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ECO 252 UNIT 1 Flashcards

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462251087Economicsis the study of how individuals and societies choose to use the scarce resources that nature and previous generations have provided.
462251088Opportunity costThe best alternative that we forgo, or give up, when we make a choice or a decision.
462251089Scarcelimited
462251090MarginalismThe process of analyzing the additional or incremental costs or benefits arising from a choice or decision
462251091Sunk CostCosts that cannot be avoided because they have already been incurred.
462251092efficient marketA market in which profit opportunities are eliminated almost instantaneously.
462251093Industrial RevolutionThe period in England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in which new manufacturing technologies and improved transportation gave rise to the modern factory system and a massive movement of the population from the countryside to the cities.
462251094MicroeconomicsThe branch of economics that examines the functioning of individual industries and the behavior of individual decision-making units—that is, firms and households
462251095MacroeconomicsThe branch of economics that examines the economic behavior of aggregates—income, employment, output, and so on—on a national scale.
462251096Positive EconomicsAn approach to economics that seeks to understand behavior and the operation of systems without making judgments. It describes what exists and how it works.
462251097Normative EconomicsAn approach to economics that analyzes outcomes of economic behavior, evaluates them as good or bad, and may prescribe courses of action. Also called policy economics.
462251098descriptive economicsThe compilation of data that describe phenomena and facts.
462251099economic theoryA statement or set of related statements about cause and effect, action and reaction.
462251100modelA formal statement of a theory, usually a mathematical statement of a presumed relationship between two or more variables.
462251101variableA measure that can change from time to time or from observation to observation.
462251102Ockham's razorThe principle that irrelevant detail should be cut away.
462251103ceteris paribusor all else equal A device used to analyze the relationship between two variables while the values of other variables are held unchanged.
462251104Methods of expressing the quantitative relationship between two variables:Graphing Equations
462251105post hoc, ergo propter hocLiterally, "after this (in time), therefore because of this." A common error made in thinking about causation: If Event A happens before Event B, it is not necessarily true that A caused B.
462251106fallacy of compositionThe erroneous belief that what is true for a part is necessarily true for the whole.
462251107Empirical EconomicsThe collection and use of data to test economic theories.
462251108Criteria for judging economic outcomes:1. Efficiency 2. Equity 3. Growth 4. Stability
462251109efficiencyIn economics, allocative efficiency. An efficient economy is one that produces what people want at the least possible cost
462251110equityFairness
462251111economic growthAn increase in the total output of an economy.
462251112stabilityA condition in which national output is growing steadily, with low inflation and full employment of resources
462392847aggregate behaviorThe behavior of all households and firms together.
462392848sticky pricesPrices that do not always adjust rapidly to maintain equality between quantity supplied and quantity demanded
462392849Three of the major concerns of macroeconomics are:Output growth Unemployment Inflation and deflation
462392850Business CycleThe cycle of short-term ups and downs in the economy.
462392851Aggregate OutputThe total quantity of goods and services produced in an economy in a given period.
462392852RecessionA period during which aggregate output declines. Conventionally, a period in which aggregate output declines for two consecutive quarters.
462392853DepressionA prolonged and deep recession.
462392854expansion or boomThe period in the business cycle from a trough up to a peak during which output and employment grow.
462392855contraction, recession, or slumpThe period in the business cycle from a peak down to a trough during which output and employment fall.
462392856unemployment rateThe percentage of the labor force that is unemployed.
462392857inflationAn increase in the overall price level.
462392858hyperinflationA period of very rapid increases in the overall price level.
462392859DeflationA decrease in the overall price level.
462392860circular flowA diagram showing the income received and payments made by each sector of the economy.
462392861transfer paymentsCash payments made by the government to people who do not supply goods, services, or labor in exchange for these payments. They include Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, and welfare payments.
462392862Components of the MacroeconomyHouseholds. Firms. The government. The rest of the world.
