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Econ Chapter 1
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Economics | the study of the choices that people make to satisfy their needs and wants |
economist | person who studies the economic choices |
Microeconomics | the study of the choices made by economic actors such as households, companies, and individual markets |
Macroeconomics | examines the behavior of entire economics |
consumers | people who decide to buy things |
producers | the people who make the things that satisfy consumers needs and wants |
goods | physical objects that can be purchased |
services | actions or activities that are performed for a fee |
resource | anything that people use to make or obtain what they need or want |
factors of production | natural resources, human resources, capital resources, and entrepreneurship |
natural resources | items provided by nature that can be used to produce goods and to provide services |
human resource | any human effort exerted during production |
capital resources | the manufactured materials used to create products |
capital goods | the buildings, structures, machinery, and tools used in the production process |
consumer goods | the goods and services that people buy |
Technology | the use of technical knowledge and methods to create new products or make existing products more efficiently |
entrepreneur | is a person who attempts to start a new business or introduce a new product |
scarcity | most basic problem of economics |
allocate | distribute resources in order to satisfy the greatest number of needs and wants |
Productivity | the level of output that results from a given level of input |
efficiency | the use of the smallest amount of resources to produce the greatest amount of output |
division of labor | assigning a small number of tasks to each worker |
specialization | the focus of a worker on only one or a few aspects of production in order to improve efficiency |
opportunity cost | the value of the next best alternative that is given up to obtain the preferred item |
trade-off | the sacrifice of one good in order to purchase or produce another |
production possibilities | shows all possible combinations of two goods or services that can be produced within a period given two important assumptions |
exchange | the process by which producers and consumers agree to provide one type of item in return for another |
barter | the direct exchange of goods and services without the use of money |
Money | any item that is regularly excepted by people in return for goods or services |
credit | a form of exchange that allows consumers to use items with a promise of repaying over a specified time |
utility | the usefulness of a good or service that contributes to its value |
self-sufficiency | the ability to fulfill all of ones needs without assistance |
Interdependence | the relationship of neutral reliance and influence among people, businesses, industries,regions, and nations |