Econ. Question Helper Chpt. 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts of microeconomics, macroeconomics, market structures, and economic systems based on lecture notes.

Scarcity

The economic condition in which human wants for goods, services, and resources exceed what is available.

Private Enterprise

A characteristic of market-oriented economies where private individuals or groups of individuals own and operate the means of production.

Public Enterprise

A characteristic of command economies where the government owns and operates the means of production and business enterprises.

Division of Labor

The practice of dividing the work required to produce a good or service into discrete tasks performed by different workers to increase production.

Microeconomics

The branch of economics that focuses on the economic decisions and actions of individual agents, such as households, workers, and businesses.

Macroeconomics

The branch of economics that examines the economy as a whole, focusing on broad issues such as growth in production, unemployment, inflation, and trade balances.

Goods and Services Market

A market in which firms operate primarily as sellers of products and services, and households operate as buyers.

Labor Market

A market in which households operate as sellers of labor, and business firms or employers operate as buyers.

Circular Flow Model

An economic diagram showing how households and firms interact in goods/services and labor markets, which can be extended to include foreign trade agents, imports, exports, and financial flows.

Globalization

The expanding economic, political, and cultural connections between people and businesses around the world, marked by increased international trade and capital flows.

John Maynard Keynes

A major economist who defined economics as a method or technique of thinking that helps its possessor draw correct conclusions, rather than a fixed doctrine.

Three Main Goals of Macroeconomics

The core targets of macroeconomic policy: growth in economic production, low unemployment, and low inflation.

Three Ways Societies Organize Economically

The three general economic organizational structures: traditional economies, command economies, and market economies.

Export to GDP Ratio

The proportion of a nation's total economic output sold to other countries, which tends to be higher in smaller, trade-oriented nations like Belgium, France, Italy, and Sweden compared to large economies like the United States.