MACRO FINAL Flashcards
(154 cards)
resources are…
scarce
how do scarce resources affect society?
- how people make decisions
- how people interact
- how the economy works as a whole
social trade-off between efficiency and equality
getting the most from scarce resources vs. distributing benefits uniformly
pie analogy
when the government cuts the pie into more equal pieces, the pie gets smaller
opportunity cost
the highest benefit obtained from opportunities forgone
what would be the opportunity cost of going to college?
payment of tuition and the value of your time
rational decision-makers only proceed if…
the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost
incentive
induces a person to act
rational decision-makers will respond to an incentive when…
the marginal cost or benefit changes
how can trade make everyone better off?
trade allows each person to specialize in what they do best and trade their input for the output of other efficient procedures
market power
when a single person/group can influence the price of a good/service
how can the government sometimes improve market outcomes?
the government can intervene and improve economic efficiency, but well-intentioned policy intervention can have unintended consequences
fundamentally, economics deals with…
scarcity
efficiency means that…
society is getting the most it can from its scarce resources
specialization does what to total production?
increases total production available to share - total outputs rise when producers specialize in what they do best
how does trade make us interdependent?
people produce because they wish to trade and get something in return
absolute advantage
compares quantity of inputs required to produce a good
what gives someone the absolute advantage?
if it takes fewer resources to produce their good (higher productivity and efficiency)
comparative advantage
compares opportunity cost of productive
what gives someone the absolute advantage?
if the production of their good has a lower opportunity cost
should you specialize in the item in which you have the absolute or comparative advantage?
comparative advantage, it increases total production and makes the economic pie larger (everyone benefits)
4 barriers to specialization
- population density
- market connectivity
- infrastructure: legal and financial system
- culture
quantity demanded
amount of a good buyers are willing to purchase
what plays a central role in quantity demanded and quantity supplied
price