chapter 1 flashcards.txt

the study of the way people organize themselves to sustain life and enhance its quality

resource maintenance and the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

questions about how things are

questions about how things could be

achievement that will bring you closer to final goal(s)

goal that requires no further justification; it is an end in itself

whatever confers the ability to produce and procure valued goods and services

use of resources in a way that does not involve any waste

a shorthand term for the broad goal of promoting the sustenance and flourishing of life

individual or group involved in the economic activities of resource maintenance or the production, distribution, or consumption of goods and servicesMay also include, for e. xample, legislatures whose decisions affect the kinds of economic activity that are possible, and activist who aim to prevent certain types of economic activity

Harmful side effects, or unintended consequence, of economic activity

beneficial side effects, or unintended consequence, of economic activity

the costs of arranging economic activities

the management of natural, manufactured, human, and social resources in such a way that their productivity is sustained

The conversion of resources into goods and services

The sharing of products and resources among people

the trading of one thing for another

the giving of something, with nothing specific expected in return

the final use of a good or service

Resources are abundant to the extent that they exist in plentiful supply for meeting various goals

Resources are scarce to the extent that they are not sufficient to allow all goals to be accomplished at once

Curve showing the maximum amounts of two outputs that society could produce from given resources, over a given time period

value of the best alternative that is foregone when a choice is made

The development of new methods of converting inputs into outputs

Households, families, and communities

governments and other local, national, and international organizations established for some public purpose beyond individual or family self-interest and not operating with the goal of making a profit

goods for which Use by one person does not diminish usefulness to others, and It would be difficult to exclude anyone from benefitting

people who enjoy the benefit of a public good without paying for it

firms that produce goods and services for profitable sale

businesses operating outside of government oversight and regulation. In less industrialized countries, it may constitute the majority of economic activity

sub-field of general economics that focuses on activities that take place within and among the major economic organizations of a society

sub-field of general economics that focuses on the economy as a whole

an analytical tool that highlights some aspects of reality while ignoring others

portrays the economy as a collection of profit-maximizing firms and utility-maximizing households interacting through perfectly competitive markets

thinking that confuses the assumption of the traditional model with reality