ECN 340 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Decision Rule, Greedy Reductionism, Opportunity Cost

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25 Apr 2017

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Thinking about people: focus is the individual, social goals reflect individual values; society is not independent from individuals, focusing on individual means avoiding greedy reductionism. examples: young people are. Individual has values, makes changes and takes action all ; baby boom generation is selfish etc Thinking about rationality: human beings act with a purpose; we assume each knows what he/she is doing and knows what he/she wants. Insatiability: problem of uncertainty in trying to max our satisfaction- but in doing so, people choose an. Individuals prefer more to less of what they want- they are insatiable. action each believes will give greatest satisfaction, but choices may not turn out. I. e. choosing a spouse may not work out late; choosing a field or job specialization may later prove to be unwise because there are no jobs: no knowledge of the future. The rich have a higher opportunity cost therefore, would you take a bus from vancouver to.

Related Questions

Economics is nothing more than the study of scarcity and choice. It's called the Economizing Problem.

Economics is also the study of human action---why people make the choices they do.

We have finite (limited) resources and infinite (unlimited) demand for goods and services. We must, therefore, use rational decisions as to how to allocate these resources so that we can produce the goods and services that satisfy as many needs and wants as possible.

Needs are those things that make life possible---food, clothing, shelter, etc. Wants are the things that make life easier---glass in windows, carpet on the floor, a refrigerator to keep your beer cold, etc.

The resources we are trying to use wisely are not confined to money. We are talking about talent, ability, drive, ambition, etc. We can't all be brain surgeons. Nor would most of us want to be. We have different needs and wants that drive our ambitions. I have 5 grandchildren. The oldest two are twins---a boy and a girl. My granddaughter graduated from Idaho University with a bachelor's and a master's degree in accounting in 5 years. She passed the CPA exam on the first try. She now lives in Panama and works for BMW. She speaks, reads, and writes 4 languages, including English. Her brother finally graduated from the University of Arkansas in May 2016 after 8 years! Why did it happen this way?? They were raised the same way by the same parents. Why was my granddaughter drove to succeed and my grandson so listless?

Then there is subjective valuation and opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is nothing more than what you have to give up to do something else. Some of you might have to roll out of the bar or the party a little before you wanted to leave just to be able to attend my class. You might also have to give up some precious sleep. In any event, you had to give up something to attend my class. That's the opportunity cost. Remember, everything you do has a price (opportunity cost) that must be paid according to Harry Browne who wrote, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.) To do one thing you must give up the opportunity to do something else.

When people decide to buy a product or service they must decide if it will satisfy a need or want at a price they are willing to pay. The number one reason that people buy the products or services they do is called Personal Tastes or Preferences (Subjective valuation). Everyone has a different price they are willing to pay for the same product or service. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. That's a subjective valuation. Each of us has a different intensity of demand for the same products. Things you want I may not care for at all, and the opposite may also be true. This is why there is such a variety of goods and services offered on the market.

Subjective valuation is also fluid. As your income goes either up or down it changes your valuation of products and services. Have you ever wanted something so bad you would do almost anything to get it---an i phone or I pad?---but once you get the money you think, "do I really want this?' and you don't buy it. This is common. If it were not for a subjective valuation we would all be wearing the same style and color clothes and living in similar houses, etc. Wouldn't that be a wonderful world! I'd find the tallest building in downtown Orlando and see if I could fly! It is not the similarity in people that interests me. It's the differences. It's my desire not to be like everyone else that has driven my life. Don't strive to be someone else. Strive to find and be yourself. God save me from a terminal case of conventional wisdom!

There are 5 embedded questions.

Give me an example of subjective valuation.

salmoneel837

1.The production possibilities frontier can be used to demonstrate which of the following?
(i) The best tradeoffs that individuals and societies should make
(ii) The tradeoffs forced on individuals and societies because of scarcity
(iii) The wealth maximizing output combination that an individual or society should choose