462392863Three Market ArenasThe goods-and-services market. The labor market. The money (financial) market.
462392864Goods-and-Services MarketFirms supply to the goods-and-services market. Households, the government, and firms demand from this market.
462392865Labor MarketIn this market, households supply labor and firms and the government demand labor.
462392866Money MarketHouseholds supply funds to this market in the expectation of earning income in the form of dividends on stocks and interest on bonds. Much of the borrowing and lending of households, firms, the government, and the rest of the world are coordinated by financial institutions
462392867DividendsThe portion of a firm's profits that the firm pays out each period to its shareholders
462392868shares of stockFinancial instruments that give to the holder a share in the firm's ownership and therefore the right to share in the firm's profits.
462392869corporate bondsPromissory notes issued by firms when they borrow money.
462392870Treasury bonds, notes, and billsPromissory notes issued by the federal government when it borrows money.
462392871fiscal policyGovernment policies concerning taxes and spending.
462392872monetary policyThe tools used by the Federal Reserve to control the quantity of money, which in turn affects interest rates.
462392873Great DepressionThe period of severe economic contraction and high unemployment that began in 1929 and continued throughout the 1930s.
462392874fine-tuningThe phrase used by Walter Heller to refer to the government's role in regulating inflation and unemployment.
462392875stagflationA situation of both high inflation and high unemployment
471472663consumer price index (CPI)A price index computed each month by the Bureau of labor Statistics using a bundle that is meant to represent the "market basket" purchased monthly by typical urban consumer.
471472664cyclical unemploymentUnemployment that is above frictional plus structural unemployment
471472665discouraged-worker effectThe decline in the measured unemployment rate that results when people who want to work but cannot find jobs grow discouraged and stop looking, thus dropping out of the ranks of the unemployed and the labor force.
471472666employedAny person 16 years old or older (1) who works for pay, either for someone else or in his or her own business for 1 or more hours per week, (2) who works without pay for 15 or more hours per week in a family enterprise, or (3) who has a job but has been temporarily absent with or without pay.
471472667frictional unemploymentthe portion of unemployment that is due to the normal turnover in the labor market; used to denote short-run job/skill matching problems
471472668labor forceThe number of people employed plus the number of unemployed.
471472669labor force participation rateThe ratio of the labor force to the total population 16 years old or older.
471472670natural rate of unemploymentthe unemployment that occurs as a normal part of the functioning of the economy. Sometimes taken as the sum of frictional unemployment rate and structural unemployment.
471472671not in the labor forcea person who is not looking for work because he or she does not want a job or has given up looking
471472672output growthThe growth rate of the output of the entire economy.
471472673per-capita output growththe growth rate of output per person in the economy
471472674producer price indexes (PPIs)Measures of prices that producers receive for products at all stages in the production process.
471472675Productivity GrowthThe growth rate of output per worker.
471472676real interest rateThe difference between the interest rate on a loan and the inflation rate.
471472677structural unemploymentthe portion of unemployment that is due to changes in the structure of the economy that result in a significant loss of jobs in certain industries
471472678unemployedA person 16 years old or older who is not working, is available for work, and has made specific efforts to find work during the previous 4 weeks.
471472679unemployment rateThe ratio of the number of people unemployed to the total number of people in the labor force
471472680labor force (equation)employed + unemployed
471472681population (equation)labor force + not in labor force
471472682unemployment rate (equation)unemployed / ( employed +unemployed )
471472683labor force participation rate (equation)labor force/population
471782151Treasury bonds, notes and billsPrommissory notes issued by the federal government when it borrows money.
471782152base yearThe year chosen for the weights in a fixed-weight procedure.
471782153change in business inventoryThe amount by which firms' inventories change during a period. Inventories are the goods that firms produce now but intend to sell later.
471782154compensation of employeesIncludes wages, salaries, and various supplements—employer contributions to social insurance and pension funds, for example—paid to households by firms and by the government.
