ECON 2133 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Full Employment, Real Interest Rate, Fisher Equation
Document Summary
Economics- the allocation of scarce resources among alternative competing ends. 6+ billion people worldwide; 330 million people in usa. Demography- the study of population characteristics (geographically, ethnically, educationally, etc. ) and dynamics (how is it changing over time). Rural china, 160 males per 100 females because the #1 son takes care of parents so they were more valued. Scarcity- finite resources with infinite wants. (cid:498)necessitates choice! (cid:499) Economics is the science of optimal choice making! Economics pie, . 5 trillion, making usa the largest piece of world pie. * allocation (mechanisms) is (are) used to divide the pie. Markets- laws of supply and demand, driven by individual choice (i. e. singapore) vs. Government control- government spends or redistributes how the money is allocated (i. e. north korea) Mixed economy- the (cid:498)what to produce(cid:499), (cid:498)(ow to produce(cid:499), and (cid:498)who to produce for(cid:499) questions are not easily answered. A mix of individuals and government make the decision. Value judgments (cid:498)what we should/ought to be doing(cid:499)