Select one:

a. (ii) only

b. (i), (ii) and (ii)

c. (i) only

d. (iii) only

2. Unlimited wants and limited resources:

Select one:

a. Can be overcome through innovation

b. Are not problems faced by wealthy industrialized nations

c. Necessitate choices about the goods to services to consume

d. Can be overcome by increasing wealth

3. What are the two sub-fields of economics?

Select one:

a. For-profit economics and not-for-profit economics

b. Private markets and the public sector

c. Microeconomics and macroeconomics

d. Market and non-market economics

4. What do economists mean by "self-interested behavior"?

Select one:

a. It means undertaking activities that benefit yourself and a small group of others who are important to you

b. It means undertaking activities motivated by greed

c. It means undertaking activities that maximize one's own welfare

d. It means wanting to pursue a life of leisure

5. When economists say that people act rationally, they mean that:

Select one:

a. People do not make incorrect choices

b. People are governed by what others think about them and act accordingly

c. People consider the significant consequences of their actions and make decisions that further their self-interests

d. There are certain common codes of conduct that everyone adheres to

6. Which of the following actions reflect self-interested behavior?
(i) Warren Buffett, one of the world's wealthiest individuals, donated more than $30 billion to humanitarian causes such as AIDS and tuberculosis initiatives.
(ii) Pfizer Inc., a private pharmaceutical company, sponsored a disease-management program for Florida's Medicaid patients with chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
(iii) You agree to babysit your 8-year-old brother instead of going to a kick-boxing class.
(iv) You agree to babysit your 8-year-old brother instead of going to a kick-boxing class only if your mother pays you $8 an hour.

Select one:

a. All of the above actions except (iii)

b. All of the above actions

c. (ii) and (iii) only

d. (iv) only

7. Which of the following does not qualify as a market?

Select one:

a. Bloomingdales Department Store

b. The underground drug trade

c. Amazon.com

d. The French Immigration Department

8. Which of the following is not a key assumption of economics?

Select one:

a. People do not undertake activities that make others better off

b. People are self-interested

c. People have limited resources to acquire their wants

d. People are rational

9. Which of the following is not likely to cause the production possibility frontier to shift out?

Select one:

a. An increase in the quantity of innovations

b. An increase in specialization which allows people to develop higher levels of skill at their chosen profession

c. Developing markets where self-interested individuals can interact

d. Relying only on governments to allocate resources

10. Which of the following statements is false?

Select one:

a. Scarcity affects everyone, including very wealthy people

b. Rational people never make mistakes

c. Economists assume people are rational

d. Economists assume people have unlimited desires

11. Which of the following statements is false?

Select one:

a. When you volunteer to help at a soup kitchen, you face an opportunity cost of your time

b. Mother Teresa faced trade-offs when deciding to help lepers in India rather than some other needy group

c. Economics brings tradeoffs to light but does not inform us of which trade-offs society should make

d. When the government funds research into cancer, it is able to avoid trade-offs because public funds are used rather than private funds

12. Which of the following topics does economics study: (i) the study of human behavior; (ii) the market for organ transplants; (iii) cost and benefits of building a suicide barrier in the Golden Gate Bridge; (iv) the functioning of political institutions.

Select one:

a. (i) and (iii) only

b. (ii) and (iii) only

c. All of the topics listed

d. All of the topics except (iv)

13. Which the following would be likely to raise your opportunity cost of going to college full-time?
(i) You have been offered a full-time job as wardrobe assistant to Paris Hilton that pays $60,000 per year.
(ii) You have been offered a merit scholarship that pays for two years of tuition.
(iii) Your landlord increases the rent on the apartment you are currently living in and will continue to live in even if you choose to attend college full-time.
(iv) An increase in the value of your college trust fund set up by your grandfather.

Select one:

a. All of the above

b. (i) and (iii) only

c. All of the above except (ii)

d. (i) only

14. While microeconomics is concerned with the behavior of individuals and firms, macroeconomics:

Select one:

a. Does not make use of "micro" ideas such as opportunity cost or self-interest

b. Is concerned with the performance of entire economies

c. Is concerned with normative matters such as fairness, equality and ethics

d. Is only concerned with government activity

15. You own a Ford car that has lousy gas mileage. You finally trade it for a Hyundai, which is equal in virtually every aspect except that the Hyundai gets much better mileage. What is likely to happen to your gas consumption?

Select one:

a. I get better gas mileage and since the cost of driving has gone down, I will drive more so my gas consumption will remain the same

b. It will fall since I will now use less gas

c. I get better gas mileage and since the cost of driving has gone down, I will drive more so the effect on my gas consumption is indeterminate

d. It will go up since I will now drive more

azurewoodchuck319

Q3. The assumption of rational self-interest implies that people will choose to enrich themselves even if doing so violates the rights or property of others.

a. true

b. false

Q4. If you can earn $10 an hour as a retail clerk, $12 an hour as an office assistant, $16 an hour as a house painter, and $20 an hour repairing bicycles, what is your opportunity cost of working to repair bicycles?

a. $12 an hour

b. $10 an hour

c. $20 an hour

d. $16 an hour

Q5. In the graph of a production possibilities curve, both the horizontal and vertical axes measure the annual quantities of goods produced.

a. true

b. false

Q6. Scarcity arises because

a. international companies are slow to explore for new resources.

b. resources are finite and unable to meet all human wants and needs.

c. many countries waste goods because of inefficient political systems.

d. import taxes retard production.

