Ch 1-2 Flashcards
(36 cards)
Macroeconomics
Study the economy as a whole
Economics
Study of how people choose between alternatives.
Scarcity
Having to chose between two alternatives.
Ex. Choosing a use for land.
Issues in macroeconomics
- What should be produced?
- How should it be produced?
- For whom?
Opportunity cost
The value of the best alternative forgone in any choice
Free good
A good not limited by choice.
Gravity
Features of economist approach
- Emphasis on opportunity cost
- Choices are made to maximize value for own self interest
- Individuals pay attention to the small effects of decisions.
Choice at the margin
Choices involving a little more or a little less
Microeconomics
Choices made by individual d cushion making units
Variable
Value can change
Constant
Value does not change
Model
Set of simplifying assumptions about an aspect of the world
Ceteris peribus
All other things unchanged.
Fallacy of false cause
Incorrect conclusion that one event causes another because they tend to occur together.
Positive statement
Statement of fact or hypothesis.
Normative statement
Makes value judgment
Production possibilities model
- Shows goods and services any economy is capable of producing.
- Possibilities given factors of production and available technology.
- Specifies using resources effectively.
Economic system
Rules that define how resources are owned and decisions on use are made.
Factors of Production
- Labor-human effort
- Capital- produced for use in other goods/services
- Natural resources
Utility
Value/satisfaction people derive from goods/services
Human Capital
Skills as a worker Crome education, training, or experience.
2 ways to increase labor available
- Increase total labor force by # or # of hours worked
2. Increase human capital
Financial capital
Money or other “paper resources”
Methods of Resource Expansion
- Discover new natural resources
- Discover new uses of resources
- Discover new uses of extraction