Semester 1 Flashcards
What to do when
MC < MB
Do more
What to do when
MC > MB
Do less
The circular flow of income
- firms and households
- goods market
-real flows : goods and services
-money flows : consumer expenditure - factor markets
-real flows : services of labour and other factors
-money flows : wages and other incomes
The command economy (state/gov controls all resources)
AD vs DIS
AD:
high investment, high growth
stable growth
social goals pursued
low unemployment
DIS:
problems of gathering information
expensive to administer
inappropriate incentives
shortages and surpluses
Free market (based on demand and supply decisions, such as shortages/surplus, price equilibrium, responses to changes in demand and supply.)
AD vs DIS
AD:
transmits information between buyers and sellers
no need for costly bureaucracy
incentives to be efficient
competitive markets responsive to consumers
DIS:
competition may be limited: problem of market power
inequality
problem of poor and/or asymmetric information
may respond poorly to serious shocks, such as a pandemic
the environment and other social goals may be ignored
may encourage greed and selfishness
Mixed economy
(has some gov intervention such as taxes, subsidies, benefits, direct provision, direct control, legislation )
Economics as a social science
difficulties in conducting controlled experiments in many parts of the subject
problems of predicting human behaviour
behavioural economics
Economics and policy
Positive (fact, factual, prediction, forecasting, can be tested) and normative (opinion, nonfactual)
the role of the economist in policy making
The law of demand
The quantity of a good demanded per period of time will fall as price rises and will rise as price falls, other things being equal (ceteris paribus).
the income effect
- The effect of a change in price on quantity demanded arising from the consumer becoming better or worse off as a result of the price change.
the substitution effect
- The effect of a change in price on quantity demanded arising from the consumer switching to or from alternative (substitute) products.
The demand curve assumptions
other things remain equal (ceteris paribus)
a given time period
determinants of demand
tastes
number and price of substitute goods
number and price of complementary goods
Income (normal and inferior goods)
distribution of income
expectations
Movements along and shifts in the demand curve
change in price
- movement along D curve (change in quantity demanded)
change in any other determinant of demand
- shift in D curve (change in demand)
- increase in demand= rightward shift
- decrease in demand= leftward shift
Possible causes of a rise in demand
- Tastes shift towards this product
- Rise in price of substitute goods
- Fall in price of complementary goods
- Rise in income
- Expectations of a rise in price
shift vs movement in demand
A shift in the demand curve is referred to as a change in demand. (new line due to on-price factors)
A movement along the demand curve as a result of a change in price is referred to as a change in the quantity demanded. (change in the quantity demanded due to price variation)
simple demand functions calculation
Qd = a – bP
This equation says that the quantity demanded (Qd) will fall as the price of the good (P) rises.
complex demand functions calc
Qd = a – bP + cY + dPs – ePc
- This equation also says that the quantity demanded (Qd) will fall as the price of the good (P) rises.
- But it also adds that the Qd will rise as the level of consumer incomes (Y ) rises, will rise as the price of a particular substitute (Ps) rises and will fall as the price of a particular complement (Pc)
rises.
why?
As price rises, firms supply more
- it is worth incurring the extra unit costs
- firms switch from less profitable goods
- in the long run, new firms will be encouraged to enter the market
determinants of supply
costs of production
profitability of alternative products (substitutes in supply)
profitability of goods in joint supply
nature and other random shocks
expectations of producers
Fall in supply of potatoes: example
The cost of producing potatoes rises.
The profitability of alternative crops (e.g. carrots) rises.
A poor potato harvest.
Farmers may find producing other crops more enjoyable.
Farmers expect the price of potatoes to rise (short-run supply falls).
Potato farmers may leave the industry.
movements vs shifts in supply
change in price
- movement along S curve (change in quantity supplied)
change in any other determinant of supply
- shift in S curve (change in supply)
increase in supply = rightward shift
decrease in supply = leftward shift
Possible causes of a rise in supply
- Fall in costs of production
- Reduced profitability of alternative
products that could be supplied - Increased profitability of goods in
joint supply - Benign shocks
- Expectations of a fall in price
simple supply functions calc
Qs = a + bP
estimated supply equations
problems of estimating supply equations
What happens to the equilibrium price when there is a change in demand or supply?
The equilibrium price will remain unchanged only so long as the demand and supply curves remain unchanged. If either of the curves shifts, a new equilibrium will be formed.
A change in demand: if one of the determinants of demand changes (other than price), so the whole demand curve will shift.
This will lead to a movement along the supply curve to the new intersection point
effects of shifts in the demand curve
movement along the supply curve and the new demand curve