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AN INEXACT SCIENCEEconomics is the study, description, and analysis of the ways in which a society produces and distributes. In economics, the term goods and services refers to everything that is produced in the economy—all products and services, including government “services,” such as national defense and the prison system. Economics is one of the social (as opposed to natural or physical) sciences, as are psychology and anthropology. Social sciences examine and explain human interaction. Because of this, the findings and knowledge produced by a social science generally cannot be as exact or predictable as those of a physical science, such as physics or chemistry. For instance, if you put water in a saucepan on a stove, you know with certainty that it will boil when it reaches 212° Fahrenheit. But if you are the governor of a state and you raise the state sales tax, you cannot be certain about the effect it will have. And you won’t be able to answer any of the following basic questions: How much money will the tax raise? In order to avoid the tax, will people take more of their business across the state line? Will they shop more often on the Internet, where there is no sales tax (yet)? Will companies in the state experience lower sales and generate lower corporate income taxes as a result? Economics deals with these kinds of questions, but it seldom comes up with totally precise explanations or correct predictions. Why? Because human behavior in the economic realm is as complex and mysterious as it is in any other sphere of life. Vocabulary: government ïðàâèòåëüñòâî, prison òþðüìà, national defense íàöèîíàëüíàÿ áåçîïàñíîñòü, interaction âçàèìîäåéñòâèå, certainty îïðåäåëåííîñòü, sales tax íàëîã íà ïðîäàæè, income tax íàëîã íà äîõîäû, behaviour ïîâåäåíèå, to avoid èçáåãàòü, to raise ïîäíèìàòü, to experience èñïûòûâàòü, to deal with èìåòü äåëî ñ. Find in the text: • two parts of the state system; • two other social sciences; • two physical sciences; • two types of taxes.
11. Match these words as they go together in the text.
12. Say if the following is true or false. Correct the false statements. 1. Social sciences study the natural world around us. 2. Physical sciences are more exact than social sciences. 3. Government “services,” such as national defense and the prison system are not studied by economics. 4. Human behaviour can be examined and predicted with much precision. 5. Water boils at 212° Fahrenheit. 6. The raise of sales tax always causes lower sales.
13. Tell about the two experiments described in the text.
14. Think and say what economics has in common with these sciences. • Psychology • Mathematics • History • Biology
15. Read the text and choose the most suitable title for it. What Is Economics and Who Cares? It's Not Perfect, but It Helps! Will That Be Large or Small? The good news, however, is that economics can tell us the likely results of a sales tax. In addition, as a scientific discipline, economics provides extremely useful analytical tools and frameworks for understanding human behavior in the areas of getting and spending money, which (let's face it) occupies the majority of most people's waking hours. Economics deals with fundamental, often life-or-death issues. That is why economics is important. Its challenge lies in its mysteries: We don't know when the next expansion or recession will come. We don't know if a federal tax cut will help the economy grow. We don't know which new technologies should be encouraged and which ones won't pan out (íå ïðåóñïåþò). And, tragically, we don't know how to overcome poverty, hunger, crime, and other evils rooted in economic reality. But economics is the branch of the social sciences most concerned with these matters, and it is the one that's well equipped to help us deal with them. Economics provides a framework for understanding government policies, business developments, and consumer behavior here and abroad. It provides a rich context for making decisions in your business, professional, and financial life. The economy is to business as the ocean is to fish. It is the environment in which business operates. The more you know about this environment, the better you will function as a manager, analyst, and decisionmaker. Vocabulary: likely âåðîÿòíî, to provide îáåñïå÷èâàòü, tools èíñòðóìåíòû, framework ñòðóêòóðà, to occupy çàíèìàòü, majority áîëüøèíñòâî, issue ïóíêò, ïðîáëåìà, challenge ñëîæíàÿ çàäà÷à, expansion ðàñøèðåíèå, recession ñïàä, to encourage ïîîùðÿòü, to overcome ïðåîäîëåâàòü, poverty áåäíîñòü, equipped îáîðóäîâàííûé. 16. Match the parts of the sentences and write them down into your notebook. ECONOMICS
17. Match these words as they go together in the text.
19. Read the text and complete the charts to classify economics subdivisions according to different criteria. 1 Economics 2 Economics 3 Economics The field of economics may be divided in several different ways, most popularly microeconomics (at the level of individual choices) versus macroeconomics (aggregate results). Today there is a view that good macroeconomics has solid microeconomic foundations. In other words, its theories should have evidential support in microeconomics. A few authors (for example, Kurt Dopfer and Stuart Holland) also argue that 'mesoeconomics', which considers the intermediate level of economic organization such as markets and other institutional arrangements, should be considered a third branch of economic study. Theories developed as a part of economic theory have also been applied in other fields such as criminal behavior, scientific research, death, politics, health, education, family, dating, etc. This is allowed because economics is fundamentally about human decision-making. One of the main purposes is to understand how economies work, and what are the relations between the main economic players and institutions. Economics can also be divided into numerous sub disciplines that do not always fit neatly into the macro-micro categorization. These subdisciplines include: international economics, development economics, industrial organization, public finance, economic psychology, economic sociology, institutional economics and economic geography. Another division of the subject distinguishes positive (descriptive) economics, which seeks to predict and explain economic phenomena, from normative economics, which orders choices and actions by some criterion. 20. Comment on the classifications. The phrases in bold in the text will help you. 21. Define which sub-discipline deals with the following subjects and fill in the table.
• household incomes • national income • employment • inflation • prices in local markets • small businesses Date: 2014-12-21; view: 5521
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