Economics Flashcards
How does a price increase affect supply? –> When the prices of an item increases supply ___.
When the prices of an item increases supply** increases. **
When a positive supply curve shift (shift right) occurs, supply ___ at each price point.
Supply increases at each price point
What causes a supply curve to shift?
When supply changes due to something other than price.
What are the characteristics of a negative supply curve shift (shift left)?
Supply ___ at each price point.
___ Equilibrium GDP.
Cost of producing an item ___.
Supply decreases at each price point
Lower Equilibrium GDP
Cost of producing item increases
Examples: Shortage of gold- so less gold watches are made; wars or crises in rice-producing countries means there is less rice on the market
How does price affect the demand for an item? When the prices of an item ___ , the demand for it ___ .
When the prices of an item increases- demand for it decreases.
In general, what causes a Demand Curve Shift?
When demand changes due to something other than price.
What is the Marginal Propensity to Consume? How much you ___ when your income ___.
How is it calculated?
How much you spend when your income increases.
Calculate: Change in Spending / Change in Income
What is the Marginal Propensity to Save? How much you ___ when income ___.
How is it calculated?
How much you save when income increases
Calculate: Change in Savings / Change in Income Also equals 1 - Marginal Propensity to Consume
How is the multiplier effect calculated?
(1 / 1-MPC) x Change in Spending
How does increased spending by consumers and the government affect the demand curve?
As spending by consumers or the government ___- the demand curve ___ (shifts ___).
As spending by consumers or the government increases- the demand curve increases (shifts right).
How is Price Elasticity of Demand calculated?
% Change in Quantity Demand / % Change in Price
Under elastic demand- how does price affect revenues?
Price ___ - Revenue ___
Price ___- Revenue ___
Price increases- Revenue decreases
Price decreases- Revenue increases
How does revenue react to price under Inelastic Demand?
Price ___ - Revenue ___
Price ___- Revenue ___
Price increases- Revenue increases
Price decreases- Revenue decreases
What is the Equilibrium Price? The price where Quantity ___ = Quantity ___
The price where Quantity Supplied = Quantity Demanded
What is Optimal Production? When Marginal ___ = Marginal ___
When Marginal Revenue = Marginal Cost
What is the result of a Price Floor that is above the equilibrium price for a good?
Causes a surplus if above equilibrium price.
What is GDP (Gross Domestic Product)?
The annual value of all goods and services produced domestically at current prices by consumers- businesses- the government- and foreign companies with domestic interests Included: Foreign company has US Factory Not included: US company has foreign factory
What is included under the income approach for calculating GDP?
Sole Proprietor and Corp Income
Passive Income
Taxes
Employee Salaries
Foreign Income Adjustments
Depreciation
What is included under the Expenditure Approach for calculating GDP?
Individual Consumption
Private Investment
Government Purchases
Net Exports
What does Nominal GDP measure?
Measures final goods/services in current prices.
For what is a GDP Deflator used?
Used to convert GDP to Real GDP
How is Real GDP calculated?
Nominal GDP / GDP Deflator x 100
What is Gross National Product (GNP)?
Like GDP; It is the price of all final goods and products produced by labor and property supplied by a nation’s residents . Swaps foreign production. US Firms overseas are included- Foreign firms domestically are not included
How is disposable income calculated?
Personal Income - Personal Taxes
When is the economy in Recession?
When GDP growth is negative for two consecutive quarters.
What are the stages of the Economic Cycle?
- Peak (highest)
- Recession (decreasing)
- Trough (lowest)
- Recover (increasing)
- Expansion (higher again)
Conditions that occur before a recession or before a recovery during a business cycle are called ___ ___.
leading indicators
Example: Stock Market or New Housing Starts
Conditions that occur after a recession or after a recovery in a business cycle are called ___ ___
Lagging Indicators
Examples: Prime Interest Rates- Unemployment
What are coincident indicators in an economic business cycle? Conditions that occur during a ___ or during a ___
Conditions that occur during a recession or during a recovery
Example: Manufacturing output
Which people are included in the calculation of unemployment?
- people looking for jobs - labor force
- 16 yrs old or older
- NOT retired
- NOT in an institution
- NOT active military
What is the relationship between inflation and unemployment?
INVERSE RELATIONSHIP!
High Unemployment = Low Inflation (Vice Versa)
What is the Discount Interest Rate?
The rate a bank pays to borrow from the Fed.
What is the Prime Interest Rate?
The rate a bank charges their best customers on short-term borrowings.
What is the Real Interest Rate?
Inflation-adjusted interest rate
What is the Nominal Interest Rate?
Rate that uses current prices
What is the Risk-Free Interest Rate?
