Fundamental Economics
This basic problem means human wants are unlimited but resources are limited.
What is scarcity (escasez)?
In this specific economic system, the government completely answers the "Big 3" questions of what, how, and for whom to produce.
What is a command economy (economía de mando)?
This type of business is owned by only one single person.
What is a sole proprietorship (sociedad unipersonal)?
This phrase describes the natural ups and downs of the economy through four different phases.
What is the business cycle (ciclo económico)?
This institution serves as the central bank of the United States.
What is the Federal Reserve / the Fed (Reserva Federal)?
This term describes the study of how people, businesses, and nations make choices under scarcity.
What is economics (economía)?
In this economic system, private consumers and businesses answer the "Big 3" questions.
What is a market economy (economía de mercado)?
This is the financial reward a business keeps after paying all production expenses.
What is profit (ganancia)?
This phase of the business cycle causes high anxiety because the economy shrinks and workers lose jobs.
What is a contraction / recession (contracción / recesión)?
The Fed will take this action with interest rates if the national economy faces high inflation.
What is raise interest rates (subir las tasas de interés)?
If you spend $10 on a movie ticket instead of buying a book, the book represents this type of cost.
What is an opportunity cost (costo de oportunidad)?
This specific market structure features only one seller, which causes prices to go up and quality to drop.
What is a monopoly (monopolio)?
This desire to earn money drives producers to lower costs and make items that consumers want.
What is the profit motive (motivo de ganancia)?
This indicator measures the total dollar value of all final goods and services made inside a nation in one year.
What is Gross Domestic Product / GDP (Producto Interno Bruto / PIB)?
The Fed will take this action with interest rates during a severe economic contraction or recession.
What is lower interest rates (bajar las tasas de interés)?
Food, water, and shelter belong to one group, while video games and jewelry belong to this other group.
What are needs (necesidades) and wants (deseos)?
This condition keeps prices low and quality high because many businesses must fight for buyers.
What is competition (competencia)?
If consumer demand (demanda) for an item goes up but the supply stays the same, this will happen to the price.
What is it will go up / increase (subirá)?
This term describes a general rise in prices over time, which hurts consumers by lowering the buying power of money.
What is inflation (inflación)?
Putting $20 into a savings account to spend next year is an example of this specific function of money.
What is a store of value (depósito de valor)?
A pair of shoes is an example of the first term, while a haircut is an example of the second term.
What are goods (bienes) and services (servicios)?
This point is reached when the supply (oferta) of a good matches the demand (demanda) exactly.
What is the equilibrium price (precio de equilibrio)?
These are two major reasons people choose to start a sole proprietorship (sociedad unipersonal).
What are total control and keeping all profits (control total y quedarse con las ganancias)? (Accept: easy to start)
You can track inflation yourself by making a list of monthly items you buy to create this personal tool.
What is a personal Consumer Price Index / CPI (Índice de Precios al Consumidor / IPC)?
This specific type of international tax can hurt North Carolina (Carolina del Norte) farmers by making it harder to sell sweet potatoes or soybeans abroad.
What is a tariff (arancel)?