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Chapter 1
Vocabulary & Key Concepts
31
Economics
12th Grade
01/28/2013

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Term
4 principles that underlie the economics of individual choice
Definition
1. resources are scarce
2. the real cost of something is what you must give up to get it
3. "how much?" is a decision at the margin
4. people usually exploit opportunities to make themselves better off
Term
individual choice
Definition
the decision by an individual of what to do, which necessarily involves a decision of what not to do
Term
resource
Definition
anything that can be used to produce something else
Term
scarce
Definition
there is not enough of the resources available to satisfy all the various ways a society wants to use them
Term
opportunity cost
Definition
what you must give up in order to get an item
Term
trade-off
Definition
when you compare the costs with the benefits of doing something
Term
marginal decisions
Definition
decisions about whether to do a bit more or a bit less of an activity
Term
marginal analysis
Definition
the study of marginal decisions
Term
incentive
Definition
anything that offers rewards to people who change their behavior
Term
all economic activities involve _____
Definition
individual choice
Term
people must make choices because _____ are _____
Definition
resources; scarce
Term
the real cost of something is what you must give up to get it - specifically, giving up your next best alternative; all costs are _____
Definition
opportunity costs
Term
"how much" choices are made by making a _____ at the margin
Definition
trade-off
Term
the study of _____ is known as marginal analysis
Definition
marginal decisions
Term
because people usually exploit opportunities to make themselves better off, _____ can change people's behavior
Definition
incentives
Term
interaction of choices
Definition
my choices affect your choices, & vice cersa; a feature of most economic situations
Term
5 principles that underlie the interaction of individual choices
Definition
1. there are gains from trade
2. markets move toward equilibrium
3. resources should be used at efficiently as possible to achieve society's goals
4. markets usually lead to efficiency
5. when markets don't achieve efficiency, government intervention can improve society's welfare
Term
trade
Definition
individuals provide goods & services to others & receive goods & services in return
Term
gains from trade
Definition
people can get more of what they want through trade than they could if they tried to be self-sufficient
Term
specialization
Definition
each person specializes in the task that he or she is good at performing
Term
equilibrium
Definition
when no individual would be better off doing something different
Term
efficient
Definition
an economy that takes all opportunities to make some people better off without making other people worse off
Term
equity
Definition
everyone gets his or her fair share
Term
a feature of most economic situations is the _____ of choices made by individuals, the end result of which may be quite different from what was intended
Definition
interaction
Term
in a market economy, interaction takes the form of _____ between individuals
Definition
trade
Term
individuals interact because there are _____
Definition
gains from trade
Term
gains from trade arise from _____
Definition
specialization
Term
economic situations normally move toward _____
Definition
equilibrium
Term
as far as possible, there should be an _____ use of resources to achieve society's goals
Definition
efficient
Term
efficiency is not the only way to evaluate an economy; _____ may also be desirable
Definition
equity
Term
3 principles that underlie economy-wide interactions
Definition
1. one person's spending is another person's income
2. overall spending sometimes gets out of line with the economy's productive capacity
3. government policies can change spending
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