《微观经济学中英文术语及其解释.doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《微观经济学中英文术语及其解释.doc（12页珍藏版）》请在taowenge.com淘文阁网|工程机械CAD图纸|机械工程制图|CAD装配图下载|SolidWorks_CaTia_CAD_UG_PROE_设计图分享下载上搜索。
1、精品文档，仅供学习与交流，如有侵权请联系网站删除Scarcity the limited nature of societys resourcesEconomics the study of how society manages its scarce resourcesEfficiency the property of society getting the most it can from its scarce resourcesEquity the property of distributing economic prosperity fairly among the members
2、 of societyOpportunity cost whatever must be given up to obtain some itemMarginal changes small incremental adjustments to a plan of actionMarket economy an economy that allocates resources through the decentralized decisions of many firms and households as they interact in markets for goods and ser
3、vicesMarket failure a s/tuition in which a market left on its own fails to allocate resources efficientlyExternality the impact of one persons actions on the well-being of a bystanderMarket power the ability of a single economic actor (or small group of actors) to have a substantial influence on mar
4、ket pricesProductivity the quantity of goods and services produced from each hour of a workers timeInflation an increase in the overall level of prices in the economyPhilips curve a curve that shows the short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemploymentBusiness cycle fluctuations in economic acti
5、vity，such as employment and produaionCircular-flow diagram a visual model of the economy that shows how dollars flow through markets among households and firmsProduction possibilities frontier a graph that shows the combinations of output that the economy can possibly produce given the available fac
6、tors of production and the available production technologyPositive statements claims that attempt to do describe the world as it isNormative statements claims that attempt to prescribe how the world should beAbsolute advantage the comparison among producers of a good according to their productivityO
7、pportunity cost whatever must be given up to obtain some itemComparative advantage the comparison among producers of a good according to their opportunity costImports goods produced abroad and sold domesticallyExports goods produced domestically and sold abroadMarket a group of buyers and sellers of
8、 a particular good or serviceCompetitive market a market in which there are many buyers and many sellers so that each has a negligible impact on the market priceQuantity demanded the amount of a good that buyers are willing and able to-purchaseLaw of demand the claim that, other things equal, the qu
9、antity demanded of a good falls when the price of the good risesDemand schedule a table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and-the quantity demandedDemand curve a graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demandedNormal good a good for which, other t
10、hings equal, an increase in income leads to an increase in demandInferior good a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to a decrease in demandSubstitutes two goods for which an increase in the price of one leads to an increase in the demand for the otherComplements two good
11、s for which an increase in the price of one leads to a decrease in the demand for the otherQuantity supplied the amount of a good that sellers are willing and able to sellLaw of supply the claim that, other things equal, the quantity supplied of a good rises when the price of the good risesSupply sc
12、hedule a table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity suppliedSupply curve a graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity suppliedEquilibrium a situation in which the price has reached the level where quantity supplied equals quantity deman
13、dedEquilibrium price the price that balances quantity supplied and quantity demandedEquilibrium quantity the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded at the equilibrium priceSurplus a situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demandedShortage a situation in which quantity dema
14、nded is greater than quantity suppliedLaws of supply and demand the claim that the price of any good adjusts to bring the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded for that good into balanceElasticity a measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded or quantity supplied to one of its determina
15、ntsPrice elasticity of demand a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the e percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in priceIncome elasticity of demand a measure of how much the quantity demande
16、d of a good responds to a change in consumers income, computed as the percentage change tn quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in incomeCross-price elasticity of demand a measure of how much the quantity demanded of one good respond to a change in the price of another good, computed a
17、s the percentage change m quantity demanded of the first good divided by the percentage change in the price of the second goodPrice elasticity of supply a measure of how much the quantity supplied of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the percentage change in quantity
18、 supplied divided by the percentage change in pricePrice ceiling a legal maximum on the price at which a good can be soldPrice floor a legal minimum on the price at which a good can be soldTax incidence the manner in which the burden of a tax is shared among participants in a marketWelfare economics
19、 the study of how the allocation of resources affects economic well-beingWillingness to pay the maximum amount that a buyer will pay for a goodConsumer surplus a buyers willingness to pay minus the amount the buyer actually paysCost the value of everything a seller must give up to produce a goodProd
20、ucer surplus the amount a seller is paid for a good minus the sellers costEfficiency the property of a resource allocation of maximizing the total surplus received by all members of societyEquity the fairness of the distribution of well-being among the members of society Deadweight loss the fall in
21、total surplus that results from a market distortion, such as a taxWorld price the price of a good that prevails in the world market for that goodTariff a tax on goods produced abroad and sold domesticallyImport quota a limit on the quantity of a good that can be produced abroad and sold domestically
22、Externality the uncompensated impact of one persons actions on the well-being of a bystanderInternalizing an externality altering incentives so that people take account of the external effects of their actionsCoase theorem the proposition that if private parties can bargain without cost over the all
23、ocation of resources, they can solve the problem of externalities on their ownTransaction costs the costs that parties incur in the process of agreeing and following through on a bargainPigovian tax a tax enacted to correct the effects of a negative externalityExcludability the property of a good wh
24、ereby a person can be prevented from using itRivalry the property of a good whereby one persons use diminishes other peoples usePrivate goods goods that are both excludable and rival Public goods goods that are neither excludable nor rivalCommon resources goods that are rival but not excludableFree
