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AP Microeconomics Flashcards

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6767382195positive economicsdescribes the way things are (description and explanation of economic phenomena. It focuses on facts and cause-and-effect behavioral relationships and includes the development and testing of economics theories.)0
6767392910normative economicsdescirbes the way things should be (expresses value or normative judgments about economic fairness or what the outcome of the economy or goals of public policy ought to be.)1
6767400269Economicsthe study of how to allocate scarce resources among competing ends2
6767405229Scarcityoccurs due to our unlimited wants, such as goods and servicez, with limited resources, such as limited ability to produce or limited time3
6767413865laborthe physical and mental effort of people4
6767419875inputs/factors of productionthe resources that are used in the production process5
6767422681human capitalknowledge and skills acquired through training and experience6
6767428241entrepreneurshipthe ability to identify oppurtunities and organize production, and the willgness to accept risk in the pursuit of reward7
6767435398natural resources/landrefers to any productive resource exsisting in nature, including wild plants, mineral deposits, wind, and water8
6767441488capitalmanufactured goods that can be used in production process, including tools, equipment, buildings, and machinery9
6767449841oppurtunity costthe value of the best alternative sacrafice as compared to what actually takes place (i.e. for the resources we use to produce one product, the oppurtunity cost is that we cannot produce another good or service)10
6767468574production-possibilites frontierchoices an economy faces and the oppurtuniy cost of making one good rather than another11
6767480616efficiencyeconomy is using all of its resources productively12
6767507503division of laborpermits people to develop expertise in the task that they concentrate on (practice improves performance); specialization13
6767514694absolute advantagea situation where a country can produce a good using fewer resources per unit of output than another country14
6767524289comparative advantagea situation where a country can produce a good at a lower oppurtunity cost (smaller loss in terms of production of another good) than another country15
6767543931allocative efficiency (efficiency in output)a state of the economy in which production represents consumer preferences; in particular, every good or service is produced up to the point where the last unit provides a marginal benefit to consumers equal to the marginal cost of producing16
6767553083marginal costthe cost or additional cost of producing one more unit17
6767555893marginal benefitthe value or additional value of producing one more unit18
6767561804technical efficiency/efficiency in productionrefers to how productive a business can be given the fewest inputs, or resources, necessary to do the job19
6767571237wagethe price of labor20
6767572829rental rateprice of capital21
6767585133marginal product of laborthe additional output produced by one more unit of labor22
6767587720marginal product of capitalthe additional output produced by one more unit of capital23
6767575496cost-minimizing productioncondition that requires the wage to be divided by the rental rate of capital equal the marginal product of labor divided by the marginal product of capital24
6767590282distributive efficiency/efficiency in exchangegoods and services are received by those who have the greatest need for them, or by those who place the highest relative value on goods recieve them (achieved when consumers make purchases that maximize their satisfaction/utility given their budgetary contstraints)25
6767619303marginal rate of substitutionthe rate at which a consumer is ready to give up one good in exchange for another good while maintaining the same level of utility26
6767623932communisma system designed to minimize imbalance in wealth via the collective ownership of property, single political party divys up the wealth27
6767660055socialismwages are determined by negotiations between trade unions and managers and a single political party does not rule the economy, but similar to capitalism28
6767678047capitalist systemprivate individuals control the factors of production and operate them in pursuit of profit29
6767682024demand curverelationship between price and the quantity demanded of a good within a given period30
6767689071demand schedulea table of the quantity demanded of a good at different price levels (able to determine quantity demanded)31
6767696904law of diminishing marginal utilitydecreasing satisfaction gained from additional units of a good consumed in a given period32
6767703804law of demandas the price of a good rises, the quantity of that good demanded by consumers falls33
6767711015supply curverelationship between price and quantity supplied of a good in a period of time34
6767715525supply schedulea table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied35
6767719793law of supplyas the price increases, the quantity of a good supplied in a given period will increase, other factors being equal36
6767729074market supply curveindicates the total quantities of a good that suppliers are willing and able to provide at various prices during a given period of time37
6767738664change in demanda movement of the equilibrium along a stationary demand curve38
6767743963shifters of demandTRIBE: tastes/prefereces, related good prices, income of buyers, # of buyers, expectations for the future expanded version: change in tastes/preferences, increase in price of substitute goods, decrease in price of complements, increase in income for normal goods, decrease in income for inferior goods, increase in number of buyers, expectation of higher future income, expectation of higher future prices, expectation of future shortages, lower taxes or higher subsidies, regulations that promote use *remember: demand curve shifts to the right for an increase and left for a decrease39
