Chapter 15: Environmental Economics, Equity & Policy

when is something considered sustainable?

when it meets the needs of the present generation WITHOUT compromising the future generation being able to meet their own needs.

what does sustainability weight ?

It weighs present resources and needs in terms of long term and future resources and needs

what does economics study ?

how scarce resources are allocated

what determines the cost of a good in the market economy?

Supply and demand

what is a market ?

A market occurs whenever people engage in trade

what does the supply curve show

how many units of a good a supplier can make

if there is competition in supply, how likely is a supplier going to make more goods ?

suppliers will likely produce less units if they share the market with other suppliers

if a supplies is the only maker of a good how likely are they to make many units of product ?

Very likely to produce many units of product

what does the demand curve show?

how many units of a good a CONSUMER Is willing and able to buy

if the price of a good rises what happens to demand?

if Price goes up

Demand goes down

what is the law of demand

When the price of a good rises, the quantity demanded falls.  When the price falls, demand will rise. 

what is the law of supply ?

When the price of a good rises, the quantity supplied of that good will rise. When the price of a good falls, the quantity of the good supplied will also fall. (Price and supply are directly related.)

what are externalities

The costs or impact of a good or service on people and the environment not included in the economic price of that good or service