Chapter 1 Flashcards
What are the basic economic questions?
- What/how much to produce
- How to produce
- For whom to produce
Scarcity
The Idea that resources are insufficient to satisfy all the needs and wants of humans
Choice
Since resources can be scarce, it means that not everyone can get everything. Therefore choices must be made between what to produce and what not to produce.
Resource Allocation
Refers to assigning available resources, or factors of production, to specific uses chosen among many possible alternatives.
Which economic questions does resource allocation answer?
What/how much to produce and how to produce
Distribution of Income
How much output different individuals or different groups in a population receive.
Which economic question does the distribution of income answer?
For whom to produce
Redistribution of Income
When the distribution of income changes so that different social groups now receive more or less income and output than they were previously.
Market Economy/Free Market
Resources are owned by private individuals or groups of individuals, and it is mainly consumers and firms who make economic decisions by responding to prices that are determined in markets.
Command Method/Planned
Resources are owned by the government, which makes economic decisions by commands.
Efficiency
The thought of producing the most product for capitol, without having any waste
Equity
is the idea of being fair or just
Sustainability
maintaining the ability of the environment to produce and satisfy needs and wants in the future
Recently, countries have been moving from a mixed economy to a ___ economy
mixed market
interdependance
economic decision-makers interact and depend on each other
Government Intervention
changes the allocation of resources from what markets would have achieved working on their own.
Mixed Economies
A combination of markets and commands.
Rationing
The method used to make resource allocation and output/income distribution decisions.
Recently, countries have been moving from a mixed economy to a ___ economy
mixed market
what are the factors of production?
Land, capitol, labor, entrepreneurship
What are the specified types of capitol
Financial capital, Human capital, Physical capital, Natural capital.
what is opportunity cost?
a value you have to give up in order to obtain something else
Positive economics
Economics based on something that is, was or will be.
Normative economics
Economics based on beliefs or value judgments. Keywords: should, good, bad, right, wrong.
Logic
Making a series of statements, each of which is true given that the previous statement is true.
Hypothesis
Educated guess that indicates a cause-effect relationship about an event.