6767785340normal goodone that the consumer buys more of when income increases40
6767787991inferior goodone that the consumer buys more of when income decreases41
6767792968consumption smoothingthe economic concept used to express the desire of people to have a stable path of consumption42
6767802206shifters of supplyROTTEN: resource costs, other goods' prices (subs and joint products), taxes and subsidides, technology changes, expectations of suppliers, number of suppliers expanded version: a decrease in input costs, and improvement of technology, expectations of lower prices in the future, an increase in the number of sellers, a decrease in the price of a "substitute in production", an increase in the price of "joint product", lower taxes or higher subsidies, less restrictive regulations *remember: supply curve shifts to the right for an increase and left for a decrease43
6767830749joint productsmultiple products generated by a single production process at the same time (i.e. lumber and wood mulch, leather and beef)44
6767841962supply and demand shifts at the same timeequilibrium price OR quantity will be certain, other will depend on the relative size of the shifts; do not know the relative size of the shifts so you can say that the change is indeterminant45
6767863692price ceilingan artificial cap on the price of a good46
6767872641queuing costthe time lost waiting in line, unnecessary if the price were able to reach equilibrium where # of buyers equaled the number of tickets available (refer to page 52 for full explanation)47
6767884914black market transactionsillegal transactions, not counted toward a country's GDP (ie selling drugs)48
6767867405price flooran artificially imposed minimum price49
6767893701minimum wagethe price floor on the price of labor50
6767898384marginal utilitythe additional utility gained from consuming one more unit of a good51
6767906260principle of diminishing marginal utilitysuggests that as one conumes more and more of a good, the additional satisfaction gained from the subsequent units (MU) decreases52
6767902791total utilityfound by adding the marginal utility values gained from each of the units consumed; the total satisfaction received from consuming a given total quantity of a good or service53
6767916799consumer surplusthe value recieved from the purchase of a goods in excess of what is paid for it ( the difference between the total amount that consumers are willing and able to pay for a good or service and the total amount the actually do pay)54
6767936219producer surplusthe difference between the price a seller recieves for a good and the minimum price for which she would be willing to supply a quantity of the good (an economic measure of the difference between the amount a producer of a good receives and the minimum amount the producer is willing to accept for the good)55
6767953779elasticitythe responsiveness to various changes56
6767956240price elasticity of demandthe responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to price changes57
6767966885factors of increase for elasticity of a good's demandPAID: proportion of income spent on the good, availability of close substitutes, importance of the food (luxury vs. necessity), delay--ability to delay purchase of the good expanded version: the numner of close substitutes, the proportion of incomce spent on the good, time, the lack of importance of the good58
6767983414luxurygoods with an elastic demand59
6767989914unit elasticwhere the percentage change in quantity demanded equals the percentage change in price of the demanded good, then demanded good is labeled "unit elastic"60
6767998412inelasticwhere the percentage change in quantity demanded is less than the percentage change in price, demand=inelastic61
6768003072necessitya good that is catergorized based on its inelastic demand62
6768019880elasticity of supplymeasures the responsiveness of the quantity supplied to price changes63
6768040497income elasticity of demandmeasures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded to changes in income64
6768047788cross-price elasticity of demandmeasures the responsiveness of quantity demanded of one good to the price of another65
6768051318complementstwo goods for which an increase in the price of one leads to a decrease in the demand for another (i.e. peanut butter and jelly); inverse relationship between price and demand66
6768062284substitutestwo goods for which an increase in the price of one leads to an increase in the demand for the other (i.e. flip flops and sandals)67
6768074839deadweight loss/excess burden of taxthe fall in total surplus that results from a market distortion, such as tax68
6786369752marginal productthe additional output produced per period when one more unit of input is added, holding the other inputs constant69
6786374586law of diminishing marginal returnsas the amount of one input increased, holding that amounts of all other inputs constant, the incremental gains in output (marginal returns) will eventually decrease70
6786379699total product curveshows the relationship between the total amount of output produced and the number of units of an input used, holding the amounts of other inputs constant71
6786383652fixed costscosts that do not change, when more output is produced72
6786384509variable costscosts that do change when more output is produced73
6786385959total costs=total fixed costs+total variable costs74
6786389651marginal costthe amount by which costs increase when one more unit of output is produced75
6786406603long runability to change the amount of capital and other inputs in the long run has repercussions for both long and short run curves, everything is variable in the long run--there is no fixed cost; lower marginal costs76
6786406604short runthe amount of at least one input (aka factor of production) cannot change, firms can neither enter nor leave in this situation; marginal costs will be higher if the fixed amount of capital held in the short run is more or less the minimizing amount for producing the desired quantity of output77
