Econ Sec 1.ppt

5.1 Section 1 (Outcome 1) (p13-p143) Basic concepts in Economics  5.1.1 Introduction to Section 1 (Outcome 1) ●Questions: ○ Hard to find a job? ○ Unemployment ? ○ Low wage? ○ National medical care? ○ Inflation (food, gasoline, house, education)? ○ High house price ? ○ Some are extremely rich, while others are very poor, Why? These are matters of Economics ! ● Economics deals with the production, distribution use of goods, money, natural resources, and services. ● Why need to study Economics ? because there are limited resources— Scarcity (稀缺性)! ● What is Economics ? 5.1.2 Economics: a definition ■ Definition of Economics Economics is a social science. It studies how individuals, firms, governments and other organisations make choices to determine the way the resources of society are used. (p16) ● Macroeconomics (宏观经济学) Studies economic decision-making the use of a country’s resources Issues affecting the entire country: 宏观经济学研究与国家经济决策和国家资源使用相关的影响整个国 家的问题, 例如: Unemployment (失业), inflation (通货膨胀), economic growth (经济增长), Money Banking (货币和银行), International trade (国际贸易), . . . ● Microeconomics (微观经济学) Studies decision making of economics in a smaller scale: 微观宏观经济学研究小范围内的经济决策问题. Business firms (企业), consumers workers (消费者和员工), an industry (一个行业), . . . Issues: Profit (利润), Costs (成本), Wage (工资), Pricing (定价), Competition (竞争), . . . 5.1.3 Basic concepts in Economics (The economic problems) ■ Scarcity (稀缺性)! ● Why need to study Economics ? because there are limited resources— Scarcity (稀缺性)! ● What is Scarcity (稀缺性)?  Insufficient amount / Supply● What things are scarce ? ● All economic resources (经济资源) are scarce ! ▲ Land (土地): Minerals (矿物), Wild animals(野生动物), Vegetation(植物), Water(水) ▲ Labor (劳动力): Population is aging: Labor force = Who are working + Who are willing to work. ▲ Capital (资本) :