What Is Economics?

2. 1 What Is Economics?

3. Chapter Objectives • Distinguish between needs and wants. • Compare different types of economic systems. • Define scarcity in terms of needs and wants. • Analyze a decision in terms of trade-offs and opportunity cost. • Explain the role of profit motive in the economic system of the U.S. continued

4. Chapter Objectives • Evaluate how competition among producers influences the price of goods in a market economy. • Interpret the relationship between supply and demand.

5. Economic Systems • In earliest times families were the basic economic unit • Self-sufficient families • grew their own food • provided for members’ needs and wants • only consumed what they produced continued

6. Economic Systems • The family lost its role as the basic economic unit as • people moved away from agricultural base • new ways of organizing production through specialization and technology emerged • larger quantity and wider variety of goods and services became available

7. Types of Economic Systems • Four types of economic systems: • Traditional • Market or free enterprise • Command • Mixed

8. Traditional Economy • Found mostly in underdeveloped countries • Change comes slowly • People tend to stick with what they know and do as they always did • People are governed by strong cultural, religious, or tribal leadership

9. Market Economy • Decisions and activities of consumersimpact businesses • Businesses react to consumers’ needs • Businesses have the opportunity to grow and profit • Individuals are given incentives to succeed continued

10. Market Economy • A marketplace brings consumers and producers together to exchange goods, services, and money continued

11. Market Economy • Examples: • Market for all goods and services in an economy • Market for cars • Market for a certain brand of sneakers

12. Command Economy • Commonly found in socialist and communist countries • A central authority, usually government, • decides how resources are allocated • decides who will produce what • sets prices and decides how much to produce

13. In Your Opinion • Why might some people choose to live under a command economy?

14. Mixed Economy • Combines features of command and market economies • Exists in the U.S., China, Great Britain, Japan, and many other nations • Most economies are mixed • Though mixed, the U.S. economy has minimal government involvement

15. The Challenge of Scarcity • Needs and wants are unlimited • Resources are limited • Economic systems attempt to resolve the problem of scarcity • Scarcity is a problem for individuals, families, companies, and nations continued

16. The Challenge of Scarcity • Nonhuman resource • Examples: natural resources, capital, or physical things used to make and distribute other goods and services • Human resource • Examples: human labor, good health, skills, knowledge, education, entrepreneurship

17. Trade-Offs and Opportunity Cost • Scarcityforces everyone to make choices, which involve • trade-offs • opportunity costs

18. Scarcity and Economic Systems • Three problems for all societies: • What and how much to produce • How to allocate resources in producing goods and services • How to divide the goods and services produced

19. How the U.S. Economy Works • Flows of goods, services, and resources between producers/sellers and consumers/workers continued

20. How the U.S. Economy Works • Flows of payments for goods, services, and resources between consumers/workers and producers/sellers

21. Four Qualities of a Market Economy • Private ownership and control of productive resources • Profit motive • Free economic choice • Competition

22. Private Ownership and Control of Productive Resources • Individuals and businesses have • the right to own property such as possessions, real estate, business enterprises • freedom to decide how to use resources

23. Profit Motive • Provides incentives for • entrepreneurs to take risks to start new businesses • businesses to produce goods and services • investors to buy stocks, bonds, and other investments • people to sell their resources: labor, land, ideas, capital

24. Free Economic Choice • Consumers can choose • how they earn income • what to do with their money: spend, save, or invest • what, where, and how much to buy continued

25. Free Economic Choice • Businesses can choose • what they produce • how and where to produce it • how and where to sell what they produce • what to do with their profits

26. Competition • Competition among businesses and individuals affects • prices • wages • quality of goods and services • features of goods and services • quality of customer service • innovation continued

27. Competition • Businesses must innovate to be competitive and successful by investing in research and development (R&D) • Advances in technologydrive innovation • U.S. invests more money in research and development than any other country in the world continued

28. Competition • Market economies can provide the best products and services at the lowest prices

29. Laws of Supply and Demand • Supplyis closely connected to price • Businesses produce more of something when they can sell it at higher prices • When price rises, supply rises • When price falls, supply falls continued

35. Laws of Supply and Demand • Price and supply move in same direction in the supply curve continued

36. Laws of Supply and Demand • Demandis closely connected to price • When price rises, demand falls • Consumers buy more of something at a lower price than at a higher price • When price falls, demand rises continued

37. Laws of Supply and Demand • Price and demand move in same direction, opposite the supply curve

38. Equilibrium • Laws of supply and demand work together • When demand and supply are relatively balanced, the market is in equilibrium • Equilibrium is an ideal continued

39. Equilibrium • Equilibrium price is when quantity supplied equals quantity demanded

40. Changes in Demand Trigger Price Adjustments • Price rises when • demand is greater than supply • demand rises and supply stays the same • Example: airline ticket prices are highest during peak travel times continued

41. Changes in Supply Trigger Price Adjustments • Price falls when • supply is greater than demand • supply rises and demand stays the same • Example: stores drop prices for winter coats and hats at end-of-season clearance sales

42. The Market’s Answer to Scarcity • Demand in the marketplace determines what and how much to produce • Businesses decide how to allocate resources in producing goods and services • Forces of supply and demand in the job market determine how to divide goods and services produced

43. In Your Opinion • Is understanding the free enterprise system important to the study of personal finance?

44. Central Ideas of the Chapter • Economics is the study of how people use scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited needs and wants. • In a free enterprise system, market forces allocate the resources.

45. Glossary of Key Terms command economy. A system in which a central authority, usually the government, controls economic activities. consumer. A buyer and user of goods and services. demand. The quantity of a product or service consumers are willing to buy. economic system. Structure in which resources are turned into goods and services to address unlimited needs and wants. Back

46. Glossary of Key Terms free enterprise system. See market economy. Also called capitalism. goods. Physical items such as food and clothing. human resource. Qualities and characteristics that people have within themselves. innovation. The process of creating something—new or improved products and new ways to do things and solve problems. Back

47. Glossary of Key Terms Back • market economy. A system in which privately owned businesses operate and compete for profits with limited government regulation or interference. • marketplace. An arena in which consumers and producers meet to exchange goods, services, and money. • mixed economy. A combination of market and command systems.

48. Glossary of Key Terms needs. Items a person must have to survive. nonhuman resource.External resources, such as money, time, equipment, and possessions. opportunity cost.The value of the best option or alternative given up. producer. An individual or business that provides the supply of goods and services to meet consumer demands. profit.The total amount of money earned after expenses are subtracted from income. Back

49. Glossary of Key Terms resources. Any input used to generate other goods or services. scarcity.The challenge of stretching resources to cover needs and wants. services. Work performed. supply.The amount of a product or service producers are willing to provide. technology.The application of scientific knowledge to practical uses and product development. Back

50. Glossary of Key Terms trade-off. Part of making choices that involves evaluating two or more options and selecting just one; the item given up in order to gain something else. traditional economy. System in which economic decisions are based on a society’s values, culture, and customs. wants. Items a person would like to have that are not essential to life. Back