6786423222economies of scaleenjoyed over the range of output where the long-run average cost curve slopes downward, meaning the cost per unit is falling; can result from increasing returns to sale, from the use of equipment, from the cost of inputs (long run phenomenon)78
6786435106diseconomies of scaleexist over the range of output where LRAC (long run average cost curve) is increasing79
6786439876increasing returns (to scale)exist when output increases (proportionately) more than increases in all inputs80
6786444930decreasing returns (to scale)exist when output increases (proportionately) less than increases in all inputs81
6786447910constant returns (to scale)exist when output increases in proportion to increases in all inputs82
6786453239diminishing (marginal) returnsexist when an additional unit of an input increases total ooutput by less than the previous unit of the input, holding all other inputs constant (short run phenomenon)83
6786459234increasing cost firma firm facing decreasing returns to scale, meaning that output increases less than in proportion to all inputs84
6786460564decreasing cost firma firm facing increasing returns to scale, meaning that out put increases more than in proportion to all inputs85
6786464596increasing cost industryexperiences increases in average production costs as industry output increases, perhaps because input prices are bid upwards by increasing demand; result, a positively sloped long-run supply curve86
6786472571constant cost industryone that does not expereince increased production costs as output grows; result, horizontal long-run supply curve87
6786478225decreasing cost industryexperiences decreasing average production costs as industry output increases, perhaps because mass production of inputs becomes feasible with increased input demand; result, negatively slopped long-run supply curve88
6786484570productive efficiencyoccurs when a firm produces at the lowest unit cost where MC=AC89
6786488421economies of scopeexist when a firm's average production costs decrease because miltiple products are being produced; occurs when the production of two or more products (pork and pigskin) is complementary90
6786497132perfect/pure competitionkey characteristics: many sellers, standardized/homogenous product, firms are "price takers", free entry and exit91
6786526466price takera company that must accept the prevailing prices in the market of its products, its own transactions being unable to affect the market price92
6786529229economic profitstotal revenues minus total costs, with opuurtunity costs included among the costs; the monetary costs and opportunity costs a firm pays and the revenue a firm receives93
6786532683normal profitsan economic condition occurring when the difference between a firm's total revenue and total cost is equal to zero; the minimum level of profit needed for a company to remain competitive in the market94
6786536450accounting profitsprofits determined by subtracting from revenues only the explicit (monetary) cost of production, not such implicit costs as the oppurtunity costs; the monetary costs a firm pays out and the revenue a firm receives. It is the bookkeeping profit, and it is higher than economic profit95
6786550471total revenuethe amount of money taken in from the sale of a good, calculated by multiplying price by the quantity of output sold (TR=PxQ)96
6786556008marginal revenuethe addition to revenue gained when one more unit is sold97
6786557141average revenuethe total revenue divided by quantity98
6786558334profitthe difference between total revenue and total cost99
6786564067shut down decisionfor a firm in a perfectly competitive industry hinges on whether or not the price covers average variable cost100
6786570886monopolythe sole provider of a unique product; demand curve is the entire downward-sloping market demand curve101
6786584517barriersprevent entry of competitors allow successful monopoly firms to sustain economic profits even in the lone run; patents, control of resources, economies of scale and other cost advantages, exculsive licenses102
6786600777price discriminationthe ability to charge different customers different prices that do not reflect differences in production costs; requirements 1) the firm must have market power(must face a downward sloping demand curve) 2) buyers with differing demand elasticities must be separable (case for consumers of different ages/locations) 3)the firm must be able to prevent the resale of its goods so that those paying the lower price cannot resell their goods to those who should pay the higher price103
6786618843perfect price discriminationa firm charges a different price for every unit consumed, the firm is able to charge the maximum possible price for each unit which enables the firm to capture all available consumer surplus for itself and avoiding the need to lower prices104
6786627847oligopolyan industry with a small number of firms selling a standarized or differentiated product; barriers to entry are high, and market power is substantial105
6786630941market powerthe ability of an individual firm to influence price106
6786635175game theoryconsiders the strategic decisions of "players" (including, interdependent oligoplotic firms and consumers) in anticipation of their rivals' reactions107
6786749199pay off matrixa normal-form representation of a game in which players move simultaneously (or at least do not observe the other player's move before making their own) and receive the payoffs as specified for the combinations of actions played108
6786759635dominant strategyA strategy is dominant if, regardless of what any other players do, the strategy earns a player a larger payoff than any other. ... Depending on whether "better" is defined with weak or strict inequalities, the strategy is termed strictly dominant or weakly dominant109
6786764953dominant strategy equilibriumthe general assumption that when each player has a dominant strategy, thos strategies will be followed and the resulting collection of actions110
6786774149Nash equilibriuma term used in game theory to describe an equilibrium where each player's strategy is optimal given the strategies of all other players, exists when there is no unilateral profitable deviation from any of the players involved, occurs whenever two circles appear in the same square111
