Download mvcc economics c1 vocab - Westmoreland Central School

MVCC ECONOMICS
C1 VOCAB
Glossary
Chapter 1
ceteris paribus
holding all other things constant
X-axis
the horizontal axis on a graph
Y-axis
the vertical axis on a graph
aggregate
the total amount—such as the aggregate level of output
bads
items that we do not desire or want, where less is preferred to more, such as terrorism, smog, or
poison oak
bar graph
visual display showing the comparison of quantities
capital
the equipment and structures used to produce goods and services
causation
when one event brings about another event
correlation
when two events occur together
economic goods scarce goods created from scarce resources—goods that are desirable but limited in supply
economics
the study of choices we make among our many wants and desires given our limited resources
efficiency
when an economy gets the most out of its scarce resources
empirical
analysis
the use of data to test a hypothesis
entrepreneurship the process of combining labor, land, and capital to produce goods and services
factor (or input)
markets
markets in which households sell the use of their inputs (capital, land, labor, and
entrepreneurship) to firms
fallacy of
composition
the incorrect view that what is true for the individual is always true for the group
goods
items we value or desire
human capital
the productive knowledge and skill people receive from education, on-the-job training, health, and
other factors that increase productivity
hypothesis
a testable proposition
intangible goods goods that we cannot reach out and touch, such as friendship and knowledge
labor
the physical and human effort used in the production of goods and services
land
the natural resources used in the production of goods and services
macroeconomics the study of the whole economy, including the topics of inflation, unemployment, and economic
growth
market
the process of buyers and sellers exchanging goods and services
market failure
when the economy fails to allocate resources efficiently on its own
microeconomics the study of household and firm behavior and how they interact in the marketplace
negative
relationship
when two variables change in opposite directions
normative
statement
a subjective, contestable statement that attempts to describe what should be done
pie chart
visual display showing the relative size of various quantities that add up to 100 percent
positive
when two variables change in the same direction
relationship
positive
statement
an objective, testable statement that describes what happens and why it happens
product markets
markets in which households are buyers and firms are sellers of goods and services
rational behavior people do the best they can, based on their values and information, under current and anticipated
future circumstances
resources
inputs used to produce goods and services
scarcity
exists when human wants (material and nonmaterial) exceed available resources
services
intangible items of value provided to consumers, such as education
simple circular
flow model
an illustration of the continuous flow of goods, services, inputs, and payments between firms and
households
slope
the ratio of rise (change in the Y variable) over run (change in the X variable)
tangible goods
items we value or desire that we can reach out and touch
the economic
problem
scarcity forces us to choose, and choices are costly because we must give up other opportunities
that we value
theory
a statement or proposition used to explain and predict behavior in the real world
time-series
graph
visual tool to show changes in a variable’s value over time
variable
something that is measured by a number, such as your height