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Econ Midterm 1 (Phil Graves)
N/A
98
Economics
Undergraduate 1
09/20/2010

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Term
economics
Definition
the study of choices we make among our many wants and desires given our limited resources
Term
resources
Definition
inputs used to produce goods and services
Term
scarcity
Definition
exists when human wants (materialand nonmaterial) exceed available resources
Term
the economic problem
Definition
scarcity forces us to choose, and choices are costly because we must give up other opportunities that we value
Term
rational behavior
Definition
people do the best they can, based on their values and information, under current and anticipated future circumstances
Term
hypothesis
Definition
a testable proposition
Term
empirical analysis
Definition
the use of data to test a hypothesis
Term
theory
Definition
statement or proposition used to explain and predict behavior in the real world
Term
ceteris paribus
Definition
holding all other things constant
Term
microeconomics
Definition
the study of household and firm behavior and how they interact in the marketplace
Term
macroeconomics
Definition
the study of the whole economy, including the topics of inflation, unemployment, and economic growth
Term
aggregate
Definition
the total amount - such as the aggregate level of output
Term
correlation
Definition
when two events occur together
Term
causation
Definition
when one event brings about another event
Term
fallacy of composition
Definition
the incorrect view that what is true for the individual is always true for the group
Term
positive statement
Definition
an objective, testable statement that describes what happens and why it happens
Term
normative statement
Definition
a subjective, contestable statement that attempts to describe what should be done
Term
negative relationship
Definition
when two variables change in opposite directions
Term
positive relationship
Definition
when two variables change in the same direction
Term
labor
Definition
the physical and human effort used in the production of goods and services
Term
land
Definition
the natural resources used in the production of goods and services
Term
capital
Definition
the equiptment and structures used to produce goods and services
Term
human capital
Definition
the productive knowledge and skill people receive from education, on the job training, health, and other factors that increase productivity
Term
entrepreneurship
Definition
the process of combining labor, land , and capital to produce goods and services
Term
economic goods
Definition
scarce goods created from scarce resources - goods that are desirable but limited in supply
Term
Bads
Definition
Items that we do not desire or want, where less is preffered to more, like terrorism or smog
Term
Opportunity Cost
Definition
the value of the best forgone alternative that was not chosen
Term
Marginal Thinking
Definition
focusing on the additional, or marginal choices; marginal choices involve the effects of the current situation, the small or large incremental changes to a plan of action
Term
Rule of Rational Choice
Definition
individuals on the additional, or activity if the expected marginal benefits are greater than the expected marginal costs
Term
Net Benefit
Definition
the difference between the expected marginal benefits and the expected marginal costs
Term
Positive Incentive
Definition
an incentive that either reduces costs or increases benefits, resulting in an increase in an activity or behavior
Term
Negative Incentive
Definition
an incentive that either increases costs or reduces benefits, resulting in a decrease in the activity or behavior
Term
Specializing
Definition
concentrating in the production of one, or a few goods
Term
Comparative Advantage
Definition
occurs when a person or country can produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than others
Term
Efficiency
Definition
When an economy gets the most out of its scarce resources
Term
Price Controls
Definition
government mandated minimum or maximum prices
Term
Market Failure
Definition
when the economy fails to allocate resources efficiently on its own
Term
Consumer Sovereignty
Definition
Consumers vote with their dollars in a market economy; this accounts for what is produced
Term
Command Economy
Definition
economy in which the government uses central planning to coordinate most economic activities
Term
Market Economy
Definition
an economy that allocates goods and services through the private decisions of consumers, input suppliers, and firms
Term
Mixed Economy
Definition
an economy where the government and the private sectors determine the allocation of resources
Term
Labor Intensive
Definition
production that uses a large amount of labor
Term
Capital Intensive
Definition
production that uses a large amount of capital
Term
Product Markets
Definition
markets where households are buyers and firms are sellers of goods and services
Term
Factor (or Input) Markets
Definition
markets where households sell the use of their inputs (capital, land, labor, and entrepreneurship) to firms
Term
Simple Circular Flow Model
Definition
an illustration of the continuous flow of goods, services, inputs, and payments between firms and households
Term
production possibilitiesn curve
Definition
the potential total output combination of any two goods for an economy
Term
increasing opportunity cost
Definition
the opportunity cost of producing additional units of a good rises as society produces more of that good
Term
market
Definition
the process of buyers and sellers exchanging goods and services
Term
competative market
Definition
s market where the many buyers and sellers have little market power- each buyers or sellers effect on the economy is negligible
Term
individual demand schedule
Definition
a schedule that shows the relationship between price and quantity demanded
Term
Individual Demand Curve
Definition
a graphical representation that shows the inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded
Term
Market Demand Curve
Definition
The horizontal summation of individual demand curves
Term
Law of Demand
Definition
the quantity of a good or service demanded varies inversely (negatively) with its price
Term
Change in quantity demanded
Definition
