ECN 001A Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Opportunity Cost, Invisible Hand, Externality

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sangrialion135

16 May 2018

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4/4/18: LECTURE 1

CHAPTER 1: 10 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS

• WHAT ECONOMICS IS ALL ABOUT

o scarcity: limitations of society’s resources (factors of production) to satisfy needs and

wants efficiently

▪ Cannot produce all the goods and services people wish to have

▪ can be restrictions of time, money, abilities, etc.

▪ We choose how to use our scarce resources to satisfy our unlimited wants

o Economics: study of how society manages its scarce resources

▪ how people decide what to buy, how much to work, save, and spend

▪ how firms decide how much to produce and how many workers to hire, what

to produce

▪ How society decides to decide its resources between national defense,

consumer goods, protecting the environment, and other needs

• THE PRINCIPLES OF HOW PEOPLE MAKE DECISIONS

o 1. People Face Tradeoffs

▪ all decisions involve trade offs (a loss and a gain)

• Going to party before midterm: less time to study

• Having more money to buy stuff requires longer work hours: leaves

less time for fun

▪ due to limited resources

▪ society faces an important trade off: efficiency vs. equality

• Efficiency: when society gets the most from its scarce resources

• Equality: when prosperity is distributed uniformly among society’s

members

• Trade off faced: to achieve greater equality, could redistribute income

from wealthy to poor. But this reduces incentive to work and produce,

shrinks the size of the economic “pie”

▪ Taxes versus Government Spending

• taxes reduce market efficiency

• taxes used to support a range of goods and services: roads, police,

schools, etc.

o 2. The Cost of Something is What You Give Up to Get It

▪ making decisions requires comparing the costs and benefits of alternative

choices

▪ Opportunity Cost: whatever must be given up to obtain an item

• the thing you would be doing if not have taken on the opportunity

• Examples:

o Going to college for a year not only tuition, books, and fees,

but also the foregone wages from working a job

o Seeing movie is not only ticket price, but the value of the time

spent in theatre

o 3. Rational People Think at the Margin

▪ Rational People:

• systematically and purposefully do the best they can to achieve their

objectives

• make decisions by evaluating costs and benefits of marginal changes

o marginal changes: incremental adjustments to an existing

plan

o Ex: when a student considers whether to go to college for

another year

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But this reduces incentive to work and produce, shrinks the size of the economic pie : taxes versus government spending taxes reduce market efficiency taxes used to support a range of goods and services: roads, police, schools, etc, 2. Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity home: market: a group of buyers and sellers (need not be in a single location) If the market distribution of economic well-being is not desirable, tax, or welfare policies can change how the economic pie is divided: the principles of how the economy as a whole works, 8. A country"s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and. Prices rise when the gov prints too much money. Society faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment. In the short-run (1-2 years), many economic policies push inflation and unemployment in opposite directions.

Related Questions

Need help revising, and recommendation for a conclusion.

Throughout this paper is my understanding of what I have learned in class chapters 1-4, expressing my understanding and opinions. Economics is the study of how we deal with scarce resources. Microeconomics specially deals with business in the home country exclusively. This type of economics affects small businesses in the home country only. On the other hand, macroeconomics concerns our national welfare concerning trade and international business.

I believe that many things affect our economy on a microeconomics level. Things such as our understanding of our country in reflection to the world are very important. That is why we study ourselves before we study the macroeconomic principle of the world. Understanding ourselves is what microeconomics teaches us. Working from the inside out. The world is a place where there are differences in our wants and what we get. That is what makes items scarce. That is what positive economics is. Positive economics deals with what is and what we have. The other type of economics is called normative statements. This deals with what we should receive instead of what is and deserved to some extent. It's our scarce resources that determine our allocation of resources and how we use our resources and time. This is where opportunity costs come in, giving up something to do something. A successful business or country never ignores opportunity costs. We must ensure that we have a comparative advantage instead of the absolute advantage. Our resources must be used to achieve maximum output. Comparative is met when we have fewer opportunity costs to make some certain products than the other person or entity.

My initial understanding was scarcity was oil potentially running out, but we have so much of it that you can always find more with techniques such as fracking. Now it's obvious to me, one of our most scarce resources is time. You cannot avoid the 8,760 hours in a year. I understand that people have unlimited wants but limited resources. Everything has a cost and we must make a choice as we don't have unlimited farms, factories workers, etc. scarcity forces choices and this ties in with opportunity cost, for every gun made, a theft from the hungry is made. The opportunity cost not being used to feed the poor, but to make guns. And I find it easy to understand no one can have everything choices must be made on benefits. If I'm going to school, imp giving up making cash, as I'm giving up money for an education, I value education more. Scarcity is also related to the invisible hand. As it's an achievement that leads free markets and capitalism through competition for scarce resources.