Q7. A production possibilities curve with clothing and food on the axes shows which of the following?

I. A society cannot have an unlimited amount of each good.

II. For an efficient society, an increase in clothing production will necessitate a decrease in food production.

III. A society will always produce the maximum amount of both clothing and food.

a. II only

b. I only

c. III only

d. both I and II

Q8. All points on the production possibilities curve are efficient.

a. true

b. false

Q9. Economic growth can be pictured in a production possibilities curve diagram by

a. shifting the production possibilities curve out.

b. moving from right to left along the curve.

c. moving from left to right along the curve.

d. shifting the production possibilities curve in.

Q10. Suppose the current unemployment rate is 15 percent. If it rises to 20 percent,

a. the production possibilities curve will shift inward.

b. the economy will move closer to the production possibilities curve.

c. the economy will operate further inside the production possibilities curve.

d. the economy will move up along the production possibilities curve.

Q11. Clean air is a scarce resource.

a. true

b. false

Q12. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

a. A good is anything that gives satisfaction or happiness to individuals.

b. Wants may include humanitarian and altruistic goals.

c. Wants are unlimited and include all material and nonmaterial desires.

d. Economic goods are available in desired quantities at a zero price.

Q13. The current size of the U.S. labor force is less than 100 million workers.

a. true

b. false

Q14. The factors of production are

a. never as useful as people expect them to be.

b. valuable only because they are owned by corporations seeking to make a profit from them.

c. scarce resources.

d. abundant without limit on the planet.

Q15. Why do firms seek to use the least-cost combination of inputs?

a. because they won't be able to stay in business if they don't

b. because that is the combination that their employees prefer

c. because managers and supervisors find their jobs are easiest when the least-cost combination is used

d. because they want to keep costs low in order to appear to the media as a well-run business

Q16. Which one of the following best describes how economists view prices?

a. Low prices are good; high prices are bad.

b. High prices are good; low prices are bad.

c. The best price is a fair price.

d. Prices are signals of relative scarcity.

Q17. The person who creates a product innovation and brings it to market is providing the resource of

a. labor.

b. land.

c. entrepreneurship.

d. capital.

Q18. Gifts of nature used in the production process are considered

a. entrepreneurship.

b. labor.

c. land.

d. capital.

Q19. In a free market economy,

a. government decides what is produced, and producers decide who gets to consume it.

b. as a good becomes relatively more scarce, its price declines.

c. firms choose only to produce the most fashionable goods, regardless of the cost of production.

d. goods and services are allocated by a price system.

Q20. Resources are also known as

a. stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.

b. minerals.

c. factors of production.

d. factories.

Q21. The size of the U.S. labor force has declined over the past 20 years as many jobs have been outsourced from the United States to other countries.

a. true

b. false

Q22. Which one of the following is TRUE?

a. The growth of the U.S. population over the next several decades will come from immigration.

b. Population growth makes a country poorer, because there are more mouths to feed.

c. Real per capita GDP can increase only if there is inflation.

d. Real per capita GDP can increase only if there is no inflation.

Q23. Which one of the following is FALSE?

a. The U.S. labor force will continue to grow through immigration.

b. Inflation stops economic growth.

c. Increased availability of reliable communication channels at lower and lower costs have led to companies relocating their manufacturing operations offshore.

d. The size of the U.S. labor force continues to grow despite many jobs being moved off-shore.

Q24. What is the purpose of a market system?

a. to facilitate efficient exchange

b. to encourage consumers to buy goods on credit

c. to ensure an equal distribution of income

d. to ensure that everyone is treated fairly

Q25. The market system is also called the price system because

a. people pay money in markets.

b. everything has a price tag.

c. rising prices are the signal to producers to make more of a particular good.

d. inflation is a disturbing problem.

Q26. Production refers to

a. any activity that causes a material conversion of an object.

b. any activity that results in the conversion of resources into goods and services that can be consumed.

c. any activity carried on by a firm, whether a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship.

d. physically producing material goods only.

Q27. An increase in the price of coffee, holding other things constant, will

a. decrease the demand for coffee.

b. increase the demand for coffee.

c. decrease the quantity of coffee demanded.

d. decrease the supply of coffee.