Rate for a loan with 100% certainty of payback. Usually results in a lower rate. US Treasuries are an example.
What is included in the M1 money supply?
Currency- Coins- and Deposits
What is included in the M2 money supply?
Highly liquid assets other than currency- coins or deposits
How can the Fed control the money supply?
By buying and selling the government’s securities.
How does the Fed control economy-wide interest rates?
By adjusting the discount rate charged to banks
What is a Tariff?
A tax on imported goods
What is a quota?
A limit on the number of goods that can be imported
What is Accounting Cost?
Explicit (Actual) cost of operating a business Implicit costs are opportunity costs
What is Accounting Profit?
Revenue - Accounting Cost
What is Economic Cost?
Explicit + Implicit Cost
What is Economic Profit?
Revenue - Economic Cost
Describe the income effect as it applies to individual demand.
A given amount of income buys more units at a lower price.
Define “demand”.
Desire, willingness and ability to acquire a commodity.
Distinguish between a change in quantity demanded and a change in demand.
A change in quantity demanded is movement along a given demand curve as a result of change in price only. A change in demand is a shift in a demand curve as a result of changes in variables other than price.
Define “individual demand”.
The quantity of a commodity that will be demanded by an individual (or other entity) at various prices during a specified time, ceteris paribus.
What are the factors that change market demand?
Size of market; Income or wealth of market participants; Preferences of market participants; Change in prices of other goods and services.
Describe the substitution effect as it applies to individual demand.
Lower-priced items will be purchased as substitutes for higher-priced items.
Describe the principle of increasing cost.
Production costs increase in the short-run as the quantity produced increases, because new resources are not used as efficiently as the resources used previously .
What is the slope of a normal supply curve?
A normal supply curve has a positive slope: at a higher price, a greater the quantity will be supplied.
What are the variables that change aggregate supply?
Changes in: Number of providers; Cost of inputs; Government taxation or subsidization; Technological advances.
Define an “individual supply schedule”.
A schedule that shows the quantity of goods that an individual producer is willing to provide (supply) at various prices during a specified time.
Distinguish between a change in quantity supplied and a change in supply.
A change in quantity supplied is movement along a given supply curve as a result of change in price only. A change in supply is a shift of a supply curve as a result of changes in variables other than price.
Define “supply”.
Supply is the quantity of a commodity (good or service) that will be provided at alternative prices during a specified time.
How can government directly influence market equilibrium?
Taxation increases the cost and shifts the market supply curve up and to the left; tax decreases have the opposite effects; Subsidization decreases the cost and shifts the market supply curve down and to the right; decreases in subsidization have the opposite effects; Rationing reduces demand, thus shifting the demand curve downward and to the left, thus lowering the equilibrium quantity and price.
Define “market equilibrium price”.
Price at which the quantity of a commodity supplied is equal to the quantity of that commodity demanded; The intersection of the market demand and supply curves
What causes a market surplus?
A market surplus is created when actual price (AP) of a commodity is more than the equilibrium price; therefore, quantity supplied is more than quantity demanded (e.g., minimum wage).
Describe the results of a change in market demand (only) on equilibrium.
Increase in market demand = Demand curve shifts up and to the right; Decrease in market demand = Demand curve shifts down and to the left; Increase in market demand w/no change in supply = Increase in both equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity; Decrease in market demand w/no change in supply = Decrease in both equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity.
What causes a market shortage?
A market shortage is created when actual price (AP) of a commodity is less than the equilibrium price; therefore, quantity supplied is less than quantity demanded at AP (e.g., rent controls).
Describe the results of a change in market supply (only) on equilibrium.
Increase in market supply = Supply curve shifts down and to the right; Decrease in market supply = Supply curve shifts up and to the left; Increase in market supply w/no change in demand = Decrease in equilibrium price and increase in equilibrium quantity; Decrease in market supply w/no change in demand = Increase in equilibrium price and a decrease in equilibrium quantity.
What does “demand is elastic” mean?
If demand is elastic, the percentage change in demand is greater than the percentage change in price, the elasticity coefficient is greater than 1 and total revenue will change in the opposite direction as the change in price.
Define “elasticity of demand”.
The percentage change in quantity of a commodity demanded as a result of a given percentage change in the price of the commodity.
Identify four measures of elasticity.
Elasticity of Demand; Elasticity of Supply; Income Elasticity of Demand; Cross Elasticity of Demand.
Define “elasticity” (as used in economics).
Measures the percentage change in a market factor (ie demand) as a result of a given percentage change in another market factor (ie price).
Define “elasticity of supply”.
The percentage change in the quantity of a commodity supplied as a result of a given percentage change in the price of the commodity.
What is represented by an indifference curve?
Various quantities of two commodities that give an individual the same total utility as plotted on a graph.
