Econ unit 11

Microeconomics (Micro) — study of individual consumers, firms, and markets

Macroeconomics (Macro) — study of the economy as a whole

Aggregate — total combined amount in the economy

Macro Analysis – The basic questions:

  • What to produce?

  • How to produce?

  • For whom to produce?

  • How fast is the economy growing?

  • Is the economy stable?

Gross Domestic Product (GDP = Y) — total value of final goods and services produced in a country in one year

Actual GDP — the amount currently being produced

Full Sustainable Capacity GDP (YF) — maximum output the economy can sustain without causing inflation

National Production — total output produced by a nation

Labor Force ( employed + unemployed )

Voluntarily Unemployed — people who choose not to work at the current wage

Unemployment Rate — percent of the labor force without jobs but actively seeking work

Frictional Unemployment — temporary unemployment while changing jobs or entering the workforce

Structural Unemployment — unemployment caused by changes in technology or job skills

Natural Rate of Unemployment — normal unemployment from frictional and structural causes

Full Employment (why doesn’t this = 0) — because frictional and structural unemployment always exist

Demand-Deficient Unemployment — unemployment caused by low overall demand in the economy

Inflation — rising general price levels over time

Deflation — falling general price levels over time

Price Level — average of current prices in the economy

Hyperinflation — extremely rapid inflation

Indexing — adjusting wages/payments for inflation

Real Value — value adjusted for inflation

Nominal Value — value not adjusted for inflation

Price Index — measure of average price changes over time

Price Deflator — index used to remove inflation from GDP

Consumer Price Index (CPI) — measure of prices paid by consumers for a basket of goods and services