Q28. The supply curve shifts when the firm experiences a change in its production technology.

a. true

b. false

Q29. A surplus results when the quantity supplied exceeds the quantity demanded.

a. true

b. false

Q30. Table 3.1

Price per Constant-Quality Unit Quantity Demanded of Constant-Quality Units per Year Quantity Supplied of Constant-Quality Units per Year

$1.00 1,000 200

2.00 800 400

3.00 600 600

4.00 400 800

5.00 200 1,000

What condition characterizes a surplus?

a. Quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded.

b. Quantity demanded exceeds quantity supplied.

c. Consumers are unhappy with the price.

d. Producers are unhappy with the price.

Q31. An increase in quantity demanded is caused by

a. an increase in income.

b. a decrease in the price of a complement.

c. a change in expectations about price in the future.

d. a decrease in the price of the good.

Q32. The demand curve is downward sloping because

a. price and quantity have a direct relationship.

b. price is always constant.

c. demand is based on supply.

d. price and quantity have an inverse relationship.

Q33. An increase in the price of one good will decrease the demand for a substitute good.

a. true

b. false

Q34. The market demand curve is the vertical summation of the demand curves of all the individuals in the market.

a. true

b. false

Q35. The equilibrium price of a good is a price that everyone is happy with.

a. true

b. false

Q36. Which one of the following would cause a rightward shift of the supply curve?

a. A new tax is imposed on production of the good.

b. Some firms that have been producing the good go out of business.

c. Firms producing the good find ways of lowering their production costs.

d. There is an increase in demand for the good.

Q37. Which of the following is a determinant of demand?

a. cost of production

b. number of suppliers

c. technology of production

d. income

Q38. The market demand curve for a particular good

a. will not be affected by any of the determinants of individual demand.

b. is the horizontal sum of each individual demand curve for the good.

c. will show a direct relationship between price and quantity demanded.

d. may be less than an individual demand curve for the good.

Q39. Table 4.4

Quantity of CDs Purchased Total Utility Marginal Utility

1 75

2 135

3 185

4 35

5 25

6 15

According to Table 4.4, what is the total utility when six CDs are purchased?

a. 65

b. 260

c. 120

d. 220

Q40. A rational consumer will never purchase a product when its

a. marginal utility is decreasing.

b. total utility is decreasing.

c. marginal utility is slightly positive.

d. marginal utility is negative.

Q41. The price elasticity of demand becomes relatively greater as more substitutes are easily available.

a. true

b. false

Q42. Which of the following statements is true with respect to total utility and marginal utility?

a. Marginal utility is always equal to total utility.

b. Total utility will always be negative when marginal utility is positive.

c. Total utility is minimized when marginal utility is zero.

d. Marginal utility can decline as total utility rises.

Q43. Table 4.3

Quantityof Soda Marginal Utility of Soda Quantityof Pizza Marginal Utility of Pizza

1 50 1 100

2 25 2 80

3 0 3 60

4 -25 4 40

After consuming what quantity of soda does the consumer in Table 4.3 experience diminishing marginal utility?

a. 2

b. 3

c. 1

d. 4

Q44. If the price elasticity of demand is 0.5, a 10 percent increase in the price will cause

a. the quantity demanded to decrease by 20 percent.

b. the quantity demanded to decrease by 50 percent.

c. the quantity demanded to increase by 50 percent.

d. the quantity demanded to decrease by 5 percent.

Q45. Which one of the following would make the demand for satellite subscription TV relatively less elastic?

a. The cost of administering the satellite service is lowered.

b. Cable TV service becomes less widely available.

c. Other networks of wireless entertainment become more widely available.

d. The cost of transmitting satellite signals is lowered.

Q46. A price increase will cause a relatively large drop in quantity demanded when

a. demand is perfectly inelastic.

b. the price elasticity of demand is 0.

c. there is very little time allowed for consumers to react.

d. the consumer has easy access to a number of substitute goods.

Q47. Table 4.6

Price Quantity Demanded

$20 90

$16 110

$12 130

$ 8 150

According to the data in Table 4.6, what is the elasticity of demand between a price of $20 and a price of $16?

a. 0.60

b. 0.75

c. 0.90

d. 1.25

Q48. Price elasticity of demand is the responsiveness

a. of the quantity demanded to changes in supply.

b. of the quantity demanded to changes in income.

c. of the quantity demanded to changes in price.

d. of the quantity demanded to changes in quantity.

Q49. Everyone who views the latest adventure movie in theaters will derive the same utility from seeing it.

a. true

b. false

Q50. The law of diminishing marginal utility asserts that total utility becomes negative when marginal utility begins to diminish.

a. true

b. false

ECN 340 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Decision Rule, Greedy Reductionism, Opportunity Cost

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