Define “utils”, as used in economics.
Hypothetical unit of measure used to measure satisfaction derived from a commodity.
Define the “law of diminishing marginal utility”.
Decreasing utility (satisfaction) is derived from each additional (marginal) unit of a commodity acquired.
Define “marginal utility”.
The utility derived from each (additional) marginal unit (i.e., from the last unit acquired).
Define “utility”, as used in economics.
Satisfaction derived from the acquisition or use of a commodity.
What is meant by the term “budget constraint”?
The limited amount of income available to consumers to spend on goods and services.
What is the term for the highest-valued alternative that must be given up to engage in an activity?
opportunity cost
When a positive supply curve shift (shift right) occurs, what happens to the Equilibrium GDP?
Higher Equilibrium GDP
When a positive supply curve shift (shift right) occurs, the number of sellers ___, and the market can get ___.
Number of sellers increases - market can get flooded
List some examples of what would cause a positive supply curve shift (shift right).
Examples: Government subsidies or technology improvements that decrease costs for suppliers
What are the three major kinds (types) of cost used in short-run economic analysis?
Total Cost = Total Fixed Cost + Total Variable Cost; Average Cost = Cost per-unit of commodity produced; Marginal Cost = Cost of the last acquired unit of an input.
Give three examples of variable cost.
Raw materials; Most labor; Electricity.
Describe economies of scale (also called increasing return to scale).
The long-run average cost curve is decreasing, reflecting that the quantity of output is increasing in greater proportion than the increase in inputs, largely due to specialization of labor and equipment.
Identify and describe the kinds (types) of cost that make up total cost.
- Total Fixed Cost (FC): Costs which cannot be changed with changes in the level of output; 2. Total Variable Cost (VC): Costs for variable inputs which will vary directly with changes in the level of output; 3. Total Cost (TC) = FC + VC.
Define the “law of diminishing returns”.
The point at which the quantity of variable inputs begins to overwhelm the fixed factors, resulting in inefficiencies and diminishing return on marginal units of variable inputs.
Give three examples of fixed cost.
Property taxes; Contracted rent; Insurance.
Which short-run average cost curves have a “U” shape?
Average variable cost, Average total cost and Marginal cost curves have a “U” shape. Average fixed cost has a continuously downward-sloped curve.
Identify and describe the time periods of analysis used in economics.
Short-run time period: At least one input to the production process cannot be varied (i.e., and at least one input is fixed.); Long-run time period: Quantity of all inputs to the production process can be varied.
What are the four market structures normally considered in economic analysis?
Perfect competition; Perfect monopoly; Monopolistic competition; Oligopoly.
List the characteristics of perfect competition
A large number of independent buyers and sellers, each of which is too small to separately affect the price of a commodity; All firms sell homogeneous products or services; Firms can enter or leave the market easily; Resources are completely mobile; Buyers and sellers have perfect information; Government does not set prices.
What is a “price taker” firm?
The assumption that a firm in a perfectly competitive market must accept (“take”) the price set by the market and can sell any quantity of its commodity at that price. Thus, the demand curve faced by a single firm in perfect competition is a straight horizontal line at the market price.
Describe the point of short-run profit maximization for a firm in perfect competition.
Short-run profit is maximized where marginal revenue is equal to rising marginal cost; total revenue will exceed total costs by the greatest amount at that point.
How are long-run profits determined for a firm in perfect competition?
There are no long-run profits possible in a perfectly competitive market. If profits are made in the short-run, more firms will enter the market and increase supply, thus decreasing market price until all firms just break even.
What is the shape of the demand curve for a firm in perfect competition?
The demand curve faced by a single firm in a perfectly competitive market is a straight horizontal line originating at the price set by the market (of all firms).
What is the shape of the demand curve for a firm in perfect monopoly?
Downward sloping (and, since the firm is the only firm in the industry, it is also the industry demand curve).
List the characteristics of a perfect monopoly.
A single seller A commodity for which there are no close substitutes; Restricted entry into the market.
List examples of reasons why monopolies exist.
Control of raw materials or processes; Government granted franchise (i.e., exclusive right); Increasing return to scale (i.e., natural monopolies).
Describe the point of short-run profit maximization for a firm in perfect monopoly.
Short-run profit is maximized where marginal revenue is equal to rising marginal cost. The price charged at that quantity will depend on the level of the demand curve.
In the long-run, how may a monopoly firm increase its profits?
A monopoly firm may increase its profits in two ways: 1. Reduce cost by changing the size if its operations; 2. Increase demand through advertising, promotion, etc.
Identify the five major sectors (or elements) of a macroeconomic free-market flow model.
