Economics - Unit 1 Review - What is Economics

Scarcity

• natural resources or "gifts of nature" not created by human effort; one of the four factors of production
• Why do some people earn a higher income than others?
• fundamental economic problem of meeting people's virtually unlimited needs and wants with scarce resources
• natural resources, factories, stores, houses, motels, theaters, clothing, books, highways

economics

• the tools, equipment, machinery, and factories used in the production of goods and services; one of the four factors of production
• work or labor performed for someone; economic product that includes haircuts, home repairs, and forms of entertainment
• social science dealing with how people satisfy seemingly unlimited and competing needs and wants with careful use of scarce resources
• assignment of tasks to workers, factories, regions, or nations that can perform them most efficiently

need

• a basic requirement for survival such as food, clothing, and shelter
• increase in a nation's total output of goods and services over a period of time
• the right to redress
• simply something we would like to have but is not necessary for survival

want

• simply something we would like to have but is not necessary for survival
• a worth that can be expressed in dollars and cents
• a useful, tangible item
• the right to choose

good

• a useful, tangible item
• a worth that can be expressed in dollars and cents
• the right to redress
• What to produce?

durable good

• graph, figure, equation, or diagram used to describe how the economy is expected to perform in the future
• the right to be heard
• apparent contradiction between the high value of a nonessential item and the low value of an essential item
• Goods that lasts more than three years when used regularly

nondurable good

• market economy in which privately owned businesses have the freedom to operate for a profit with limited government intervention
• item that wears out, is used up, or lasts for fewer than three years when used regularly
• simply something we would like to have but is not necessary for survival
• a worth that can be expressed in dollars and cents

consumer good

• the right to redress
• social science dealing with how people satisfy seemingly unlimited and competing needs and wants with careful use of scarce resources
• Goods that lasts more than three years when used regularly
• good intended for final use by consumers rather than businesses

capital good

• measure of the amount of output produced in a specific time period with a given amount of resources; normally refers to labor, but can apply to all factors of production
• market in which productive resources are bought and sold
• sum of people's skills, abilities, health, and motivation
• a tool or good such as machinery or equipment that is used by businesses to produce other products

service

• work or labor performed for someone; economic product that includes haircuts, home repairs, and forms of entertainment
• a tool or good such as machinery or equipment that is used by businesses to produce other products
• Why do some people earn a higher income than others?
• natural resources, factories, stores, houses, motels, theaters, clothing, books, highways