Part One Flashcards
(50 cards)
Question
Answer
A Priori
(Latin) At the outset; that which exists prior to examination
Absolute Advantage
Whatever one does better than others. (See comparative advantage)
Advertising
The science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money form it
Affectation
A social disease requiring its victims to wear holing-in-the-jeans. (See conspicuous consumption)
Alienation Theory
A thesis that explains why some citizens feel they are in, but not part of a society; e.g., the iron law of wages (Karl Marx), or the Vietnamese War. (See reconciliation theory)
Anti-cyclical
Any market behavior that drives the price toward the trend line or moving average. Buying or selling that stabilizes the market price by minimizing the vagaries of the cycle. (See pro-cycle)
Antitrust Trilogy
The Sherman, Clayton, and Robinson-Patman Acts
Arbitrage
A simultaneous transaction in two or more markets, buying in the cheap (low price) market and selling in the dear (high price) market
Archaist
Someone who studies or praises the past, or whose intellectual perspectives and values are shaped by reverence for the past. (See futurist)
Area of Decreasing Marginal Cost
Any quantity of production before the minimum point on the marginal cost function; i.e., before the inflection point on the total cost function. The area of increasing returns.
Area of Decreasing Returns
Any quantity of production beyond the point of diminishing returns. The area of increasing marginal cost.
Area of Increasing Marginal Cost
Any quantity of production beyond the point on the marginal cost function; i.e., beyond the inflection point on the total cost function. The area of decreasing returns.
Area of Increasing Returns
Any quantity of production before the point of diminishing returns. The area of decreasing marginal cost.
Arithmetic Progression
A series of numbers increasing at a decreasing rate; i.e., 1,2,3,4. (See geometric profession and rate of increase)
Arrow’s Impossibilities Theorem
That which is mathematically impossible may, in the marketplace, occur. Kenneth Arrow’s observation that no method of calculating consumer data can accurately predict market behavior 100% of the time; i.e., aggregating individual preference does not necessarily forecast group preference
Artificial Barrier To Trade
A non-economic barrier to a market such as a union or contract, an intellectual property law, or crime.
Asymptote
A function which continuously approaches a line or axis without meeting it at any finite distance; e.g., an indifference curve or average fixed cost function. Technically, a tangent at infinity.
Asymptotic
What happens if you get scared half-to-death - twice
Auction With Reserve
The seller reserves the right to influence the price by setting a minimum price, using a shill, or withdrawing the item prior to the falling of the gavel
Average Cost (AC)
Total costs (TC) divided by the number of units produced (q)
Average Fixed Cost Function
An asymptote found by dividing fixed cost by the number of units produced
Bank
A place where money automatically increases in value when you need to borrow it
Banker
Someone who will loan you an umbrella when the sun is shining and want it back when it starts to rain
