What is economics
Economics: the study of how people manage their resources to meet their needs and enhance their well-being.
What is well being
• Well-being is a broad, subjective term referring to the quality of life.
What are the 4 essential economic activities
1) Resource management
2) Production of resources
3) Consumption of resources
4) Distribution of resources
What is microeconomics
• Microeconomics is a subfield of economics that focuses on activities that take place within and among individuals, households, businesses, and other groups at the subnational level
What is macroeconomics
while macroeconomics is the subfield of economics that focuses on the economy as a whole
What does GDP stand for
Gross domestic product
What is economic growth
GDP) measures the market value of all final goods and services produced within the nation’s borders over a specific time period, normally one year, and is often related to a country’s ability to provide for its citizens.
What does economic growth not consider
does not consider aspects of well-being such as access to healthcare and education, clean environment, work-life balance, equality and justice.
What is efficiency
An efficient use of resources is one that uses the minimum value of resources to achieve a desired result. Alternatively, inputs are used in such a way that they yield the highest possible value of output.
What are the 3 economic goals
1) The Goal of Good Living Standards
2) Stability and Security
3) The Goal of Sustainability
Define resource management
Resource management means preserving or improving natural,
produced, human, and social resources.
What is capital stock
s a quantity of any resource that
is valued for its potential economic contributions.
What is Natural capital
refers to physical assets provided by nature, such
as land or fresh water sources.
What is manufactured capital
means physical assets that are generated
by applying human productive activities to natural capital (i.e.,
buildings, machinery, infrastructure).
What is human capital
refers to individual people’s capacity for
productive work, particularly knowledge and skills.
What is social capital
means the existing institutions and the stock of trust, mutual understanding, shared values, and social held
knowledge that facilitates the social coordination of economic activity.
What is financial capital
is a fund of purchasing power available to
economic actors, which (while not part of any physical production activity) indirectly contributes to production by helping facilitate the activities of distribution and consumption
What is an investment
occurs when people work to increase the quantity or quality of nonfinancial resources in order to make future benefits
possible. Advances in technology also expand or improve the stocks of capital.
What is Depreciation
is a decrease in the quantity or quality of a stock of capital.
What is production activites
Production activities involve the conversion of resources into usable
goods and services. Investment goods (i.e. machines and buildings) are
goods that are produced to assist in future production.
Distribution definition
The sharing of products and resources among people (exchange: trading one thing for another; transfer: giving something, with nothing specific expected in return)
Distribution activities
Distribution activities take two main forms: exchange and transfer. An exchange is trading one thing for another, such as money in return for goods and services. Transfers are payments given with nothing specific expected in return (i.e., Social Security payments
from the government to the elderly).
Consumption definition
is the final use of a good or service.
What are the 3 basic economic questions
1) What should be produced?
2) How should production take place?
3) For whom should economic activity be undertaken?