6786790580prisoner's dilemmaa situation in which two players each have two options whose outcome depends crucially on the simultaneous choice made by the other, often formulated in terms of two prisoners separately deciding whether to confess to a crime112
6786812607natural monopoliesa type of monopoly that exists as a result of the high fixed costs or startup costs of operating a business in a specific industry, can arise in industries that require unique raw materials, technology or other similar factors to operate113
6786840718The Sherman Act(1890) declared attempts to monopolize commerce or restrain trade among the states illegal114
6786844009The Clayton Act(1914) stregthened the Sherman Act by specifying that monopolisitc behavior such as price discrimination, tying contracts, and unlimited mergers are illegal115
6786847949The Robinson-Patman Act(1936) prohibits price discrimination except when it is based on differences in cost and marketability of a product, or good faith effort to meet competition116
6786855325The Celler-Kefauver Act(1950) authorized the government to ban vertical mergers and conglomerate mergers in addition to horizontal mergers117
6786859233vertical mergersmergers of firms at various steps in the production process from raw materials to finished products118
6786865793conglomerate mergerscombinations of firms from unrelated industries119
6786867247horizontal mergersmergers of direct competitors120
6786869204Herfindahl-Herschman Indextakes the market sare of each firm in an industry as a pergentage, squares each percentage, and adds them all up121
6786872137concentration ratioFor the x-firm case, the ration is the sum of the market shares of the largest x firms in an industry, where x can represent any number122
6786879867marginal revenue product of a workerequal to the product of the marginal product of labor (MPL) and the marginal revenue (MR) of output, given by MR×MP: = MRPL. This can be used to determine the optimal number of workers to employ at an exogenously determined market wage rate.123
6786924444monopsonywhen one firm is the sole purchaser of labor services in a market; a market situation in which there is only one buyer124
6786932075marginal factor cost (MFC)the additional cost of hiring one more worker125
6786922899unionsgeneral methods used to increase the wages for their members: increase the demand for labor, decrease the supply for labor, negotiate higher wages126
6786939590bilateral monopolythen there is just one seller and one buyer inthe same market; a market structure consisting of both a monopoly (a single seller) and a monopsony (a single buyer)127
6786944439market failureoccurs when resources are not allocated optimally (allocative efficiency not achieved); can result from imperfect competition, externalities, public goods, imperfect information128
6786948925imperfect informationbuyers and/or sellers do not have full knowledge about available markets, prices, products, customers, suppliers, and so forth129
6786953968externalitiescosts or benefits felt beyond or "external to" those causing the effects130
6786957506negative externalitya cost that is suffered by a third party as a result of an economic transaction131
6786957507positive externalitya benefit that is enjoyed by a third-party as a result of an economic transaction132
6786964988marginal private cost (MPC)the change in the producer's total cost brought about by the production of an additional unit of a good or service133
6786967447marginal external cost (MEC)change in the total cost incurred by households or businesses, associated with a unit-change in the consumption or output of other households or businesses134
6786974628public goodsthose that many individuals beenfit from at the same time, nonrival in consumption and nonexcludeable135
6786979382nonrivalone person's consumption of that good does not affect its consumption by others136
6786981683nonexcludeablegoods that cannot be held back from those who desire access137
6786985536free riderone who attempts to benefit from a public good withour paying for it138
6786990443Lorenz curvea graph on which the cumulative percentage of total national income (or some other variable) is plotted against the cumulative percentage of the corresponding population (ranked in increasing size of share). The extent to which the curve sags below a straight diagonal line indicates the degree of inequality of distribution. IN SHORT it is a graph that represents the distribution/inequality in income or of wealth139
6786999598Gini coefficienta statistical measure of the degree of variation or inequality represented in a set of values, used especially in analyzing income inequality140
6787002929poverty linethe official benchmark of poverty141
6787004204progressive taxa tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases (gov recieves a larger percentage of revenue from families with larger incomes)142
6787011423regressive taxa tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases (collects a larger percentage of revenue from families with smaller incomes)143
6787018060proportional tax(collects the same percentage of income from all families) a tax imposed so that the tax rate is fixed, with no change as the taxable base amount increases or decreases144
6787037886social securitya program that provides cash benefits and health insurance (Medicare) to retired and disabled workers and their families145
6787042640public assistanceaka welfare, typically provides temporary assistance to the very poor146
6787045315supplemental security income (SSI)assists very poor elderly individuals who have virtually no assets and little or no Social Security entitlement147
6787049062unemployment compensationprovides temporary assistance to unemployed workers148
6787050900medicaidprovides health and hospitalization benefits to the poor149
6787055103food stamp and public housingprograms that provide food and shelter for the poor150
6786401160long run151
6786401161short run152

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