原版经济学原理（曼昆第四版原版）.docVIP

原版经济学原理(曼昆,第四版,原版) IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL Learn that economics is about the allocation of scarce resources Examine some of the tradeoffs that people face Learn the meaning of opportunity cost See how to use marginal reasoning when making decisions Discuss how incentives affect TEN PRINCIPLES people’s behavior OF ECONOMICS Consider why trade among people or The word economy comes from the Greek word for “one who manages a house- nations can be good hold.” At first, this origin might seem peculiar. But, in fact, households and for everyone economies have much in common. A household faces many decisions. It must decide which members of the household do which tasks and what each member gets in return: Who cooks din- Discuss why markets ner? Who does the laundry? Who gets the extra dessert at dinner? Who gets to are a good, but not choose what TV show to watch? In short, the household must allocate its scarce re- perfect, way to sources among its various members, taking into account each member’s abilities, allocate resources efforts, and desires. Like a household, a society faces many decisions. A society must decide what jobs will be done and who will do them. It needs some people to grow food, other Learn what people to make clothing, and still others to design computer software. Once soci- determines some ety has allocated people as well as land, buildings, and machines to various jobs, trends in the overall economy 34 PART ONE INTRODUCTION it must also allocate the output of goods and services that they produce. It must decide who will eat caviar and who will eat potatoes. It must decide who will drive a Porsche and who will take the bus. The management of society’s resources is important because resources are scarce. Scarcity means that society has limited resources and therefore cannot pro- scarcity duce all the goods and services people wish to have. Just as a household cannot the limited nature of society’s give every member everything