Basic Economic Concepts
_____ is the basic economic problem of having unlimited wants but limited resources.
What is scarcity?
_____ economics focuses on individual decisions, such as how businesses set prices or how consumers spend money.
What is micro economics?
A _____ is a physical item that satisfies a need or want.
What is a good?
The factor of production that includes any materials that come from the earth.
What is land?
A business must decide whether to produce luxury cars or affordable cars. This relates to this question.
What is "what to produce"?
Every decision involves a _____, meaning something must be given up to gain something else.
What is a trade off?
________ economics looks at the economy as a whole, including interest rates, inflation, and government policies.
What are macro economics?
_____ are things essential for basic survival or to function in a society.
What is a need?
The factor of production that brings all factors of production together to actually do the producing ("the special sauce").
What is entrepreneurship?
A business must decide whether to market its product to men or women. This relates to this economic question.
What is "Whom to produce for?"
The _____ cost of a decision is cost of not having taken the next best alternative. (EX: What you give up by choosing to take a gap year instead of pursue college right away)
What is opportunity cost?
If the government implements a new tariff on Canadian maple syrup, that is an example of a _____ policy.
What is a macroeconomic policy?
Teaching, being a barista, or being a doctor is an example of a ________ that you pay for.
What is a service?
This is what you call the experience or knowledge a worker has. (Hint: it is a form of capital)
What is human capital?
A business decides whether to invest in new, top of the line equipment that will speed up production or to stay out of debt by keeping older, reliable equipment. This relates to this economic question.
What is "how to produce"?
People make decisions by weighing the _____ and _____ of each option. (Hint: NOT pros and cons)
What are the costs and benefits?
What is a micro-economic decision?
A store offering a discount to first-time customers is an example of a(n) _____.
What is an incentive?
This factor refers to human effort, both physical and mental, used in production.
What is labor?
This is the cost of a decision that cannot be physically felt.
What is an intangible cost?
When people are overwhelmed by too many options, they may struggle to make a decision. This is
known as the _____ of _____.
What is the paradox of choice?
If a point is above the production possibilities frontier it is ______ to produce.
What is impossible?
This graph demonstrates how an economy can maximize their production of goods with the resources they have.
What is a production possibilities graph?
If I was a carrot farmer, a tractor would be an example of this factor of production.
What is capital?
If a point is below the PPF, it is possible to produce, but it is ____________.
What is inefficient?