W. Geog-Economics (set 1)

Economic System

The way in which a nation or society organizes itself to make economic decisions answering the fundamental economic questions.

Alternatives

The options available in any given decision-making process.

Costs

The effort, loss, or price necessary to achieve or obtain something; the measure of alternative opportunities given up.

Productive resources

Those resources that are used to create goods and services for society.

Capitalism

An economic system in which private individuals or businesses own capital goods.

Surplus

When the quantity supplied of a product exceeds the quantity demanded.

Supply

The quantity of goods and services producers are willing and able to sell at a given price for a period of time.

Productivity

A measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce those goods and services.

Socialism

A populist economic and political system based on collective, common, or public ownership of the means of production.

Natural Resources

Resources provided by nature that can be utilized by humans to produce goods and services; also called "land".

Communism

Type of economy where all property, including land, factories and companies, is held by the government.

Capital Resources

Goods and services used in the production of other goods and services.

Shortage

The quantity demanded of a product exceeds the quantity supplied.

Opportunity Costs

The value of the next-highest-valued alternative use of that resource.

Human resources

Amount and quality of human effort and ability - both physical and intellectual.

Entrepreneur

"Risk-taker"; one who seeks to utilize resources in a new and innovative way.

Command Economy

Classification in which a central authority arbitrarily makes economic decisions.

Market Economy

Classification in which economic decisions are made by the voluntary interaction of buyers and sellers.

Free Enterprise

An economic component that provides individuals the opportunity to make their own economic decisions, free of government constraints, and as private profit-potential businesses.

Traditional Economy

A basic economic system where customs and traditions are the elements that determine the way trade and commerce are performed.

Mixed Economy

A market system of resource allocation, commerce, and trade in which free markets coexist with government intervention.

Benefits

The economic advantages of a decision made in relation to the cost of that decision.

Demand

The willingness and ability of customers to purchase a good or service at a given price.

Equilibrium

The economic condition where market demand and market supply are equal to each other