Microeconomics Vocabulary

Something measurable that can have different values, such as the wages of software programmers

analysis concerned with what is

analysis concerned with what ought to be

a table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded

the amount of a good or service that a consumer is willing and able to purchase at a given price

a graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded

the demand by all consumers of a given good or service

the characteristics of a population with respect to age race, and gender

the amount of a good that sellers are willing and able to sell

a graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied

Increases in price leads to an increase in quantity supplied, Decrease in price causes decrease in quantity supplied

a positive or negative change in the ability of a firm to produce a given level of output with a given quantity of inputs

a situation in which the quantity supplied is greater than the quantity demanded

A situation in which the quantity demanded is greater than the quantity supplied

A legally determined maximum price that sellers may charge

A legally determined minimum price that sellers may recieve

The difference between the highest price a consumer is willing to pay for a good or service and the price the consumer actually pays

The benefit to a consumer from consuming on more unit of a good or service

The additional cost of producing one more unit of a good or service

The difference between the lowest price a firm would be willing to accept for a good or service and the price it actually receives

The sum of consumer surplus and producer surplus

The reduction in economic surplus resulting from a market not being in competitive equilibrium

A market outcome in which the marginal benefit to consumers of the last unit produced is equal to it’s marginal cost of production in which the sum of consumer surplus and producer surplus is maximized

The actually division of the burden of a tax between buyers and sellers in a market

A measure of how much one economic variable responds to changes in another economic variable.

The responsiveness of the quantity demanded to a change in price, measured by dividing the percentage change in the quantity demanded of a product by the percentage change in the product’s price

the percentage change in quantity demanded is greater than the percentage change in price

the percentage change in quantity demanded is less than the percentage change in price.

the case where the quantity demanded is completely unresponsive to price, and the price elasticity of demand equals zero.

the case where the quantity demanded is infinitely responsive to price, and the price elasticity of demand equals infinity.

the total amount of money a firm receives by selling goods or services

the percentage change in quantity demanded of one good divided by the percentage change in the price of another good.

The enjoyment or satisfaction people receive from consuming goods and services

The change in total utility a person receives from consuming one additional unit of a good or service

The principle that consumers experience diminishing additional satisfaction as they consume more of a good or service during a given period of time

The limited amount of income available to consumers to spend on goods or services

A situation in which the usefulness of a product increases with the number of consumers who use it

The study of situations in which people make choices that do no appear to be economically rational

The highest valued alternative that must be given up to engage in an activity

the tendency of people to be unwilling to sell a good they already own even if they are offered a price that is greater than the price they would be willing to pay to buy the good if they didn’t already own it

A cost that has already been paid and cannot be recovered

The rate at which a consumer would be willing to trade off one good for another.

The processes a firm uses to turn inputs into outputs of goods and services

A change in the ability of a firm to produce a given level of output with a given quantity of inputs

The period of time during which at least one of a firm’s inputs is fixed

The period of time in which a firm can vary all its inputs, adopt new technology, and increase or decrease the size of it’s physical plant

The cost of all the inputs a firm uses in production

Costs that change as output changes

Costs that remain constant as output changes

A cost that involves spending money

a nonmonetary opportunity cost

The relationship between the inputs employed by a firm and the maximum output it can produce with those inputs

The additional output a firm produces as a result of hiring one more worker

The principle that at some point, adding more of a variable input such as labor, to the same amount of a fixed input, such as capital, will cause the marginal product of the variable input to decline

The total output produced by a firm divided by the quantity of workers.

The change in a firm’s total cost from producing one more unit of a good or service

A curve showing the lowest cost at which a firm is able to produce a given quantity of outputs in the long run, when no inputs are fixed

The situation when a firm’s long-run average costs fall as it increases output

The situation when a firm’s long-run average costs remain unchanged as it increases output

The level of output at which all economics of scales are exhausted

The situation when a firm’s long-run average cost rise as the firm increases output

The rate at which a firm is able to substitute one input for another while keeping the level of output constant

All the combinations of two inputs, such as capital and labor, that have the same total cost

The idea that because of scarcity, producing more of one good or service means producing less of another good or service

An economy in which the government decides how economic resources will be allocated

An economy in which the decisions of households and firms interacting in market allocate economic resources

A situation in which unlimited wants exceed the limited resources available to fulfill those wants

The study of the choices people make to attain their goals, given their scarce resources

A simplified version of reality used to analyze real-world economic situations

Analysis that involves comparing marginal benefits and marginal cost

An economy in which most economic decisions result from the interaction of buyers and sellers in markets but in which the government plays a significant role to the allocation of resources

A situation in which a good or service is produced at the lowest cost possible

A state of the economy in which production is in accordance with consumer preferences; in particular, every good or service is produced up to the point where the last unit provides a marginal benefit to society equal to the marginal cost of producing it

A situation that occurs in the market when both the buyer and seller of a product are made better off by the transaction

The fair distribution of economy benefits

The change in the quantity demanded of a good that results from a change in price, making the good more or less expensive relative to other goods that are substitutes

The change in the quantity demanded of a good that results from the effect of a change in the good’s price on consumer’s purchasing power

The requirement that when analyzing the relationship between two variable-such as price and quantity demanded-other variables are held constant

A situation in which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied

A buyer or seller that is unable to affect the market price

The minimum point on a firm’s average variable cost curve, if the firm falls below then it shuts down in production in the short run.

A firm’s revenues minus all it’s cost, implicit and explicit

The actions of a firm intended to maintain the differentiation of a product over time.

A market structure in which a small number of interdependent firms compete

Anything that keeps new firms from entering an industry in which firms are earning economic profits.

A table that shows the payoff that each firm earns from every combination of strategies by the firms.

An agreement among firms to charge the same price or otherwise not to compete.

A strategy that is the best for a firm, no matter what strategies others use.

A situation in which each firm chooses the best strategy, given the strategies chosen by other firms.

A game in which pursuing dominant strategies results in noncooperation that leaves everyone worse off

A group of firms that collude by agreeing to restrict output to increase prices and profits

A government-granted exclusive right to produce and sell a creation

A government designation that a firm is the only legal provider of a good or service.

A situation in which economies of scales are so large that one firm can supply the entire market at a lower average total cost than can two or more firms.

The ability of a firm to charge a price greater than marginal cost

Laws aimed at eliminating collusion and promoting competition among firms

Charging different prices to different customers for the same product when the price differences are not due to differences in cost.

A situation in which consumers pay one price for the right to buy as much of a related good as they want at a second price

The demand for a factor of production; it depends on the demand for the good the factor produces

The additional output a firm produces as a result of hiring one more worker

The change in a firm’s revenue as a result of hiring one more worker

The accumulated training and skills that workers possess

Higher wages that compensate workers for unpleasant aspects of a job

Paying a person a lower wage or excluding a person from an occupation on the basis of an irrelevant characteristic such as race or gender.

An organization of employees that has the legal right to bargain with employers about wages and working conditions.

The application of economic analysis to human resources issues.

The price of a factor of production that is in fixed supply

The sole buyer of a factor of production