Unit 1 (Ch. 1, 2, 5) Flashcards
Economics
Study of how people and society deal with scarcity and choices
Microeconomics
Study of small economic units, such as individuals, firms, and industries
Macroeconomics
Study of large economics as a whole or economic aggregates
Theoretical economics
Scientific method used to make generalizations and abstractions to develop theories. Based on fact
Policy Economics
Theories applied to fix problems or meet economic goals. Based on fact
Positive Economics
Based on facts, avoids value judgements (what is)
Normative Economics
Includes value judgements (what is should be)
1 Key Assumption
Society’s wants are unlimited, but all resources are limited (scarcity)
2 Key Assumption
Due to scarcity choices are made. Each choice has a cost (trade off)
3 Key Assumption
Everyone’s goal is to make choices to maximize satisfaction. Everyone acts in their own self-interest.
4 Key Assumption
Make decisions by comparing marginal costs and marginal benefits of each choice (is it worth it)
5 Key Assumption
Real situations can be explained and analyzed with simple models and graphs
Marginal
Additional
Marginal Analysis
Making decisions based on additional benefit vs additional cost
Trade Off
All alternatives that we give up whenever we choose one course of action over others