Economics Flashcards
Define producer surplus.
The difference between the amount a producer of a good receives and the minimum the producer is willing to accept for the good.
What makes a product inelastic?
Fewer substitutes. Short run. Small part of budget. Difficult to increase production at constant unit cost. Global supply.
Define comparative advantage.
law referring to the ability of any giveneconomicactor to produce goods and services at a lower opportunity cost than othereconomic actors.
Define a positive externality and give an example.
The benefit that is enjoyed by a third party as a result of the consumption or production of a good. An example is education.
What is discounting?
The process of determining the present value of a payment that is to be received in the future. Makes current costs and benefits worth more than those occurring in the future because there is an opportunity cost to spending money now.
What is ‘pure time preference’?
The inclination of an individual to choose 100 units of purchasing power this year than 110 units next year due to the fear of becoming ill or dying and not being able to enjoy next year’s income.
Definition of a cost-benefit analysis.
an economic technique applied to public decision−making that attempts to quantify the advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (costs) associated with a particular project or policy.
Advantages of a Cost-benefit analysis.
Simplicity - easy to understand and means that it can be used in many scenarios.
Transparent, objective and repeatable - not bias.
Explicitly addresses trade-offs.
Disadvantages of a Cost-benefit analysis.
Estimation - you have to be able to perform accurate estimations about the benefits you would receive from the project. If your calculations are inaccurate, you could deem a project viable, only to later discover it ended up costing the company money
Unit of measurement - have to use a common measurement
Accuracy - accuracy with regard to benefits and costs must be closely monitored because benefits are easy to double count.
Example of a club good?
A non-congested toll road.
Example of an open access good?
Anything you can buy in a supermarket.
Club good?
Non-rivalrous and excludable
Open access good?
Non-excludable and rivalrous
Private good?
Rivalrous and excludable
Public good?
Non-rivalrous and non-excludable
What are the fundamental causes of economic growth?
The geography hypothesis.
The culture hypothesis.
The luck hypothesis.
The institutions hypothesis.
Examples of a public good?
defence, public fireworks, lighthouses, clean air and other environmental goods, and information goods.
Crime defence for a public.
Public service broadcasting.