Microeconomics Flashcards
What does ceteris paribus mean?
All other factors remain the same
What are positive statements?
They’re statements that are objective and factually based that aren’t influenced by an opinion or prejudice
What are normative statements?
They’re statements that are subjective and questionable that are influenced by an opinion or prejudice
Which three questions does the economic problem try to solve?
- What to produce?
- How to produce?
- Who to produce for?
What will provide economic agents with the information required to tell them what goods and services to produce?
Economic Insentives
What are the 4 factors of production?
1.Land
2.Labour
3.Capital
4.Enterprise
What will firms do in order to produce a good product or service?
Combine the 4 factors of production
What is a free market economy?
A market that isn’t controlled by the government
What do firms supply according to and why?
They look at supply and demand as there might be a chance to make a profit in a certain sector
What is a finite resource?
A natural resource which cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up consumption
What does infinite wants mean?
People never get enough, there’s always something else they’d like to have
What does wants mean?
To have a desire to possess or do something
What does needs mean?
A thing someone must have
What is the economic problem?
The problem of making choices that occurs due to the scarcity of resources
What does scarcity mean?
The state of being in short/limited supply
What is economic activity?
When resources such as capital goods and labour are combined to produce specific goods or services
What does economic welfare mean?
The level of prosperity and standard of living of either an individual or a group of people
What is an economic agent?
The key groups of people involved in the economic problem
What is an economic insentive?
Financial rewards provided to people to alter consumption and production patterns in an economy
What is consumption?
The use of goods and services by households
What is production?
The process of making or manufacturing goods and products from raw materials or components
What are factors of production also known as?
Factor Inputs
Why are the factors of production known as economic resources?
They earn reward for their use in the form of rent, wages, interest and profit
What is labour?
It includes all of the workforce in an economy. Every worker is unique due to the different skills, qualifications and experience we have
What is the value of a worker called?
Human capital. They can be valued with the income they earn
What is likely to increase human capital?
Education and training
What is land?
It encompasses all of the natural resources that come from the earth and that are used in the production of goods or services. This includes resources below, on and above the earth and in the sea
What is capital?
It has a number of meanings such as money. In the terms of factor of production it refers to man-made aids that are used in the production process like machinery, tools, factories or offices.
What will capital goods do in the future instead of today?
Bring in a stream of income
What is enterprise?
The entrepreneur takes all the factors of production and organises them in order to produce products or services that are profitable.
What is crucially important to the health of the UK economy?
The skills of an entrepreneur
What does the entrepreneur create by taking risks and what is their reward?
The entrepreneur creates wealth and employment in the economy. Profit is the reward
What does natural resource economics do?
It looks at the demand, supply and allocation of the world’s natural resources.
What is the market mechanism?
It is used to price resources obtained from the government
What is opportunity cost?
It can be defined as the benefit lost of the next best alternative when making a choice. There are always competing alternatives when making choices
What is a trade-off?
The goods or services you could have picked but didn’t, giving up their advantages
What is a PPC?
It can be used to show different combinations of output for two products. Anything below the curve isn’t maximised and anything over the curve is impossible at that moment in time
What could cause an increase in economic growth?
For example immigration will cause an increase in labour and therefore we can produce more
What is allocative efficiency?
Occurs when social welfare is maximised. At this point on the PPC a trade-off will make at least some members of society worse off. It’s ultimately reliant on consumer preference
What does the demand curve show?
It shows the relationship between price and quantity demanded for a good, at any given price, over a period of time
What are some determinants of demand?
1.Price
2.Consumer Income
3.Other prices
4.Consumer Taste
What do the things in qd = f(py) stand for?
qd = quantity demanded
f = function of
p = price
y = consumer income
What is the function for quantity demanded?
qd = f(py)
What did Thorstein Veblen identify?
A ‘snob effect’ where people paid more for certain products as their price increased. He believed that this was due to the increase in status associated in buying an expensive product or service
What did Sir Robert Griffin identify?
