Individuals & Societies: Introduction to Economics (U4, G9)

economics

a social science devoted to the study of how people & societies get what they want and need. also, how societies divide and use their resources to produce goods & services and how those are then distributed & consumed

need

usually only in means of survival, contrary to decency of life markers. ex: water, clothing, housing and food

scarce resource/scarcity

the state of being in a shortage of something, lacking in supply; limited in amount.

what would be considered two of the most common scarce resources?

money & time, due to the fact that you can’t buy everything nor multi-task in a 24 hour period.

what is the common reason why economics exists?

it covers what or how people & governments choose to do with scarce resources

micro economics

the study of how individuals and companies make decisions to allocate scarce resources (individual consumer choices, income/wages of small business employees)

macro economics

the study of an economy as a whole (inflation in a country, national unemployment levels, economic growth)

what is a common tool to study national economics or how ‘well’ a country is doing?

GDP (gross domestic product)

want

something an individual may wish to have but does not ultimately need for survival

why is nothing fully free?

because of the limited resources we have, such as money or time. nothing would ever be free because it would take some of your resources; money or time. in the end, there cannot be a loss from the businesses. 

TINSTAAFL

there is no such thing as a free lunch, because you are either spending a scarce resource such as time when getting something for free.

four factors of production

land, capital, labour and entrepreneurs

land

things such as naturally occurring resources, but they would still be finite. (fertile fields, land stock)

labour

skilled professionals who are valued for their abilities. (shoemakers, farmers)

capital

it is the tools needed for things to be produced: machinery or factories needed for the production of things. a lot of the time, capital is needed to make capital (bulldozers, machinery, factories)

entrepreneurs

people who create their own businesses or bring something new/different to the market. most of their work is done alone or with a limited number of employees.

why is economics considered a social science?

because it not only deals with the numbers and questions regarding the rising/lowering costs of things, but it also describes the way people react to those scarce resources and analyses, predicts, describes and explains those phenomena.

local issues

issues that are uniquely local or disproportionately affects people in those local communities

national issue

issues that affect an entire country. (hospital care for citizens, choices with tax money, prices of basic necessities)

global issues

any issue or problem/risk that adversely affects the global community, possibly in a catastrophic way (ocean acidification, overconsumption)

how can global issues can be solved?

usually requires cooperation among nations or countries joining NGOs, such as the UN or sign accords

accord

official agreements or treaties between countries

what is the paris agreement?

an international treaty signed in 2015 by the United Nations. its goal is to limit global warming and lower global temperatures by 1.5 degrees celsius. **not legally binding**

supply chain

network of all the network of all the individuals, organisations, resources, activities and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product

usp

unique selling point. what is so important about this product? why would people want to buy this product?

rival goods

by consuming this product, you reduce the amount of it; finite.

excludable

the need to pay for this good

common goods

excludable, non-rival (wildflowers to pick, benches)

private goods

excludable, rival goods (televisions, mobile phones, coffee from a coffee shop)

club goods

not excludable but rival (gym memberships, streaming services, insurance coverage)

public goods

non-rival and non-excludable (mountains to climb, wildlife to view)

service

a skill offered by people for revenue (handymen, doctors). it can be offered with a good: e.g a person who replaces a tire and gives you the tire.

goods

a thing you can buy (groceries, electronics). cannot be paired with a service.