My understanding of the invisible hand is a person neither intends to promote public interest and does not know how much he is promoting it. Only intending on his own gain. Without being his intention a person can be lead by the invisible hand to do good for society by pursuing one's own self-interest. Going into equity and efficiency the invisible hand does ensure both equity and efficiency. People work in their selfish ways to maximize profit while also contributing to the economy as a whole. It can also be argued that as the invisible hand wants to ensure efficiency, it cannot guarantee efficiency, because it can fail to produce an efficient allocation of resources, which in turn lead to a market failure. It can also be argued that it can't guarantee equity because not everyone gets a fair price. The way I like to remember efficiency is with a real-life example, like a reduction in the number of workers needed to produce a particular good for a particular amount. Equity refers to the ownership interest in an asset, for example, if a person owns a house with a market value of $800,000 and owes $100,000 on the mortgage leaving a $700,000 equity in the home.

It can be predicted that if the price of beef increases - ceteris paribus-the quantity of beef demanded by buys will decrease. In other words, if the price of beef increases, then the quantity of beef increases, then the quantity of beef demanded will decrease because all things have to be equal. In-class lecture thought me all other things remaining the same. Economists use ceteris paribus to determine the effect of a factor when all other factors have been held the same and helps simplify the study and get a more refined data set.

Economists deal with many issues that pertain to assuring that both a countries domestic output is efficient and that there is an effective trade balance. This means that there are a balance and limit on the amount of imports. Also, this means home production must be able to meet export demands. There are many factors that affect the production of goods and their effect on shifting the production possibilities frontier. This involves evaluating every detail including knowing the products and any close substitutes and compliments. It also involves knowing how an action or other external force will affect demand. This is called price elasticity; Substitutes are products that can replace any given product or service. An example of this would be Coke and Pepsi. The presence of substitutes affects price elasticity because if there are other options, then any change to the price or quality of the product will cause a shift of the demand curve. O course, price is a huge reason why the demand for a product decreases or increases yet it doesn't shift the curve because of the price only. This price change will cause a domino effect that will end with the shifting of the demand curve because it will cause an increase or decrease in demand of the substitute good if the price change is either lower or higher respectively. This price change serves as a catalyst that will change people's desire to spend more money on a more expensive product and that will instead choose to buy the substitute good for cheaper or buy more of the desired product. The change in the price of actual products will not shift the demand curve yet the change of the price of substitutes will because it serves to change people's purchasing behavior. On the other hand, compliments serve to boost demand when there is a decrease in price. The use of complementary goods is dependent upon another product. An example of this would be hot dogs and buns. If the price of hotdogs decreases then, conversely, the demand for hot dog buns will increase because of this change in price. In this scenario, the decrease in price will cause a positive shift in the demand curve because of people's desire and willingness to buy more buns. This is an example of a demand shifter. There are a few other demand shifters. The shifters of the demand curve are changes in expectations, disposable income, price of substitute goods and complements, tastes and preferences, and population size and composition. Changes in income affect the demand curve because if income is lower then people tend to save any extra income instead of wasting it. Disposable income is minimized and spending is lower. This also causes people to see a perceived value of things and distinguishing between what is necessary and what is a relative luxury. The lower the income, the higher the saving and avoidance to spend. An example of this would be if someone needs to buy some medication and it is relatively expensive, that doesn't mean that someone won't buy the medication just because it is expensive. It is necessary. Other factors that contribute to spending and demand are having a price ceiling and price floor. Having a price ceiling is a limit on the price of the product this is a government-imposed idea that is meant to protect consumers from unfair pricing and other conditions that may be malicious or obscure. This affects demand because if there is a price ceiling there is a limit on profit on a unit-to-unit basis. The other factor is the price floor. This price floor was created to encourage competition and affect consumers' willingness to pay because sometimes this new price may be higher than the original price. This causes a negative impact on a product that has a less than wanted perceived value. Many factors contribute to economic prosperity and certainly do help assure that information is analyzed and implemented into an economic and business plan.

limejellyfish231

Microeconomics Multiple choice questions. Please answer all the questions.

1. Scarcity:
A. exists because resources are limited while human wants are unlimited.
B. means we are unable to have as much as we would like to have.
C. will likely be eliminated as technology continues to expand.
D. is not an issue addressed in economics.

2. People are forced to make choices because of:
A. unlimited wants and unlimited resources.
B. limited wants and unlimited resources.
C. unlimited wants and limited resources.
D. limited wants and limited resources.
E. irrational wants and limited resources.

3. Which of the following is closest to the definition of capital?
A. c and e.
B. c and d.
C. Tools, equipment, means of transportation
D. Factories and machinery.
E. Borrowed money.

4. Which one of the following is the most accurate definition of economics?
A. Economics is the study of stocks and bonds.
B. Economics is the study of how people allocate unlimited resources.
C. Economics is the study of how consumers choose to spend their income.
D. Economics is the study of how society chooses to allocate scarce resources.

5. The basic difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics is:
A. microeconomics concentrates on individual markets while macroeconomics focuses primarily on international trade.
B. microeconomics concentrates on the behavior of individual consumers while macroeconomics focuses on the behavior of firms.
C. microeconomics concentrates on the behavior of individual consumers and firms while macroeconomics focuses on the performance of the entire economy.
D. microeconomics explores the causes of inflation while macroeconomics focuses on the causes of unemployment.

