《经济学EconomicsforToday3E2.ppt》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《经济学EconomicsforToday3E2.ppt(22页珍藏版)》请在三一文库上搜索。
1、,Chapter 2,Production possibilities and opportunity cost,3,Key concepts,Understanding the three fundamental economic questions Defining opportunity cost Applying marginal analysis Using the production possibilities frontier to explain opportunity cost Using the production possibilities frontier to m
2、odel economic growth Using the concept of opportunity cost to explain the gains from specialisation and trade,4,The three fundamental economic questions,The three fundamental economic questions are: What to produce? (Scarcity imposes restrictions on ability to produce.) How to produce? (What product
3、ion technique should be used.) For whom to produce? (Which people receive the goods and services that are produced.),5,Opportunity cost,When we make decisions, we forgo other choices. The best alternative sacrificed is the opportunity cost. It applies to personal, group and national decision-making
4、and underpins all aspects of economics, as it is linked closely to scarcity.,Examples of opportunity cost,What could you be doing if you were not currently studying? How many new roads have to be forgone if the government spends tax revenues on the military? Why might you accept a job at one wage, a
5、nd reject another one at a higher wage?,7,Marginal analysis,Marginal analysis refers to an examination of the effects of additions to or subtractions from a current situation. It is a valuable part of the economic toolkit because it considers the effects of change. By changing one of the variables,
6、ceteris paribus, we can see the overall effect.,8,Examples of marginal analysis,A farmer will only add fertiliser to an area of land if the value of the extra yield exceeds the cost of the fertiliser. When the benefit to you of studying this class exceeds the opportunity cost, you will spend time st
7、udying it. Marginal analysis helps decide between options.,9,The production possibilities frontier (PPF),A curve that shows the maximum combinations of two outputs that an economy can produce, assuming: resources are fixed during the time period resources are fully employed technology is unchanged.,
8、10,The PPF,11,The PPF (cont.),The PPF shows all efficient output combinations where an economy can produce more of one output only by producing less of the other output. All points along the PPF in the previous graph are possible combinations of consumer goods and consumer services, given our assump
9、tions.,12,The PPF (cont.),Points outside the PPF represent unattainable production possibilities, given current resources and technology. Points inside the PPF represent an inefficient use of current resources.,13,Shifting the production possibilities frontier,The PPF can be used to represent change
10、s in the level of technology and available resources. Economic growth (the ability of an economy to produce greater levels of output) is represented by an outward shift of the production possibilities curve.,14,The law of increasing costs,Opportunity cost increases as production of one output expand
11、s at the expense of another. This occurs because factors of production are generally not equally suited to producing one good, compared to another good. That is, opportunity costs rise as resources are shifted away from their best uses.,15,Shifting the PPF,16,Shifting the PPF (cont.),Growth could be
12、 caused by: An increase in the number of productive resources available to the economy (e.g. more highly skilled labour force, discoveries of minerals). Technological change: the creation, development and application of new products and productive processes.,17,Present investment and future PPF,Choi
13、ces we make now determine production possibilities in the future. Countries that forgo current consumption today in favour of investment (producing capital equipment) tend to expand their growth rate: the PPF shifts outward. Example: compulsory superannuation,18,A low-investment country,19,A high-in
14、vestment country,20,The costs and benefits of investment,Consumer goods that could have been purchased today are forgone in order to spend money for plants and other capital. By investing in capital, the economy can produce consumer goods and services in the future that can enable economic growth.,2
15、1,Gains from trade,The concept of opportunity cost can also be used to explain the gains from trade. Consider an expert hairdresser who can also do more cleaning in an hour than their cleaner. Should the hairdresser cut hair or clean?,22,Gains from trade (cont.),The hairdresser should specialise in hairdressing, and use the income generated to pay for the services of a cleaner. This principle also applies at the national level, where it is known as the theory of comparative advantage.,
链接地址:https://www.31doc.com/p-2570300.html