MACROECONOMICS Flashcards
Economics
the study of how society manages its scarce resources
First principle of economics
you have to trade one goal for another
Efficiency
occurs when society gets the maximum benefits from its scarce resources; the size of the economic pie
Equality
occurs when economic prosperity is distributed uniformly among the members of society; how the pie is divided into individual slices
Opportunity cost
whatever a person has to give up in order to get something else; the next-highest-valued alternative use of that resource
Second principle of economics
comparing costs and benefits
Third principle of economics
based on the belief that rational people systematically and purposefully do the best they can to achieve their objectives; rational people focus on the marginal changes they can make to to their plans of action
Marginal changes
small, incremental adjustments
Fourth principle of economics
people respond to incentives
Incentive
anything–such as a punishment or reward–that induces a person to act in a certain way
Fifth principle of economics
trade can make everyone better off
Imports
the goods produced in a foreign country and purchased by domestic residents
Exports
the goods produced domestically and purchased by foreigners
Specialization
focusing and producing the goods we have an advantage on and trading with others
Sixth principle of economics
markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity
Market economoy
made up of millions of companies and individual households; allocates the resources as its members interact for goods and services; guided by price and self-interest; supported by Adam Smith
Seventh principle of economics
governments can sometimes improve market outcomes
Externalities
the impact of one person’s actions on the well-being of a bystander
Market power
the ability of a single economic actor to have a substantial influence on market prices
Gross domestic product (GDP)
the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time
Consumption
spending by households on goods and services, with the exception of purchases of new housing.