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Introduction To Economics: Choices, Choices, Choices, - .
Introduction To Economics: Choices, Choices, Choices, - .
WHAT IS ECONOMICS???
Economics the study of how individuals and societies make decisions about ways to use scarce resources to fulfill wants and needs. What does THAT mean?!!??!!
Microeconomics
How do individuals make economic decisions
Choices, Choices
Because ALL resources, goods, and services are limited WE MUST MAKE CHOICES!!!!
Why Choices?
We make choices about how we spend our money, time, and energy so we can fulfill our NEEDS and WANTS.
What are NEEDS and WANTS?
WANTS stuff we would really like to have (Fancy food, shelter, clothing, big screen TVs, jewelry, conveniences . . . Also known as LUXURIES
VS.
TRADE-OFFS
You cant have it all (SCARCITY remember?) so you have to choose how to spend your money, time, and energy. These decisions involve picking one thing over all the other possibilities a TRADE-OFF!
Trade-Offs, cont.
IN YOUR JOURNAL: What COULD you have done instead of come to school today?
Opportunity Costs
This is really IMPORTANT when you choose to do ONE thing, its value (how much it is worth) is measured by the value of the NEXT BEST CHOICE. This can be in time, energy, or even MONEY
If I buy a pizza Then I cant afford the movies
Production
So how do we get all this stuff that we have to decide about? Decisions, decisions
PRODUCTION, cont.
Production is how much stuff an individual, business, country, even the WORLD makes. But what is STUFF? STUFF Goods and Services. Goods tangible (you can touch it) products we can buy Services work that is performed for others
Factors of Production
So, what do we need to make all of this Stuff?
4 Factors of Production
LAND Natural Resources
Water, natural gas, oil, trees (all the stuff we find on, in, and under the land)
Production Process
Land Goods Labor Production/Manufacturing Factory Capital Consumers
Services
Entrepreneurship
Consumer Goods: final products that are purchased directly by the consumer
CHANGES IN PRODUCTION
Specialization
dividing up production so that Goods are produced efficiently
Hardees makes hamburgers, not shoes!! Nike makes shoes, not hamburgers
CHANGES IN PRODUCTION
Division of Labor different people perform different jobs to achieve greater efficiency (assembly line).
You do your job, and I will do my Job and we will be more EFFICIENT
CHANGES IN PRODUCTION
Consumption how much we buy (Consumer Sovereignty)
The DELL store is empty because.
CHANGES IN PRODUCTION
If we INCREASE land, labor, capital we INCREASE production
Many entrepreneurs invest profit back into production
If we DECREASE land, labor, capital we DECREASE production BUT WHY would we ever DECREASE production?
GDP
The total $ value of ALL final Goods and Services produced in a country in a year. (GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT)
World GDP
Total GDP 2005 (millions of US dollars) 1 United States 12,455,068 2 Japan 4,505,912 3 Germany 2,781,900 4 China 2,228,862 5 United Kingdom 2,192,553 6 France 2,110,185 a 7 Italy 1,723,044 8 Spain 1,123,691 9 Canada 1,115,192 10 Brazil 794,098 11 Korea, Rep. 787,624 12 India 785,468 13 Mexico 768,438 14 Russian Federation 763,720 15 Australia 700,672 16 Netherlands 594,755 17 Switzerland 365,937 18 Belgium 364,735 19 Turkey 363,300 20 Sweden 354,115 21 Saudi Arabia 309,778
Margin=Extra Space
Marginal Benefits
Marginal Costs
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Immediate or short term satisfaction can lead to missing the long-term benefits.#7 For Example Immediate spending on cheap stuff instead of long-term savings will lead to lower economic prosperity.
Traditional Economies
Def: Economic Questions answered by custom Predominately Agricultural Developing or 3rd World Trade and barter oriented Low GDP & PCI (per capita income = avg. inc.)
Command Economies
Def: Economic questions answered by the government Very little economic choice No private ownership Communism Old Soviet Union, old Communist China, Cuba and North Korea
Karl Marx
19th century German economist Author of Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital
Government should control economy and distribute goods and services to the people
Communism Falls
Market reforms in China in the mid 1970s. Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Collapse of the Soviet Union 1991. Free Market Capitalism (w/ some Mixed Economies) the only show in town.
Adam Smith
18th century Scottish economist Published The Wealth of Nations in 1776 Explained the workings of the free market within capitalist economies Invisible hand of the market
Principles of Capitalism
Competition more businesses means lower prices and higher quality products for consumers (US!) to buy.
Principles of Capitalism
Voluntary Exchange businesses and consumers MUST be free to buy or sell what and when they want.
Principles of Capitalism
Private Property Individuals and businesses MUST be able to get the benefits of owning their OWN property. Government doesnt control it.
Principles of Capitalism
Consumer Sovereignty consumers get to make free choices about what to buy and this helps drive production (Demand drives Supply).
Principles of Capitalism
Profit Motive people want to make or save $$$$. Their Self Interest motivates Capitalism.
Principles of Capitalism
Social Safety Net Mixed Economy idea that says the government should NOT allow people to suffer in economic crisis (natural part of Capitalisms Business Cycle), but provide security instead Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, etc.
Mixed Economy/Socialism
Government involvement and ownership and control of property, of decision making, and companies. Government control of business Social safety net for people Socialism Common in Europe, Latin America, and Africa
LABOR
Wages what companies pay employees for their labor (usually based upon an hourly rate). Salary the amount of pay a person gets over a year (especially for professional jobs).
Blue Collar Manufacturing, work with hands Usually the labor in production
Bankruptcy government allows business to restructure its debt, but now all profits go to paying off debt rather than to the owners/investors.
Out of Business lose all your business, money, and profits. The current trend in the U.S. is that manufacturing jobs are declining
Strikes
When an agreement cant be reached, workers stop working to try to force the hand of the company