher costs
Price wars
High barriers to entry - prevents choices increasing
Collusion - no incentive to innovate
95
What are the 4 factors that affect demand for labour?
Labour is a derived demand
Cost/availability of substitutes
Productivity of labour
Costs of employing labour
96
How does labour being a derived demand affect the demand for labour?
The demand for labour increases or decreases depending on the demand for particular goods or services
97
How does the cost/availability of substitutes affect the demand for labour?
As machinery/technology becomes cheaper, businesses may switch to them from labour.
98
How does the productivity of labour affect the demand for labour?
If workers become less productive, firms may want to employ them for less hours - demand falls
99
How does the costs of employing labour affect the demand for labour?
If the government increases taxes on workers/the cost of recruitment increases, firms may decide to reduce the amount they use.
100
What are the 7 factors that affect supply of labour?
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Retirement age
Immigration
Population size
Labour mobility
Aging population
School-leaving age
Skills/education and training
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101
How does the school-leaving age affect the supply of labour?
Inverse relationship - the lower it is, the higher the supply of labour
102
How does the retirement age affect the supply of labour?
As the retirement age increases, so does the supply of labour
103
How does the aging population affect supply of labour?
The population is getting older in certain countries so there's a large proportion of people beyond retirement age - supply of labour decreases.
104
How does immigration affect the supply of labour?
Countries with a high proportion of immigrants are likely to have a higher supply of labour.
105
How does population size affect the supply of labour?
The more a population grows, the greater the supply of labour.
106
How do skills and qualifications affect the supply of labour?
It increases the supply of labour as people tend to become more employable when they learn new skills.
107
Define the term 'labour mobility.
The ease at which workers can geographically and occupationally move between jobs
108
How does labour mobility affect the supply of labour?
The more easily workers can switch jobs, the higher the supply of labour.
109
How do taxes reduce externalities?
It increases the cost of the product, making the supply curve shift inwards.
110
How do subsidies reduce externalities?
They offer financial incentives to producers to reduce negative externalities.
111
How do fines reduce externalities?
They impose a monetary cost on those who create external costs
112
How does regulation reduce externalities?
They provide a legal basis for individuals and firms to reduce externalities
113
What are pollution permits?
Permits that allow firms a licensed allocation to pollute
114
How do pollution permits reduce negative externalities?
'Tradable' - creates an incentive for companies to reduce their pollution as they can sell their permits for cash to raise profits
115
Name 2 reasons why there is a minimum wage for workers.
To prevent exploitation of workers
| To ensure workers are paid fairly to maintain a decent standard of living
116
Why does minimum wage cause unemployment?
It leads to a disequilibrium in the labour market with the supply of labour being higher than the demand for labour.
117
Why might unemployment not increase if the minimum wage increases? Give 3 reasons.
Firms will continue to hire if workers increase productivity faster than wage increases - more profit
As income increases, expenditure increases - labour is derived demand
Depends on magnitude of wage increase
118
What are the 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of minimum wage for firms?
Pros:
More motivated workers
Greater output/productivity
Increased demand
Cons:
Increased cost of production
Reduced profit
Redundancy payments
119
What are the 3 advantages and 1 disadvantage of minimum wage for workers?
Pros:
Increased standard of living
Improved poverty rates
Fair wage - lack of discrimination
Cons:
Some workers may be redundnant