There are certain items known as Griffin goods or inferior goods where their demand increased the higher the people’s wage was
What factors cause a shift in the demand curve?
Changes of price or availability of substitutes
Changes in price or availability of complements
Changes in consumer income
Changes in taste
What is the Elasticity Theory?
It looks at the sensitivity of one variable in relationship to another
How do you work out the percentage change for elasticity?
(Change in Value ÷ Original Value) x 100
What is an elasticity coefficient?
It’s the measure of the response of one variable to changes in another variable
What does Price Elasticity of Demand measure?
The responsiveness of demand to a change in price
How do you calculate PED?
% change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price
What are the characteristics of being perfectly inelastic?
It has a PED between -1 and 0
If the price is changed, qd wouldn’t change at all
In theory the firm could charge as much as possible
What characteristics come with being price inelastic?
It will have a PED between 0 and 1
If the price was changed, qd would drop
A firm should raise their price to maximise profit
What characteristics come with being price elastic?
It has a PED between -1 and infinity
If the price was changed, qd would change more
A firm should lower the price to increase profit
What characteristics come with being perfectly elastic?
It has a PED of infinity
If the price changed, the qd would be infinite
A firm couldn’t increase price as there would be no demand
What are the determinants of PED?
Substitutes
Time
Definition of the market
What is Income Elasticity of Demand or YED?
A measure of the responsiveness of demand to change in income.
How do you calculate YED?
% change in qd ÷ % change in income
What are the ranges for elastic and inelastic goods and services?
Anything between 1 and -1 is inelastic. Anything outside of those values is elastic
What is a normal good?
A product that when income increases, so does the demand
What is an inferior good?
A product that when income increases, the demand decreases
What are the determinants of YED?
Whether it’s a necessity or a luxury
Level of income of the consumer
Normal goods that are necessities will have lower positive YED coefficients
What is the relevance between YED and the standard of living?
Wealthier countries are likely to have consumers with higher disposable incomes. This means that they have greater spending power and are likely to use some of this greater income to buy luxury goods and services. Therefore, firms will produce superior products that meet the needs of these consumers
What is the relevance of YED to the economic cycle?
When the economy is in recovery mode and leading into a boom, disposable incomes increase and consumers spend a greater proportion of this increase of income firstly on necessities and then on luxury goods. When the economy is in decline and leading into a slump, disposable incomes decrease and consumers spend a lesser proportion of their incomes on luxury goods, moving to necessities and then inferior goods
What is cross-elasticity of demand
XED is a measure of the responsiveness of demand for one good, x to a change in price of another good, y
How do you calculate XED?
% change in quantity demanded of good x÷ % change in price of good y
What is cross-price inelasticity?
It is when demand for good x changes at a lesser proportion than the change in price of good y
What is cross-price elasticity?
It’s when demand for good x changes at a greater proportion then the change in price of good y
What are the determinants of cross elasticity of demand (XED)?
Substitute: Positive XED
Complement: Negative XED
Has no relationship: No impact at all
What is the relevance between substitutes and XED in business?
Firms will attempt to differentiate their products from the competition through advertising,branding etc. A firm with loads of close substitutes won’t be as able to increase price
What is the relevance between complements and XED in business?
Arms will produce a range of complements to accompany their core products. A firm that sells a range of complements is likely to increase total revenue
What does a supply curve show?
The relationship between price and quantity demanded
What is the definition of supply?
The amount of a good or service that produces are willing and able to sell at any given price
What are the determinants of supply?
Price of goods
Impact of changing cost of production
Technological progress
Prices of other goods and services
Government policy e.g. taxes and subsidies
Other factors e.g. expectations
What is the formula for quantity supplied?
qs = f(p, production costs, technology, price of other goods, government policy)
What is the impact of changing production? (Costs of Production)
Costs of production are created by the price of factor inputs. If the cost of producing a good or service increases, it will become more expensive to supply the product. The price of Factor inputs can also be reduced making it cheaper to supply a product. Improvements in technology can help to reduce the costs of production.