C. Discuss the following questions.

1. Do you agree that economics is helpful in everyday life? Give your arguments.

2. Try to think of several important decisions that you have made recently. What was the opportunity cost of each decision?

3. Do you think economics is a theoretical or applied discipline?

4. Imagine a world without a problem of scarcity. Would you enjoy living in such a world?

5. Are there any countries with traditional economies nowadays?

6. Is it correct to say that all major economies in the world are market economies?

7. How can you define the economic system of Belarus?

GLOSSARY

· Economics is the study of how individuals and society choose to allocate scarce resources in order to satisfy unlimited wants.

· Economy is a system by which industry, trade and money are organized.

· Entrepreneurship is a special type of labour. An entrepreneur combines resources to produce innovative products.

· Macroeconomics applies an economy wide perspective that focuses on such issues as inflation, unemployment, and the growth rate of the economy.

· Microeconomics examines individual decision-making units within an economy.

· Models are simplified descriptions of reality used to understand and predict economic events. An economic model can be stated verbally or in a table, graph, or equation.

· Needs are basic necessities or requirements.

· Opportunity cost is the value of what is foregone in order to have something else.

· Resources are factors of production classified as land, labour, and capital.

· Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem that human wants exceed the availability of time, goods, and resources. Individuals and society therefore can never have everything they desire.

· Types of economies:

In command economies the basic economic questions are answered by government officials.

In a market economy, basic economic questions are answered by individual households and businesses through a system of freely operating markets.

In mixed economies, a distinction is usually made between the private sector, in which decisions are made primarily by individual households and businesses, and the public sector, in which decisions are made by the government.

Transition economies face the task of moving from a centrally-planned system of resource allocation towards a more market-oriented approach.

· Want is a desire for sth.

Date: 2014-12-21; view: 1467