ECON 2027 Flashcards
What is Microeconomics?
the study of how scarce resources are allocated to satisfy unlimited human wants.
Free Resources?
They are unlimited in quantity and therefore have no value or cost.
Economic Resource?
They are limited in quantity, meaning there is not an unlimited supply of these resources.
What does NR stand for?
Natural Resource
What does K stand for?
Capital
What does L stand for?
Labor
What is an alternate abbreviation for labor?
HK, or human capital
What is an investment?
An investment is any sort of addition to the stock of….
What is an example of a K investment?
A farmer buying a new tractor for his farm.
What is an example of an L investment?
An increase in the number of workers, or an increase in workers skill or knowledge/education.
What are the two types of output?
Goods and services
What are the 3 sources of belief?
Yourself, institutions, and facts
What are Economic Institutions?
Economic systems based on property rights, incentives and decision making.
Yourself as a belief source?
Humans have a tendency to believe what we hear and observe.
Institutions as a belief source?
Sum of total traditions, laws and government structures in an economy.
Facts as a belief source?
Empirical evidence based on observation including but not limited to data and experience.
What was Veblen’s definition of institutions?
He called them “habits of the mind.”
Types of economic institutions?
Pure capitalism, Socialism, and Pure communism.
Pure Capitalism
High levels of freedom regarding property rights and incentives.
Socialism
Productive resources are owned by the state, less freedom overall.
Pure Communism
Total government involvement in the economy, lowest level of freedom among individuals.
What is Process Theory?
The idea that from the beginning to the end, events are bound to occur within the time frame, altering the end result.
What is rational ignorance?
The world is complex and the mind is simple
What is the idealized self?
The idea that humans believe that they know more than they actually do.
What are agency costs?
A conflict of interest between people or groups. (Teachers and Students)
1st characteristic of humans?
Max utility subject to constraint. Humans desire the maximum satisfaction with as little effort as possible.
2nd Characteristic of humans?
MU vs MC defines how choices are made in relation to goals and constraints. For example, humans tend to take the easy route.
What is marginal cost?
Associated with constraint, more commonly known as cost benefit. The relationship between MU and MC determines if decisions are worthwhile based on the risk to reward ratio.
Why do individuals sometimes make seemingly poor choices?
Every decision that someone makes is rational in their own beliefs.
How do constraints interfere with human decision making?
Constraints often make choices unappealing. The less constraints, the more likely the goal is to be achieved without issue.
Why don’t humans change?
Humans are self-interested, and inherently believe that more is greater than less.
What defines a winner?
Humans that have a higher desire for MU>MC