Resources at Work: Factors of Production and Human Capital

Vocabulary flashcards defining core terms, metrics, concepts, and historical examples from the lecture on factors of production, human capital, technology, and economic sustainability.

Production

The process of transforming inputs into useful goods or services, which forms the foundation of economic life by connecting natural resources with human effort and ideas.

Economists

People who study how goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed, and how resources are managed in an economy.

Entrepreneurship

The ability and willingness to start and manage a business, take financial risks, and bring new ideas into action.

Factors of Production

The essential inputs needed to create goods and services, historically comprising land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship, alongside technology as a fifth vital factor.

Land

In economics, all natural resources—such as soil, forests, minerals, water, sunlight, wind, and air—that support the production of goods and services.

Rent

The payment made to a landowner for using their land, representing the economic return on this factor of production.

Depletion

The gradual reduction or exhaustion of a natural resource due to overuse or misuse.

Labour

The physical and mental effort that human beings apply to create goods and services.

Endurance

The ability to continue working or performing well even in difficult or tiring situations.

Human Capital

The combined knowledge, skills, health, and creativity of people that make them productive contributors to the economy.

Expertise

Special knowledge or skill gained through education, training, or experience.

Lathe

A machine that shapes pieces of wood or metal by holding and turning them against a fixed cutting tool.

Kaizen

A Japanese philosophy meaning continuous improvement, representing the belief that every process, product, and person can always improve through small, steady steps.

Capital

The man-made wealth used to create goods and services, including machinery, tools, vehicles, buildings, computers, and the funds required to acquire or maintain them.

Dividend

A portion of a company's profits received by shareholders in return for their financial investment.

Interest

The fee paid for borrowing money.

Tycoons

Very wealthy and powerful business people who control large companies or industries.

Entrepreneur

A person who starts a new business, takes financial risks, and organises resources to produce goods or services.

Technology

The practical application of scientific knowledge to improve the way people live and work.

SWAYAM

An acronym for Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds, a digital initiative that enables citizens to learn new skills and seek employment.

Sustainable

Able to be maintained or continued without causing harm to the environment or depleting resources for the future.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

A legal requirement in India under the Companies Act, $2013$, mandating large businesses to allocate a portion of profits toward activities that benefit society.

Shilpa Shastras

Ancient Indian treatises that described in meticulous detail the principles of design, proportion, and technique in craftsmanship.

Meticulous

Showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise in doing something.

Aesthetic

A set of ideas or principles that define what is considered beautiful or artistically pleasing in design, art, or expression.

Demographic Dividend

The economic growth potential resulting from a large and youthful population structure, such as having nearly two-thirds of the population under the age of $35$.