Chapter 1-5 Flashcards
Scarcity
The condition that arises because wants exceed the ability of resources to satisfy them
Microeconomics
The study of the choices individuals and businesses make and the way these choices interact and are influenced by governments
Macroeconomics
The study of the aggregate (total) effects on the national economy and the global economy of the choices that individuals, businesses and governments make
Self interest
The choices that are best for the individual who makes them
Social interest
The choices that are best for a society as a whole
Tradeoff
an exchange-giving up one thing to get something else
Rational Choice
a choice that uses the available resources to best achieve the objective of the person making the choice
Benefit
The benefit of something is the gain or pleasure that it brings
Opportunity Cost
The opportunity cost of something is the best thing you must give up to get it
Margin
A choice made on the margin is a choice that is made by comparing all the relevant alternatives systematically and incrementally
Marginal cost
The opportunity cost that arises from a one unit increase in an activity. The marginal cost of something is what you must give up to get one additional unit of it
Marginal benefit
The benefit that arises from a one unit increase in an activity. The marginal benefit of something is measured by what you are willing to give up to get one additional unit or it
Incentive
A reward or a penalty that encourages or discourages an action
Correlation
The tendency for the values of two variables to move together in a predictable and related way
Ceteris Paribus
other things remaining the same
Factors of Production
Land, Labor, Capital, and Entrepreneurship
Land
the gifts of nature or natural resources that we use to produce goods and services
Labor
The work time and work effort that people devote to producing goods and services
Human captial
The knowledge and skill that people obtain from education, on the job training, and work experience
Capital
Tools, instruments, machines, buildings, and other items that have been produced in the past and that businesses now use to produce goods and services
Entrepreneurship
the human resource that organizes labor, land, and capital to produce g&s
rent
income paid for the use of land