Course Title: SSM 102a
Subject: Microeconomics
Instructor: Jennifer S. Mayano
Position: SHS HUMSS Teacher / T-III
Economic Theories
An economic theory is a set of ideas and principles that explain how different economies function.
Economists utilize theories for various purposes based on their roles.
Aims to develop methods to meet basic human needs for everyone.
Seeks to resolve conflicts of interest non-violently, promoting general welfare and peaceful conflict transformation in society.
Broad field explaining economy functions.
Analyzes how economic agents (individuals, businesses, governments) make decisions.
Primarily concerned with production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services.
Studies how economic activities are coordinated and their effects on individual and societal well-being.
Outlines major economic theories that form the backbone of economic study.
Key Contributors: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill.
Dominant school of thought in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Advocates for free trade and competition with minimal government interference.
Classical economists believe free markets self-regulate through supply and demand.
Referenced: "Invisible Hand" theory by Adam Smith as a concept illustrating hidden economic forces.
A metaphor for unseen forces of self-interest in the free market.
Self-interested consumer behavior leads to positive economic outcomes.
Individuals act selfishly, aiming only for personal gain.
Collective selfishness leads to better societal outcomes than altruistic intentions.
Individuals and businesses act in their best interests, promoting competition, innovation, and efficient resource allocation.
Prices determined by supply and demand guide production and consumption decisions.
Scarcity allocation occurs without central planning.
Markets naturally regulate themselves through voluntary exchanges.
Excessive government regulations can disrupt economic balance.
A baker’s drive for profit leads them to:
Bake high-quality bread to attract customers.
Price competitively to ensure sales.
Contribute to the local economy by hiring workers and paying suppliers.
Market failures can lead to outcomes like monopolies, pollution, and income inequality.
Some goods require government intervention (e.g., national defense, clean air) due to market inefficiency.
Behavioral economics indicates people do not always behave rationally, leading to inefficiencies.
Key Contributors: Alfred Marshall, William Stanley Jevons.
Focus on supply and demand as primary drivers of production, pricing, and consumption.
Emerged around 1900 in response to classical economics.
Classical economists emphasize production costs, while neoclassical emphasizes consumer perception of value.
Economic surplus is the difference between actual production costs and retail price.
Influences businesses and government market regulation decisions.
Fails to consider factors like limited information and emotional decision-making.
Key Contributor: John Maynard Keynes.
Focuses on total spending in the economy and its effects on output, employment, and inflation.
Suggests that rigid prices result in changes in output due to fluctuations in consumption, investment, or government spending.
Argues for government intervention to stabilize economies during recessions.
Aggregate demand is crucial for economic growth.
Government spending and taxation can regulate economic cycles, a core idea in Keynesian economics.
Key Contributor: Thomas Malthus.
Population growth is exponential, while the growth of food supply is linear, leading to resource depletion and possible population decline.
Population growth may exceed food supply growth, creating crises that reduce living standards.
Key Ideas:
Population Growth is Exponential: Grows geometrically.
Food Supply Grows Arithmetically: Agricultural production doesn't keep up.
Occurs when population surpasses food production, leading to famine, disease, and war that reduce the population, restoring balance.
Preventive Checks: Voluntary measures to control population (e.g., moral restraint, delayed marriage).
Positive Checks: Factors that increase death rate (e.g., famine, disease).
Key Contributor: Karl Marx.
Based on Karl Marx's critique of capitalism, particularly in works like "Das Kapital" and "The Communist Manifesto."
Historical Materialism: Economic systems evolve in stages (e.g., feudalism to socialism).
Economic base influences politics, culture, and institutions.
Product value determined by labor amount involved in production.
Capitalists exploit workers by paying less than the value they produce.
Workers become disconnected from products, production processes, fellow workers, and their own potential under capitalism.
Capitalism instabilities due to overproduction, automation replacing jobs, and increasing inequality.
Marx predicts capitalism will collapse, leading to a proletariat revolt and a transition to socialism and eventually communism.
Translates to "allow to do," promoting autonomy in economic decision-making.
Economic philosophy advocating minimal government intervention in markets.
Free Market System: Prices and allocation determined by supply and demand without government restrictions.
Intervention limited to protecting property rights, enforcing contracts, and ensuring national defense, opposing tariffs and excessive regulations.
Economic growth driven by individual actions for personal interests, guided by "invisible hand" theory.
Property rights incentivize productivity; healthy competition fosters innovation and quality.
Key Contributors: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels.
Combines communal ownership of production with a market economy framework.
Blends capitalism and socialism: community ownership alongside market-driven pricing.
Allows for competition within a socialist framework, unlike classic socialism with centralized control.
Public or Collective Ownership: Ownership held by government, employees, or cooperatives, not private individuals.
Prices, wages, and production levels determined by supply and demand rather than central planning.
Businesses aim for profits but often share earnings with employees or reinvest for social services.
Government plays a role in reducing inequality and ensuring competition by regulating the economy.
Emphasis on employee self-management, involving workers in decision-making processes.
Yugoslavia (1950s-1980s): Worker self-management in state-owned enterprises.
China’s Socialist Market Economy: Mix of state-owned and private enterprises in a market-driven setup.
Nordic Models: Countries like Sweden and Norway blend market policies with strong social welfare and public ownership in key sectors.
Macro theory focusing on economic stability through monetary supply control.
Economic growth relies on the total money in circulation within the economy.
Strong emphasis on government regulation of money supply for economic stability.
Leading advocate for monetarism advocating for steady and predictable money supply increases for stability.
Printing more money can lead to inflation, resulting in price increases of goods and services.
Excessive money printing can lead to hyperinflation, rapidly decreasing currency value.
Excess currency in circulation reduces currency value, affecting consumer purchasing power.
Risk of losing credibility internationally, raising import costs, and provocation of economic turmoil.
Central banks monitor money supply to balance inflation and economic growth priorities (e.g., BSP).
Introduced by Garrett Hardin, it explains the over-exploitation of shared resources.
Individuals with unrestricted access deplete resources out of self-interest.
Overuse results in shared resource depletion, harming the long-term interests of all users.
Common resources (clean air, water) are overused as individuals seek maximum personal benefit.
Overexploitation leads to degradation of resources, ultimately harming all parties involved.
Overfishing: Decreases fish populations affecting all fishermen.
Deforestation: Consequences include soil erosion and climate change.
Traffic Congestion: Excess vehicles slow transport for everyone.
Air Pollution: Caused by industries and vehicles, public health is at risk.
Government Regulation: Laws to limit resource use (e.g., fishing quotas).
Privatization: Assigns ownership for sustainable resource management.
Community Management: Local groups regulate resource usage effectively.
Market-Based Solutions: Taxes or fees to discourage overuse (e.g., carbon tax).
New growth theory asserts human desire continually drives productivity and economic growth.
Driven by knowledge, innovation, and human capital, rather than physical resources.
Unlike physical resources, knowledge is non-depleting (e.g., software can be replicated).
Growth occurs through investments in research and development.
Education and skills enhance productivity and technological advancements.
Supportive policies for education and entrepreneurship drive long-term growth.
Describes contracts entered into in bad faith historically observed in various systems.
Occurs when one party assumes excessive risks without bearing full consequences.
Protection from risks leads to careless or reckless actions.
Lack of full-cost suffering may lead to greater risks (e.g., reckless driving due to insurance).
Risk-takers often possess more information than the other parties involved.
Seen in banking (risky loans based on guarantees), insurance (excessive doctor visits), and employment (lax worker productivity).
Thank You!