Introduction to Economics Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key microeconomic terms, consumer choice theory, statistical concepts, and cost principles from the lecture transcript.

Disposable Income

The money remaining after paying all bills and debt, which can be spent on fun stuff or items not considered necessities.

Slope of a Line

In a budget constraint graph, the angle that shows the relative difference in the prices of two items.

Opportunity Set

All the possible combinations of goods that fall along the budget constraint line.

Opportunity Cost

The trade-off or specific items and value given up in order to obtain something else.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

A government agency that collects and reports official employment and earnings data.

Median

A statistical midpoint where half of the values lie above and half lie below, preventing distortion from extreme outliers.

Outliers

Extreme data values that skew averages like the mean.

Equity

The ownership value accumulated in an asset over time through purchasing rather than leasing.

Utility

The level of satisfaction, convenience, or benefit a consumer receives from a good or service.

Marginal Analysis

The evaluation of the benefits and costs associated with choosing a little more or a little less of a good.

Diminishing Marginal Utility

The principle where the additional satisfaction derived from consuming each successive unit of a good decreases.

Sunk Cost

A past cost that has already been paid and cannot be recovered.