Key Words Flashcards

1
Q

Adverse selection

A

A situation in which a person at risk is more likely to take out insurance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Allocative efficiency

A

Achieved when society is producing an appropriate bundle of goods relative to consumer preferences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Asymmetric information

A

A situation in which some participants in a market have better information about market conditions than others

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Cartel

A

An agreement between firms in a market on price and output with the intention of maximising their joint profits

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Ceteris paribus

A

A Latin phrase meaning ‘other things being equal’; it is used when we focus on changes in one variable while holding other influences constant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Command economy

A

An economy in which decisions on resource allocation are guided by the state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Comparative statistic analysis

A

Examines the effect on equilibrium of a change in the external conditions affecting a market

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Competitive market

A

A market in which individual firms cannot influence the price of the good or service they are selling, because of competition from other firms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Complements

A

Two goods are said to be complements if an increase in the price of one good causes the demand for the other good to fall

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Consumer surplus

A

The value that consumers gain from consuming a good or service over and above the price paid

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Consumption externality

A

An externality that affects the consumption side of a market, which may be either positive or negative

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Cross-price elasticity of demand (XED)

A

A measure of the sensitivity of quantity demanded of a good or service to a change in the price of some other good or service

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Demand

A

The quantity of a good or service that consumers choose to buy at any possible price in a given period

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Demand curve

A

A graph showing how much of a good will be demanded by consumers at any given price

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Diminishing marginal utility

A

Describes the situation where an individual gains less additional utility from consuming a product, the more of it is consumed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Division of labour

A

A process whereby the production procedure is broken down into a sequence of stages, and different workers are assigned to a particular stage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Elasticity

A

A measure of the sensitivity of one variable to changes in another variable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

External cost

A

A cost associated with an individual’a production or other economic activities, which is borne by a third party and is not reflected in market prices

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Externality

A

A cost or a benefit that is external to a market transaction, and is therefore not reflected in market prices

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Factors of production

A

Resources used in the production process; inputs into production, including labour, capital, land and entrepreneurship

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Firm

A

An organisation that brings together factors of production in order to produce output

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Free-rider problem

A

When an individual cannot be excluded from consuming a good, and therefore has no incentive to pay for its provision

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Government failure

A

A misallocation of resources arising from government intervention that causes a divergence between marginal social benefit and marginal social cost

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Gross domestic product (GDP)

A

A measure of the economic activity carried out in an economy over a period

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Incidence of tax

A

The way in which the burden of paying a sales tax is divided between buyers and sellers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Income elasticity of demand (YED)

A

A measure of the sensitivity of quantity demanded to a change in consumer incomes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Indirect tax

A

A tax levied on expenditure on goods and services

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Inferior good

A

One where the quantity demanded decreases in response to an increase in consumer incomes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Internalising an externality

A

An attempt to deal with an externality by bringing an external cost of benefit into the price system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Law of demand

A

A law that states that there is an inverse relationship between quantity demanded and the price of a good or service, ceteris paribus

31
Q

Luxury good

A

One for which income elasticity of demand is positive, and greater than 1, such that as income rises, consumers spend proportionally more on the good

32
Q

Macroeconomics

A

The study of the interrelationships between economic variables at an aggregate (economy-wide) level

33
Q

Marginal analysis

A

An approach to economic decision making based considering additional (marginal) benefits and costs of a change in behaviour

34
Q

Marginal cost

A

The cost of producing an additional unit of output

35
Q

Marginal social benefit (MSB)

A

The additional benefit that society gains from consuming an extra unit of a good

36
Q

Marginal social cost (MSC)

A

The cost to society of producing an extra unit of a good

37
Q

Market

A

A set of arrangements that allows transactions to take place

38
Q

Market economy

A

An economy in which market forces are allowed to guide the allocation of resources

39
Q

Market equilibrium

A

A situation that occurs in a market when the price is such that the quantity that consumers wish to buy is exactly balanced by the quantity that firms wish to supply

40
Q

Market failure

A

A situation in which the free market mechanism does not lead to an optimal allocation of resources (e.g. there is a divergence between MSB and MSC

41
Q

Merit good

A

A good that brings unanticipated benefits to consumers, such that society believes it will be under consumed in a free market

42
Q

Microeconomics

A

The study of economic decisions taken by individual economic agents, including households and firms

43
Q

Mixed economy

A

An economy in which resources are allocated partly through price signals and partly on the basis of intervention by the state

44
Q

Model

A

A simplified representation of reality used to provide insight into economic decisions and events

45
Q

Moral hazard

A

A situation in which a person who has taken out insurance is prone to taking more risk

46
Q

Necessity

A

A good for which the income elasticity of demand is positive, and less than 1, such that as income rises, consumers spend proportionally less on the good

47
Q

NIMBY (not in my back yard)

A

A syndrome under which people are happy to support the construction of an unsightly or unsocial facility, so long as it is not in their own area

48
Q

Non-renewable resources

A

Natural resources that once used cannot be replenished, such as coal or oil

49
Q

Normal good

A

One where the quantity demanded increases in response to an increase in consumer incomes

50
Q

Normative statement

A

A statement that involves a value judgement about what ought to be

51
Q

Opportunity cost

A

In decision making, the value of the nest-best alternative forgone

52
Q

Positive statement

A

A statement about what is (i.e. about facts)

53
Q

Potential economic growth

A

An expansion in the productive capacity of the economy

54
Q

Price elasticity of demand (PED)

A

A measure of the sensitivity of quantity demanded to a change in price of a good or service.

55
Q

Price elasticity of supply (PES)

A

A measure of the sensitivity of quantity supplied of a good or service to a change in the price of that good or service

56
Q

Private cost

A

A cost incurred by an individual or (firm or consumer) as part of its production or other economic activities

57
Q

Private good

A

A good that, once consumed by one person, cannot be consumed by somebody else; such a good has excludability and is rivalrous

58
Q

Producer surplus

A

The difference between the price received by firms for a good or service and the price at which they would have been prepared to supply that good or service

59
Q

Production externality

A

An externality that affects the production side of a market, which may be either positive or negative

60
Q

Production possibility frontier (PPF)

A

A curve showing the maximum combinations of goods or services that can be produced in a given period with available resources

61
Q

Prohibition

A

An attempt to prevent the consumption of a demerit good by declaring it illegal

62
Q

Public good

A

A good that is non-exclusive and non-rivalrous in consumption

63
Q

Relatively elastic

A

A term used when the price elasticity of demand is greater than 1, but less than infinity

64
Q

Relatively inelastic

A

A term used when the price elasticity of demand is less than 1 but greater than zero

65
Q

Renewable resources

A

Natural resources that can be replenished, such as forests that can be replanted, or solar energy that does not get used up

66
Q

Scarcity

A

A situation that arises from when people have unlimited wants in the face of limited resources

67
Q

Social cost

A

Private costs plus external costs

68
Q

Subsidy

A

A grant given by the government to producers to encourage production of a good or service

69
Q

Substitutes

A

Two goods that are said to be substitutes if demand for one good is likely to rise if the price of the other good rises

70
Q

Supply

A

The quantity of a good or service that firms choose to sell at any possible price in a given period

71
Q

Supply curve

A

A graph showing the quantity supplied at any given price

72
Q

Sustainable development

A

‘Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (Brundtland Commission, 1987)

73
Q

Unitary elastic

A

A term used when the price elasticity of demand is equal to 1