U3 AOS1 - Microeconomics Flashcards
Relative scarcity refers to
Unlimited needs and wants and limited resources to fulfil them.
Opportunity cost is
the value of the next best alternative foregone in production
Any point along the PPF is ______________ however only one point is ______________
Technically efficiency, allocatively efficient
The three basic economic questions are:
What and how much to produce?
How to produce?
For whom to produce?
The three main types of economic resources are:
Natural, labour and capital
A situation where resources are allocated in such a way that opportunity costs are minimised and living standards are maximised
Allocative efficiency
Producing at the least cost for the maximum output is ______________ efficiency
Technical/productive
The speed at which an economy can reallocate it’s resources to match societies changing needs and wants refers to:
Dynamic efficiency
The balancing of resource use between time periods
Intertemporal efficiency
State the conditions for a free and perfectly competitive market
Ease of entry and exit,
Many buyers and sellers
Homogenous goods
The law of demand states that
As price rises quantity demanded falls or
As price falls quantity demanded increases
An expansion of demand refers to
When the selling price of a product is reduced and the quantity demanded increases
A contraction of demand refers to
When the selling price of a good or service increases and the quantity demanded decrease
The non-price factors which would shift demand are:
Changes in disposable income, the prices of substitutes and complements, preferences and tastes, interest rates, population demographics and consumer confidence.
The income effect refers to:
As one’s income grows, the income effect predicts that people will begin to demand more (and vice-versa).
The substitution effect refers to
The substitution effect is the decrease in sales for a product that can be attributed to consumers switching to cheaper alternatives when its price rises.
The law of supply states
As price increases, quantity supplied increases
or
As price decreases, quantity supplied decreases
A contraction of supply refers to
A decrease in selling price leading to a reduction in quantity supplied
An expansion of supply refers to
An increase in selling price leading to an increase in quantity supplied.
The non price factors likely to shift the supply curve are:
Costs of production, number of suppliers, technology, productivity and climatic conditions.
The equilibrium refers to
The price and quantity where the quantity supplied and demanded is equal.
Outline the process of a new equilibrium being created if there was a favourable shift in demand.
Initially there would be a shortage at the original price as quantity demanded exceed supply, consumers then bid up prices causing a contraction in demand until a new equilibrium is met at a higher price and quantity.
Price elasticity refers to
The responsiveness of quantity demanded/supplied to a change in price.
The factors impacting price elasticity of demand are:
Degree of necessity, availability of substitutes, proportion of income and time