471782155corporate profitsThe income of corporations.
471782156current dollarsThe current prices that we pay for goods and services.
471782157depreciationThe amount by which an asset's value falls in a given period.
471782158disposable personal income or after-tax incomePersonal income minus personal income taxes. The amount that households have to spend or save.
471782159durable goodsGoods that last a relatively long time, such as cars and household appliances.
471782160expenditure approachA method of computing GDP that measures the total amount spent on all final goods and services during a given period.
471782161final goods and servicesGoods and services produced for final use.
471782162fixed weight procedureA procedure that uses weights from a given base year.
471782163government consumption and gross investment (G)Expenditures by federal, state, and local governments for final goods and services.
471782164gross domestic product (GDP)The total market value of all final goods and services produced within a given period by factors of production located within a country.
471782165Gross investmentThe total value of all newly produced capital goods (plant, equipment, housing, and inventory) produced in a given period.
471782166gross national income (GNI)GNP converted into dollars using an average of currency exchange rates over several years adjusted for rates of inflation.
471782167Gross National Product (GNP)The total market value of all final goods and services produced within a given period by factors of production owned by a country's citizens, regardless of where the output is produced.
471782168Gross Private Domestic Investment (I)Total investment in capital—that is, the purchase of new housing, plants, equipment, and inventory by the private (or nongovernment) sector.
471782169Income ApproachA method of computing GDP that measures the income—wages, rents, interest, and profits—received by all factors of production in producing final goods and services.
471782170Indirect taxes minus subsidiesTaxes such as sales taxes, customs duties, and license fees less subsidies that the government pays for which it receives no goods or services in return.
471782171intermediate goodsGoods that are produced by one firm for use in further processing by another firm.
471782172National IncomeThe total income earned by the factors of production owned by a country's citizens.
471782173National Income and product accountsData collected and published by the government describing the various components of national income and output in the economy.
471782174Net Business transfer paymentsNet transfer payments by businesses to others.
471782175Net Exports (EX-IM)The difference between exports (sales to foreigners of U.S.-produced goods and services) and imports (U.S. purchases of goods and services from abroad). The figure can be positive or negative.
471782176Net InterestThe interest paid by business.
471782177Net InvestmentsGross investment minus depreciation.
471782178Net National product (NNP)Gross national product minus depreciation; a nation's total product minus what is required to maintain the value of its capital stock.
471782179Nominal GDPGross domestic product measured in current dollars.
471782180Nondurable goodsGoods that are used up fairly quickly, such as food and clothing.
471782181nonresidential investmentsExpenditures by firms for machines, tools, plants, and so on.
471782182personal consumption expenditures (C)Expenditures by consumers on goods and services.
471782183personal incomeThe total income of households.
471782184personal savingsThe amount of disposable income that is left after total personal spending in a given period.
471782185personal savings rateThe percentage of disposable personal income that is saved. If the personal saving rate is low, households are spending a large amount relative to their incomes; if it is high, households are spending cautiously.
471782186Proprietors incomeThe income of unincorporated businesses.
471782187rental incomeThe income received by property owners in the form of rent.
471782188residential investmentsExpenditures by households and firms on new houses and apartment buildings.
471782189servicesThe things we buy that do not involve the production of physical things, such as legal and medical services and education.
471782190statistical discrepancyData measurement error.
471782191surplus of government enterprisesIncome of government enterprises.
471782192underground economyThe part of the economy in which transactions take place and in which income is generated that is unreported and therefore not counted in GDP.
471782193value addedThe difference between the value of goods as they leave a stage of production and the cost of the goods as they entered that stage.
471782194weightThe importance attached to an item within a group of items.
471782195Expenditure approach to GDPC+I+G+(EX-IM)
471782196GDPFinal Sales + Change in business inventories
471782197Net InvestmentCapital end of period - Capital beginning of period

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