- Individuals;
- Business entities;
- Governmental entities;
- Financial entities;
- Foreign entities.
In a macroeconomic free-market flow model, what are “leakages?”
Leakages are the purposes for which individual income is used other than for domestic consumption expenditures.
These leakages include amounts of income that go for:
- taxes,
- savings and
- payments for imports.
In a macroeconomic free-market flow model, what are “injections?”
Injections are the sources of amounts added to domestic production that are do not result from domestic consumption expenditures.
These injections include amounts that come from:
- government spending and subsidies,
- investment spending and
- amounts received for exports.
___ ___ includes expenditures other than domestic consumption.
Domestic production
The amount of expenditures included in domestic production that does not come from domestic consumption is called ___?
“injections.”
In a macroeconomic free-market flow model, the amount of individual income not spent on domestic consumption is called ___?
“leakages.”
Macroeconomics includes the study of ___? cycles.
business
True or False?–
Domestic consumption equals domestic production.
FALSE
Which of the following forms of economic activity is considered in macroeconomics, but not in microeconomics?
a. Individuals providing economic resources to business entities.
b. Individuals paying taxes to the federal government.
c. Individuals paying business entities for goods/services.
d. Individuals receiving payments from business entities.
b. Individuals paying taxes to the federal government.
Which of the following sectors is most likely to be relevant in both microeconomic and macroeconomic models of free-market flows?
a. Business entities.
b. Governmental entities.
c. Financial entities.
d. Foreign entities.
a. Business entities.
Identify important gross measures used in macroeconomics.
Measures of total activity or output in an economy including:
- Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
- Real Gross Domestic Product;
- Potential Gross Domestic Product;
- Gross National Product (GNP);
- Net National Product;
- National Income;
- Personal Disposable Income.
Define “real gross domestic product (real GDP)”.
Total output of final goods and services produced for exchange in the domestic market during a period (usually a year), measured at constant prices.
Define “national income (NI)”.
The total payments for economic resources included in all production of all G&S, including payments for wages, rents, interest, and profits, but not including taxes, in the cost of the final output.
Define “nominal gross domestic product (nominal GDP)”.
Total output of final goods and services produced for exchange in the domestic market during a period (usually a year), without adjustment for changing price levels.
Define “net national product (NNP)”.
Total output of all goods and services produced worldwide using economic resources of U.S. entities, but only including the cost of investment in new capital (excludes depreciation).
Define “potential gross domestic product (potential GDP)”.
The maximum final output that can occur in the domestic economy at a point in time, without creating upward pressure on the general level of prices in the economy.
Define “gross national product (GNP)”.
Total output of all goods and services produced world-wide using economic resources of U.S. entities, including BOTH the cost of replacing capital (the depreciation factor) and the cost of investment in new capital.
Define “personal disposable income”.
Amount of income that individuals have available for spending, defined as total personal income after taxes are deducted.
Nominal GDP can be quantified in what 2 ways?
Expenditure approach
Income approach
What is the effect of a a Positive Demand Curve Shift (Shift Right) on equilibrium GDP?
Expansion - more spending increases equilibrium GDP
Describe the “expenditure approach” to GDP.
This measures GDP using the value of final sales and is derived as the sum of the spending of:
- Individuals – In the form of consumption expenditures for durable and non-durable goods and for services;
- Businesses – In the form of investments in residential and non-residential (e.g., plant and equipment) construction and new inventory;
- Governmental entities – In the form of goods and services purchased;
- Foreign buyers – In the form of net exports (exports - imports) of U.S. produced goods and services.
Example:
U.S. 2009 GDP
Components Amounts in Billions
Personal Consumption expenditures $10,089
Gross Private Domestic Investment 1,629
Government Entities 2,931
Net Exports (392)
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) $14,257 (Rounded)
Describe the “income approach” to GDP.
This measures GDP as the value of income and resource costs and is derived as the sum of:
Example:
Components Amounts in Billions
1) Compensation to employees $ 7,799
2) Rental income 268
3) Proprietor’s income 1,041
4) Corporate profits 997
5) Net interest 988
6) Taxes on production and inputs 1,024
7) Depreciation (consumption of fixed capital) 1,861
8) Business transfer payments 134
Less: Government enterprise surplus (8)
Plus: Statistical adjustment 209
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) $14,256 (Rounded)
GDP does not include?
GDP does not include:
- Goods or services that require additional processing before being sold for final use (i.e., raw materials or intermediate goods);
- Activities for which there is no market exchange (i.e., do-it-yourself productive activities);
- Goods or services produced in foreign countries by U.S.-owned entities;
- Adjustment for changing prices of goods and services over time.
What is the “GDP deflator”?
The GDP deflator is a comprehensive measure of price levels used to derive real GDP.