25、rider a person who receives the benefit of a good but avoids paying for itCost-benefit analysis a study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public goodTragedy of the Commons a parable that illustrates why common resources get used more than is desirable from the standpoint
26、 of society as a wholeBudget surplus an excess of government receipts over government spendingBudget deficit an excess of government spending over government receiptsAverage tax rate total taxes paid divided by total incomeMarginal tax rate the extra taxes paid on an additional dollar of incomeLump-
27、sum tax a tax that is the same amount for every personBenefits principle the idea that people should pay taxes based on the benefits they receive from government servicesAbility-to-pay principle the idea that taxes should be levied on a person according to how well that person can shoulder the burde
28、nVertical equity the idea that taxpayers with a greater ability to pay taxes should pay larger amountsHorizontal equity the idea that taxpayers with similar abilities to pay taxes should pay the same amountProportional tax a tax for which high-income and low-income taxpayers pay the same fraction of
29、 incomeRegressive tax a tax for which high-income taxpayers pay a smaller fraction of their income than do low-income taxpayersProgressive tax a tax for which high-income taxpayers pay a larger fraction of their income than do low-income taxpayersTotal revenue the amount a firm receives for the sale
30、 of its outputTotal cost the market value of the inputs a firm uses in productionProfit total revenue minus total costExplicit costs input costs that require an outlay of money by the firmImplicit costs input costs that do not require an outlay of money by the firmEconomic profit total revenue minus
31、 total cost, including both explicit and implicit costsAccounting profit total revenue minus total explicit costProduction function the relationship between quantity of inputs used to make a good and the quantity of output of the goodMarginal product the increase in output that arises from an additi
32、onal unit of inputDiminishing marginal product the property whereby the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increasesFixed costs costs that do not vary with the quantity of output producedVariable costs costs that do vary with the quantity of output producedAverage tot
33、al cost total cost divided by the quantity of outputAverage fixed cost fixed costs divided by the quantity of outputAverage variable cost variable costs divided by the quantity of outputMarginal cost the increase in total cost that arises from an extra unit of productionEfficient scale the quantity
34、of output that minimizes average total costEconomies of scale the property whereby long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increasesDiseconomies of scale the property whereby long-run average total cost rises as the quantity of output increases Constant returns to scale the prope
35、rty whereby long-run average total cost stays the same as the quantity of output changesCompetitive market a market with many buyers and sellers trading identical products so that each buyer and setter is a price takerAverage revenue total revenue divided by the quantity soldMarginal revenue the cha
36、nge in total revenue from an additional unit soldSunk cost a cost that has already been committed and cannot be recoveredMonopoly a firm that is the sole seller of a product without close substitutesNatural monopoly a monopoly that arises because a single firm can supply a good or service to an enti
37、re market at a smaller cost than could two or more firmsPrice discrimination the business practice of selling the same good at different prices to different customersOligopoly a market structure in which only a few settlers offer similar or identical productsMonopolistic competition a market structu
38、re in which many firms sell products that are similar but not identicalCollusion an agreement among firms in a market about quantities to produce or prices to chargeCartel a group of firms acting in unisonNash equilibrium a situation in which economic actors interacting with one another each choose
39、their best strategy given the strategies that a/l the other actors have chosenGame theory the study of how people behave in strategic situationsPrisoners dilemma a particular “game between two captured prisoners that illustrates why cooperation is difficult to maintain even when it is mutually benef
40、icialDominant strategy a strategy that is best for a player in a game regardless of the strategies chosen by the other playersMonopolistic competition a market structure in which many firms sell products that are similar but not identicalFactors of production the inputs used to produce goods and ser
41、vicesProduction function the relationship between the quantity of inputs used to make a good and the quantity of output of that goodMarginal product of labor the increase in the amount of output from an additional unit of laborDiminishing marginal product the property whereby the marginal product of
42、 an input declines as the quantity of the input increasesValue of the marginal product the marginal product of an input times the price of the outputCapital the equipment and structures used to produce goods and servicesCompensating differential a difference in wages that arises to offset the nonmon
43、etary characteristics of different jobs Human capital the accumulation of investments in people, such as education and on-the-job trainingUnion a worker association that bargains with employers over wages and working conditionsStrike the organized withdrawal of labor from a firm by unionEfficiency w
44、ages above-equilibrium wages paid by firms in order to increase worker productivityDiscrimination the offering of different opportunities to similar individuals who differ only by race, ethnic group, sex, age, or other personal characteristicsPoverty rate the percentage of the population whose famil
45、y income falls below an absolute level called the poverty linePoverty line an absolute level of income set by the federal government for each family size below which a family is deemed to be in povertyIn-kind transfers transfers to the poor given in the form of goods and services-rather than cashLif
46、e cycle the regular pattern of income variation over a persons lifePermanent income a persons normal incomeUtilitarianism the political philosophy according to which the government should choose policies to maximize the total utility of everyone in societyUtility a measure of happiness or satisfacti
47、onLiberalism the political philosophy according to which the government should choose policies deemed to be just, as evaluated by an impartial observer behind a “veil of ignoranceMaximin criterion the claim that the government should aim to maximize the well-being of the worst-off person in societyL
48、ibertarianism the political philosophy according to which the government should punish crimes and enforce voluntary agreements but not redistribute incomeWelfare government programs that supplement the incomes of the needyNegative income tax a tax system that collects revenue from high-income households and gives transfers to tow-income householdsBudget constraint the limit on the consumption bundles that a consumer can affordIndifference curve a curve that shows consumption bundles that give the consumer the same level of satisfactionMarginal rate of substitution the r