Scarcity Strikes Again
When wants are unlimited but resources are limited, economists call this annoying life condition.
What is scarcity?
This happens when quantity demanded equals quantity supplied.
What is market equilibrium?
When a small change in price causes a big change in quantity demanded, demand is this.
What is elastic?
This measures the total value of final goods and services produced in a country.
What is GDP?
This is a plan for how you will spend and save your money before it disappears for “no reason.”
What is a budget?
This is the value of the next best option you give up when you choose something else.
What is opportunity cost?
If the price is below equilibrium, this happens because people want more than producers are willing to sell.
What is a shortage?
Gasoline in the short run and insulin are usually this type of demand.
What is inelastic demand?
This is the general increase in prices over time.
What is inflation?
This fund is meant for emergencies like car repairs, surprise bills, or life being rude.
What is an emergency fund?
Choosing tacos means giving up pizza. Economists call that painful choice this.
What is a trade-off?
If the price is above equilibrium, this happens because sellers brought too much to the party.
What is a surplus?
The more of these a product has, the more elastic demand usually becomes.
What are substitutes?
This measures the percentage of the labor force actively looking for work but unable to find it.
What is the unemployment rate?
This happens when your money earns money, and then that money earns money too.
What is compound interest?
In this economic system, the government makes most major decisions about what to produce and how to produce it.
What is a command economy?
A hurricane damages oil refineries, so this curve shifts left.
What is the supply curve?
As consumers get more of this, demand often becomes more elastic because they can adjust behavior.
What is time?
When prices rise faster than wages, this falls, and everybody suddenly says “Why is everything so expensive?”
What is purchasing power?
This is the ability to borrow money now and repay it later.
What is credit?
In this system, private businesses and the government both play important roles.
What is a mixed economy?
A city gains thousands of new tech workers, so this for housing increases.
What is demand?
If demand is inelastic and a business raises prices, this usually happens to total revenue.
What is it increases?
Economists often look at these three indicators together to judge the health of the economy.
What are GDP, inflation, and unemployment?
This three-digit number can strongly affect whether your loan interest rate is smooth or disrespectful.
What is a credit score?