Some Tools for the Economist myweb对于经济学家myweb的一些工具.fsu.pptVIP

* * * * * * * * * * * * Political Planning Political organization is the major alternative to the use of markets. Political organization involves the use of collective decision making (government) to decide what, how, and for whom goods and services will be produced. An economic system in which the government owns the income-producing assets and directly determines what goods they produce is called socialism. In a democracy, political decision makers have to consider how their actions will influence their election prospects. Questions for Thought: 1. Suppose Amy is a doctor who has records that need to be entered. Doing this work herself would take 10 hours per week. She is thinking about hiring an assistant who could do the same work in 40 hours. If Amy can make $80 per hour seeing patients, should she hire the assistant at $10 an hour? 2. Do you make the food that you consume and clothing you wear for yourself? Would you be better off if you did not buy so many things from others? Would modern living standards be possible without trade? Would Americans be better off if they did not buy so many things from foreign producers? Questions for Thought: 3. What does a production-possibilities curve demonstrate? Can the production possibilities of an economy be increased? If so, how? 5. “Modern living standards are primarily the result of brain power, capital formation, and the quality of institutions.” What is the meaning of this statement? Is it true? 4. What is the law of comparative advantage? Do people have an incentive to trade for things they can produce only at a high cost? Explain. EndChapter 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jump to first page Copyright ?2010 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible web site, in whole or in part. To Accompany “Economics: Private and Public Choice 13th ed