Mid Term 1(Chapter 1-4) Flashcards
What is economics
Economics is the social science that studies the choices individuals, firms, and governments make when coping with scarcity and the incentives that influence and reconcile those choices
what is micro economics
Micro economics studies the choices made by individuals and firms and how those choices interact with markets and influence governments
what is macro economics
macro economics studies the performance of the national and global economies including trade, or monetary/fiscal policy
what are incentives and costs
incentives are the rewards we get from choices we make and costs are are what we lose from the choices we make
what are the two big economic questions
How do choices end up determining what we produce, how we produce, and who we produce it for
When do choices made in pursuit of self interest also promote social interest
what is self interest
making choices that are best for you
what is social interest
making choices that are best for society
Has two dimensions: efficiency and equity
what are the four factors of production
Land, Labour, Capital, Entrepreneurship
what does each factor provide
land gets rent, labour gets wages, capital gets interest, entrepreneurship gets profit
What are the six key ideas that define the economic way of thinking
a choice is a tradeoff, people make rational choices by comparing costs and benefits, benefit is what you gain from something, cost is what you must give up to get something, most choices are “how much” choices made at the margin, choices respond to incentives
what is opportunity cost
the highest valued alternative you give up when choosing another option
What are the two types of economic statements
positive, normative
what are positive statements
statements that can be tested against facts
what are normative statements
statements that are opinion based and can not be tested
what are economic models
they make predictions then are tested by comparing it with facts
what are alternatives to economic models
statistical investigations, natural experiments, economic experiments
what are the skills needed for economics jobs
critical thinking, analytical skills, math skills, writing skills, oral communication skills
what are some current issues regarding self and social interest
globalization, information aged monopolies, climate change, covid 19 pandemic
what is market capitalism
an economic system wehre individuals own land and capital which can be bought and sold in markets. these markets along with supply and demand determine what is made, how its made, and who its made for
what is centrally planned socialism
an economic system where the government owns the land and capital and decides what is produced, how its produced, and for who. the only country still usign 5this today is cuba and north korea
what is a mixed economy
a market economy with government regulation for certain things
what are modern protesters arguments against market economies
large corporations ahve too much control, governemnts can allocate resources better, more regulation in social interest is needed, every winner in a market creates a loser,