1.2 Flashcards
What are the two approaches to make an assumption ?
Deduction and Induction
What is Deduction ?
Deduction is when you start with a hypothesis
What is Induction ?
When you collect evidence
What is neoclassical economics ?
It is a theory that focuses on supply and demand being the driving forces behind the production, pricing, and consumption of goods and service
What is behavioural economics ?
- It is a school of economic thought based on evidence and observations to develop assumptions of economic decision making.
- It assumes that individuals have bounded rationality
What is bounded rationality ?
Individuals wish to maximise utility but are unable to do so due to a lack of time, information and ability to process information
What prevents consumers form being rational ?
- A lack of time
- A lack of information
- A lack of ability to process information
What do consumers aim to maximise ?
Consumers aim to maximise utility
What is meant by a customers utility ?
The satisfaction they gain from consuming a good or a service
What do firms aim to maximise ?
Firms aim to maximise profits
How do firms maximise profits ?
Through producing as efficiently as possible and making things that consumers want and need
What do economic agents require to make rational decisions ?
- Time
- Information
- The ability to process information
What are the aspects of human behaviour that prevent rationality ?
- Habitual behaviour / Consumer inertia; when they are satisfied with what they have
- Being influenced by the behaviour of others
- Consumer weakness at computation; when the consumer does not understand the data or information
What is Privatisation ?
The process of transferring economic activity from the state to the market
What is Nationalisation ?
The process of bringing economic activity under state control
What is Demand ?
Demand is the quantity of a good or service purchased at a given price over a given time period
What is the law of demand ?
Ceteris paribus, as the price of a good increases quantity demanded decreases; conversely, as the price of a good decreases quantity demanded increases
What is meant by Diminishing Marginal Utility ?
- It refers to the falling satisfaction for every additional unit consumed
- The more you have of something, the less satisfied you are with it
What is the income effect ?
Assuming a fixed level of income, the income effect means that as the price level falls the amount that consumers can afford increases, and so demand increases
What is marginal utility ?
The utility or satisfaction obtained from consuming one extra unit of a good or service
Explain diminishing marginal utility
As successive units of a good are consumed, the marginal utility gained from each extra unit will fall
How do you work out government spending on subsidies ?
Subsidy rate x quantity sold
How do you work out total tax revenue ?
Tax revenue = tax rate x quantity sold
What is a reason for the demand curve being downward sloping ?
When the price of the good is lower, more can afford it and/or are willing to buy it. So consumer demand increases
How do changes in prices affect the demand curve?
You go along the demand curve, but it doesn’t shift
What does a decrease in price lead to ?
A decrease in price results in an extension/expansion in demand. We can represent this on a diagram by movement along the demand curve, to the right
What does an increase in price lead to ?
An increase in price results in a contraction in demand. This can be represented by a movement along the demand curve, to the left.
What causes a shift in the demand curve ?
Non price related factors such as PIRATES
What is PIRATES ?
- Population; larger the population, higher the demand
- Income; more disposable income means more demand
- Related goods
- Advertising; good advertising will increase demand
- Tastes and fashions
- Expectations; if the price of something is likely to increase in the future than demand is likely to increase in the present
- Seasons; demand changes according to the seasons
What is a substitute good ?
Substitute goods are alternative products that could be used for the same purpose
How does the price of a substitute good impact demand ?
- As the price of a substitute good increases, demand for the original product increases. Less people will buy the substitute good.
- As the price of the substitute good decreases, demand for the original product will decrease. More people will buy the substitute good.
What is a complementary good ?
Complimentary goods are products that are used together
How does the price of a complimentary good impact demand ?
- If A is a complement to B, an increase in the price of A will result in a negative movement along the demand curve of A and cause the demand curve for B to shift inward; less of each good will be demanded.
- Conversely, a decrease in the price of A will result in a positive movement along the demand curve of A and cause the demand curve of B to shift outward; more of each good will be demanded
What is revenue ?
Revenue is the income that a government or company receives
How do you calculate total revenue ?
Price × Quantity
What is supply ?
Supply is the quantity of a good or service that firms are willing to sell at a given price over a given time period
What is the law of supply ?
Ceteris paribus, as the price of a good increases, the quantity supplied increases and as the price of a good decreases, the quantity supplied also decreases
What does the supply curve assume ?
- Firms are motivated to produce by profit
- The cost of producing a unit increases as output increases
Why does the supply curve slope upwards from left to right ?
This is because an increase in price will also lead to an increase in supply and the quantity produced
What does an increase in price lead to (supply curve) ?
- An increase in price leads to an extension in supply.
- Movement along the curve towards the right
What does a decrease in price lead to (supply curve) ?
- A decrease in price leads to a contraction in supply.
- Movement along the curve towards the left.
What causes an extension in supply ?
An increase in price
What causes a contraction in supply ?
A decrease in price.
What are the factors that shift the supply curve ?
- Productivity; higher productivity causes an outward shift because average price for the firm decreases
- Indirect taxes; inward shift in supply
- Number of firms; More firms there are, the larger the supply
- Technology; more advanced the technology causes an outward shift
- Subsidies; subsidies can cause an outward shift in supply
- Weather; favourable conditions will increase supply, shift to the right
- Costs of production; If it falls, shift to the right. If it rises, shift to the left
Why does the number of firms in a market affect supply ?
If there are more firms in a market, there are likely to be more firms producing the same good. This increases the amount of the good available.
How can we represent an increase in the number of firms on a curve ?
A shift to the right on the diagram
What is a market ?
A market is anywhere where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services
What is excess demand ?
Excess demand is when there is too much demand in relation to supply
How is excess demand eliminated by market forces ?
- Excess demand is easily eliminated by market forces. If either the price or the supply goes up, demand will decrease exponentially
What is excess supply ?
Excess supply is when there is more supply than there is demand
How is excess supply eliminated by market forces ?
- Excess supply is easily eliminated by market forces. This is resolved when firms reduce prices to sell off excess supply.
- Lower prices discourage supply and encourage demand until the excess is removed.
What is the equilibrium price?
- The equilibrium price is the price where demand equals supply
- Where consumers and producers willingly meet