week 16 Flashcards
how have living standards improved
variety, quality and quantity of goods and services increased during the 19th and 20th century, as reflected in real GDP
but comparing economic output over 100 years cannot account for new goods/services
what are living standards
real GDP per person is a measure of goods available to a typical person
what are the benefits of growth
pace of technical change is growing
inventions are not sufficient to sustain growth so goods must be sold
what is compound interest
pays interest on the original deposit and all previously accumulated interest
small growth in GDP can have a large effect over a long period
how do you find real GDP per person
(real GDP/number of employed workers) x (number of employed workers/population)
what does real output depend on
how much each worker can produce
the percentage of the population that is working
what determines a country’s economic growth rate
increases in output per person arise primarily from increases in average labour productivity
when does GDP per capita increase
when output per worker increases or share of population employed increases
what causes growth
in the long run
increases in output per person and living standards arise from increases in average labour productivity
what factors determine average labour productivity
human capital
physical capital
land and natural resources
technology
entrepreneurship and management
political and legal environment
what is human capital
talents, education, training and skills of workers
increases productivity and innovation
causes higher output and economic prosperity
what is physical capital
more and better capital (machinery, equipment, buildings etc) increases worker productivity and raises quality
what are diminishing returns to capital
the amount of labour and other inputs is constant then the greater the amount of capital already in use, less additional unit of capital adds
assumes all inputs except capital are held constant
causes output to increase at a decreasing rate
what are the implications of diminishing returns
increasing capital will increase output and labour productivity
positive contribution to growth
how does land and other natural resources improve labour productivity
increase worker productivity, creates jobs and generate revenue
land - used for farming and agriculture, produce food and raw materials for export, major contributor to some economies
extraction of natural resources - provides jobs and income, drives innovation
tourism - provides revenue
renewable energy - can be produced from land and natural resources
how does technology improve labour productivity
new tech is the most important improvement of productivity
improves efficiency and innovation at lower costs
what is the productivity puzzle
cause of slow down of growth is unknown, unclear if this is temporary or not
recent growth mainly linked to tech making workers more productive
how does entrepreneurship and management increase productivity
entrepreneurs create new economic enterprises and identify business opportunities
needed for a dynamic, healthy growing economy
take risks and create new products or services
create jobs and increase productivity
increase competition