LSU - ECON 2000 Glossary CVS Flashcards
ability-to-pay principle
A theory of taxation holding that citizens should bear tax burdens in line with their ability to pay taxes. p. 393
absolute advantage
A producer has an absolute advantage over another in the production of a good or service if he or she can produce that product using fewer resources (a lower absolute cost per unit); the advantage in the production of a good enjoyed by one country over another when it uses fewer resources to produce that good than the other country does. p. 29 p. 411
adverse selection
A situation in which asymmetric information results in high-quality goods or high-quality consumers being squeezed out of transactions because they cannot demonstrate their quality. p. 358
asymmetric information
One of the parties to a transaction has information relevant to the transaction that the other party does not have. p. 357
average fixed cost (AFC)
Total fixed cost divided by the number of units of output; a per-unit measure of fixed costs. p. 169
average product
The average amount produced by each unit of a variable factor of production. p. 154
average tax rate
Total amount of tax paid divided by total income. p. 391
average total cost (ATC)
Total cost divided by the number of units of output. p. 175
average variable cost (AVC)
Total variable cost divided by the number of units of output. p. 173
barriers to entry
Factors that prevent new firms from entering and competing in imperfectly competitive industries. p. 278
behavioral economics
A branch of economics that uses the insights of psychology and economics to investigate decision making. p. 317
benefits-received principle
A theory of fairness holding that taxpayers should contribute to government (in the form of taxes) in proportion to the benefits they receive from public expenditures. p. 393
black market
A market in which illegal trading takes place at market-determined prices. p. 84
bond
A contract between a borrower and a lender, in which the borrower agrees to pay the loan at some time in the future. Some bonds also make regular, constant payments once or twice a year. p.237
brain drain
The tendency for talented people from developing countries to become educated in a developed country and remain there after graduation. P.436
breaking even
The situation in which a firm is earning exactly a normal rate of return. p. 190
budget constraint
The limits imposed on household choices by income, wealth, and product prices. p. 122
capital
Things that are produced and then used in the production of other goods and services; Those goods produced by the economic system that are used as inputs to produce other goods and services in the future. p. 26 p. 233
capital flight
The tendency for both human capital and financial capital to leave developing countries in search of higher expected rates of return elsewhere with less risk. p. 436
capital income
Income earned on savings that have been put to use through financial capital markets. p. 238
capital market
The input/factor market in which households supply their savings, for interest or for claims to future profits, to firms that demand funds to buy capital goods; The market in which households supply their savings to firms that demand funds to buy capital goods. p. 49 p. 236
capital stock
For a single firm, the current market value of the firm?s plant, equipment, inventories, and intangible assets. p. 235
capital-intensive technology
Technology that relies heavily on capital instead of human labor. p. 152
cartel
A group of firms that gets together and makes joint price and output decisions to maximize joint profits. p. 297
Celler-Kefauver Act
Extended the government’s authority to control mergers. p. 307
ceteris paribus, or all else equal
A device used to analyze the relationship between two variables while the values of other variables are held unchanged. p. 9
choice set or opportunity set
The set of options that is defined and limited by a budget constraint. p. 123
Clayton Act
Passed by Congress in 1914 to strengthen the Sherman Act and clarify the rule of reason, the act outlawed specific monopolistic behaviors such as tying contracts, price discrimination, and unlimited mergers. p. 287
Coase theorem
Under certain conditions, when externalities are present, private parties can arrive at the efficient solution without government involvement. p. 334
command economy
An economy in which a central government either directly or indirectly sets output targets, incomes, and prices. p. 39
commitment device
Actions that individuals take in one period to try to control their behavior in a future period. p. 319
common stock
A share of stock is an ownership claim on a firm, entitling its owner to a profit share. p. 239
comparative advantage
A producer has a comparative advantage over another in the production of a good or service if he or she can produce that product at a lower opportunity cost; the advantage in the production of a good enjoyed by one country over another when that good can be produced at lower cost in terms of other goods than it could be in the other country. p. 29 p. 411
compensating differentials
Differences in wages that result from differences in working conditions. Risky jobs usually pay higher wages; highly desirable jobs usually pay lower wages. p. 368
complements, complementary goods
Goods that “go together”; a decrease in the price of one results in an increase in demand for the other and vice versa. P. 55
concentration ratio
The share of industry output in sales or employment accounted for by the top firms. p. 295
constant returns to scale
An increase in a fIrm’s scale of production has no effect on costs per unit produced. p. 195
consumer goods
Goods produced for present consumption. p. 31
consumer sovereignty
The idea that consumers ultimately dictate what will be produced (or not produced) by choosing what to purchase (and what not to purchase). p.40
consumer surplus
The difference between the maximum amount a person is willing to pay for a good and its current market price. p. 89
contestable markets
Markets in which entry and exit are easy enough to hold prices to a competitive level even if no entry actually occurs. p. 296
Corn Laws
The tariffs, subsidies, and restrictions enacted by the British Parliament in the early nineteenth century to discourage imports and encourage exports of grain. p. 411
cross-price elasticity of demand
A measure of the response of the quantity of one good demanded to a change in the price of another good. p. 111
deadweight loss
The total loss of producer and consumer surplus from underproduction or overproduction. p. 92
decreasing returns to scale, or diseconomies of scale
An increase in a firm?s scale of production leads to higher costs per unit produced. p. 195
demand curve
A graph illustrating how much of a given product a household would be willing to buy at different prices. p. 51
demand schedule
Shows how much of a given product a household would be willing to buy at different prices for a given time period. p. 51
demand-determined price
The price of a good that is in fixed supply; it is determined exclusively by what households and firms are willing to pay for the good. p.224
depreciation
The decline in an asset’s economic value over time. p. 236
derived demand
The demand for resources (inputs)that is dependent on the demand for the outputs those resources can be used to produce. p. 215
diamond/water paradox
A paradox stating that (1) the things with the greatest value in use frequently have little or no value in exchange and (2) the things with the greatest value in exchange frequently have little or no value in use. p. 129
diminishing marginal utility
The more of anyone good consumed io a given period, the less incremental satisfaction is generated by consuming a marginal or incremental unit of the same good. p. 354
dividend
Payment made to shareholders of a corporation. p. 239
Doha Development Agenda
An initiative of the World Trade Organization focused on issues of trade and development. p. 421
dominant strategy
In game theory, a strategy that is best no matter what the opposition does. p. 301
drop-in-the-bucket problem
A problem intrinsic to public goods. The good or service is usually so costly that its provision generally does not depend on whether any single person pays. p. 342
dumping
A firm’s or an industry’s sale of products on the world market at prices below its own cost of production. p.419
duopoly
A two-firm oligopoly. p.299
economic growth
An increase in the total output of an economy. Growth occurs when a society acquires new resources or when it learns to produce more using existing resources. p. 12 p. 36
economic income
The amount of money a household can spend during a given period without increasing or decreasing its net assets. Wages, salaries, dividends, interest income, transfer payments, rents, and so on are sources of economic income. p. 370
economic integration
Occurs when two or more nations join to form a free-trade zone. p.422
economic profit
Profit that accounts for both explicit costs and opportunity costs. p. 149
economics
The study of how individuals and societies choose to use the scarce resources that nature and previous generations have provided. p. 2
efficiency In economics, allocative efficienc
. An efficient economy is one that produces what people want at the least possible cost; The condition in which the economy is producing what people want at least possible cost. p. 11 p. 254
efficient market
A market in which profit opportunities are eliminated almost instantaneously. p. 3