6. Which of the following is not a resource?
A. Land.
B. Labor.
C. Money.
D. Capital.

7. Which of the following would an economist classify as capital?
A. 100 shares of Microsoft stock.
B. $50 bill.
C. credit card.
D. lawyer's personal computer.

8. Economics, according to its definition, studies how people:
A. earn and spend money.
B. invest in the stock and bond markets.
C. make choices in the face of scarcity.
D. supply goods in response to demand.

9. Which of the following is the best example of a microeconomic topic?
A. The impact that the money supply has on inflation.
B. The reasons for increases in the price of soft drinks.
C. The effect that federal budget deficits have on the interest rate.
D. The tradeoff between inflation and unemployment.

10. Which of the following is a macroeconomics topic?
A. Wages of textile workers in the Northeast.
B. The cost of producing 10,000 bookcases.
C. The economy's annual growth rate.
D. National demand for fish.
E. Effects of farm subsidies on food prices.

11. An economic theory claims that a rise in gasoline prices will cause gasoline purchases to fall, Ceteris paribus. The phrase "Ceteris paribus" means that:
A. other relevant factors like consumer incomes must be held constant.
B. the gasoline prices must first be adjusted for inflation.
C. the theory is widely accepted but cannot be accurately tested.
D. consumers' need for gasoline remains the same regardless of the price.

12. An economic model is:
A. a plastic scaled version of the economy.
B. a complete depiction of reality.
C. an abstraction from reality.
D. applicable to consumer behavior but not to producer behavior.
E. not an accepted tool of the economics profession.

13. Which of the following sayings best reflects the concept of opportunity cost?
A. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
B. "There is no such thing as a free lunch."
C. "I have a baker's dozen."
D. "There's no business like show business."

14. The opportunity cost of watching television is:
A. all of the alternative programs that appear on other stations.
B. zero because there is no money expenditure involved.
C. the alternative use of the time foregone by watching the program.
D. zero if it benefits you.

15. Which of the following does not illustrate opportunity cost?
A. If I study, I must give up going to the football game.
B. If I buy a computer, I must do without a 35" television.
C. More consumer spending now means more spending in the future.
D. If I spend more on clothes, I must spend less on food.

16. When deciding whether to buy a second car, marginal analysis indicates that the purchaser should compare the:
A. benefits expected from two cars with the cost of both.
B. additional benefits expected from a second car with the cost of the two cars.
C. dollar cost of the two cars with the potential income that the cars will generate.
D. additional benefits of the second car with the additional cost of the second car.

17. According to marginal analysis, you should spend more time studying economics if the extra benefit from an additional hour of study:
A. is positive.
B. outweighs the extra cost.
C. exceeds the benefits of the previous hour of study.
D. will raise your exam score.

1/ All the problems studied in economics arise from

a. the unequal distribution of income

b. the scarcity of resources

c. inappropriate government action

d. overpopulation

e. war

2/ The overall performance of the economic system as a whole is the focus of

a. macroeconomics

b. public economics

c. international finance

d. labor economics

e. microeconomics

3/ After graduating from high school, Steve had the following three choices for his immediate future, listed in order of preference: (1) attend our campus, (2) work in a printed circuit board factory, or (3) attend a rival college. His opportunity cost of going to college here includes which of the following?

a. The income he could have earned at the printed circuit board factory plus the direct cost of attending college here (tuition, textbooks, etc.)

b. The benefits he could have received from going to the rival college.

c. Only the tuition and fees paid for taking classes here.

d. Cannot be determined from the information given.

e. The cost of books and supplies at the rival college.

4/ The question of scarce resources and unlimited wants are addressed in

a. psychology

b. history

c. anthropology

d. political science

e. economics

5/ Consider an economic model designed to analyze the purchasing decisions of households. An assumption that a household chooses between only two goods would be an example of an

a. positive assumption

b. simplifying assumption

c. macroeconomic assumption

d. financial assumption

e. critical assumption

6/ Which of the following explains why economists may disagree over normative issues?

a. They have different beliefs and values.

b. They often employ different statistical techniques when examining data.

c. Some work only on microeconomic issues, while others focus exclusively on macroeconomic issues.

d. They examine the same data to draw their conclusions.

e. They need to disagree to publish their research findings.

7/ Suppose your friends take you out for dinner on your birthday, and you have a much better time than you would have had to do anything else. There is still an opportunity cost, even though they will not let you pay for anything. True/False

8/ Microeconomics

a. addresses scarcity from a global perspective

b. is purely theoretical and has little value in explaining real-world phenomena

c. focuses on what is happening in the economy as a whole

d. examines how individuals, households, and firms make economic decisions

e. answers the fundamental economic questions of how, when, where, and why.

9/ People and organizations have to make choices about how to allocate time and money because

a. religious values conflict with economics

b. time and money are both scarce

c. government require it

d. there are unlimited resources

e. corporations control our lives

10/ The objective of an economic model is to

a. yield a better understanding of important relationships

b. use simplifying assumptions to make positive economic statements

c. be an accurate description of reality

d. predict real-world occurrences with complete accuracy

e. use basic principles of economics to derive fundamental assumptions about human behavior.

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ECN 001A Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Opportunity Cost, Invisible Hand, Externality

ECN 001A Full Course Notes

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