a change in a good's own price leads to a change in quantity demanded, a move ALONG a given demand curve
Term
Change in Demand
Definition
the prices of related goods, income, number of buyers, tastes, and expectations (PYNTE) can change the demand for a good; that is, a ching in one of these factors shifts the ENTIRE demand curve
Term
Substitutes
Definition
An increase (decrease) in the price of one good causes the demand curve for another good to shift to the right or left
Term
Complements
Definition
an increase or decrease in the price of one good shifts the demand curve for another good to the right or left
Term
Normal Good
Definition
If income increases, the demand for a good increases; if income drops, the demand for the good decreases
Term
Inferior Good
Definition
if income increases, the demand for a good decreases; if income decreases, the demand for a good increases
Term
Law of Supply
Definition
the higher (lower) the price of the good, the greater (smaller) the quantity supplied
Term
Market Supply Curve
Definition
a graphical representation of the amount of goods and services that suppliers are willing and able to supply at various prices
Term
Market Equilibrium
Definition
the point at which the market supply and market demand curves intersect
Term
Equilibrium Price
Definition
the price at the intersection of the market supply and demand curves; at this price, the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied
Term
Equilibrium Quantity
Definition
the quantity at the intersection of the market supply and demand curves; at the equilibrium quantity, the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied
Term
Surplus
Definition
a situation where quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded
Term
shortage
Definition
a situation where quantity demanded exceeds quantity supplied
Term
Price Ceiling
Definition
a legally established maximum price
Term
Price Floor
Definition
a legally established minimum price
Term
Price Elasticity of Demand
Definition
the measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price
Term
Price Elasticity of Demand
Definition
the measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price
Price Elasticity=Percentage change in quantity demenaded/ percentage change in price
Term
Elastic
Definition
when the quantity demanded is greater than the percentage in price
Term
Inelastic
Definition
when the quantity demanded is less than the percentage change in price
Term
Consumer Surplus
Definition
the monetary difference between the amount a consumer is willing to pay for an additional unit of a good and what the consumer actually pays- the market price. Consumer surplus for the whole market is the sum of all the individual consumer surpluses fo those consumers who have purchased the good
Term
Marginal willingness to pay
Definition
the general fact that if the consumer is a buyer of SEVERAL units of a good, the earlier units will have greater marginal value and therefore create more consumer surplus. This falls as greater quantities are consumed in any period
Term
Increase (increase) in supply and a lower (higher) price
Definition
increase (decrease) consumer surplus for each unit you were already consumer.
Term
Producer Surplus
Definition
the difference between what a producer is paid for a good and the cost of producing one more unit of that good. Measure of how much sellers gain from trading in the market
Term
Marginal Cost
Definition
the cost of producing one more unit of a good
Term
Total Welfare Gains
Definition
the sum of consumer and producer surpluses
Term
Deadweight Loss
Definition
net loss of total surplus that results from an action that alters a market equiliubrium
Term
Market Efficiency
Definition
when we have maximized the sum of consumer and producer surplus
Term
Welfare Effects
Definition
the gains and losses associated with government intervention in markets
Term
Tax Revenue Collected
Definition
measure by multiplying the amount of the tax times the quantity of the good sold after the tax is imposed T x Q2
Term
Problem with taxes
Definition
Distort market incentives- price to buyers is higher than before tax, so they consume less. price to sellers is lower than before the tax so they produce less
Term
Supply and/or demand curves more elastic (taxes)
Definition
the deadweight loss becomes larger because a given tax reduces the quantity exchanged by a greater amount
Term
externality
Definition
a benefit or cost from consumption or production that spills over onto those who are not consuming or producing the good
Term
Positive Externality
Definition
occurs when benefits spill over to an outside party who is not involved in producing/consuming the good
UNDERPRODUCED
Term
negative externality
Definition
occurs when costs spill over to an outside party who is not involved in producing or consuming the good
OVERPRODUCED
Term
Public Good
Definition
a good that is nonrivalrous in consumption and nonexcludable
Term
Private Good
Definition
a good with rivalrous consumption and excludability
Term
Tragedy of the Commons
Definition
when a good is not owned by anyone, individuals feel little incentive to conserve or use the resource efficiently
Term
Common resource
Definition
a rival good that is nonexcludable; that is nonpayers cannot easily be excluded from consuming the good and when one unit is consumed by one person, it means that it cannot be consumed by another
Term
Asymmetric Information
Definition
occurs when the available information is initially distributed in favor of one party relative to another exchange
-sellers are at an information advantage over potential buyers when selling a car because they have more information about the product than the potential buyer
Term
Adverse selection
Definition
a situation where an informed party benefits in an exchange by taking advantage of knowing more than another party
Term
Evidence of Quality
Definition
Reputation and standardization
Term
Signals
Definition
example would be a warranty
Term
Moral Hazard
Definition
taking additional risks because you are insured
Term
Winner's Curse
Definition
a situation that arises in certain auctions where teh winner is worse off than the loser because of an overly optimistic value placed on the good
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