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Microeconomics Foundations
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Demand
The quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at different prices. Example: As the price of apples decreases, the quantity demanded by consumers increases.
Supply
The quantity of a good or service that producers are willing and able to sell at different prices. Example: As the price of corn increases, farmers are willing to supply more corn.
Elasticity
A measure of how much the quantity demanded or supplied of a good responds to a change in price. Example: Luxury cars have a high price elasticity of demand; a small increase in price can lead to a large drop in quantity demanded.
Utility
The satisfaction or pleasure one gets from consuming a good or service. Example: Drinking a cold beverage on a hot day provides utility.
Marginal Utility
The additional satisfaction gained from consuming one additional unit of a good or service. Example: The first slice of pizza provides more marginal utility than the fourth slice.
Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility
The principle that consumers experience diminishing additional satisfaction as they consume more of a good or service during a given period. Example: Each additional scoop of ice cream might bring less pleasure than the previous one.
Budget Constraint
The limit on the consumption bundles that a consumer can afford. Example: With a fixed income, buying a new phone may mean you can't afford a tablet.
Opportunity Cost
The value of the next best alternative that is forgone as a result of making a decision. Example: Choosing to go to college means forgoing the wages one could have earned working full time.
Market Equilibrium
A situation in which the quantity demanded of a good equals the quantity supplied at the prevailing market price. Example: When the amount of bread consumers want to buy is equal to the amount bakeries want to sell.
Perfect Competition
A market structure characterized by a large number of small firms, a homogenous product, and very easy entry and exit. Example: Agricultural markets where many farmers sell identical products.
Monopoly
A market structure where a single firm controls the entire market for a good or service with no close substitutes. Example: A utility company in a region without any other electricity providers.
Monopolistic Competition
A market structure with many firms selling products that are similar but not identical. Example: The restaurant industry where many establishments offer different types of food.
Oligopoly
A market structure with a few large firms that have some control over pricing and high barriers to entry. Example: The auto industry, which is dominated by a few large car manufacturers.
Game Theory
The study of how people behave in strategic situations where an individual's success in making choices depends on the choices of others. Example: Two competing firms deciding whether to launch an advertising campaign.
Marginal Cost
The cost of producing one additional unit of a good. Example: The cost of one more unit of coffee might include the beans, water, and extra labor.
Marginal Revenue
The additional income received from selling one more unit of a good or service. Example: If a bakery sells one more cake, the price of that cake represents its marginal revenue.
Fixed Costs
Costs that do not vary with the level of output. Example: Rent for a factory, which must be paid regardless of how much is produced.
Variable Costs
Costs that change with the level of output. Example: Costs for raw materials that increase as more units are manufactured.
Total Cost
The sum of fixed and variable costs for a given level of production. Example: If a business's fixed costs are 500 for 100 units, the total cost is
Average Total Cost
Total cost divided by the quantity of output. Example: If the total cost for 100 units is 15.
Economies of Scale
The cost advantages that a business achieves due to expansion. Example: A car manufacturer reducing the average cost per vehicle as output increases.
Diseconomies of Scale
The disadvantageous rise in average costs as a firm grows beyond a certain size. Example: A company becoming less efficient as management becomes stretched and communication becomes cumbersome.
Factor Market
A market for the factors of production, such as labor, capital, land, and entrepreneurship. Example: A job marketplace where businesses hire employees.
Consumer Surplus
The difference between the total amount consumers are willing to pay and the total amount they actually pay. Example: Willing to pay 7 gives a consumer surplus of
Producer Surplus
The difference between the total amount producers are willing to accept and the total amount they actually receive. Example: Ready to sell a widget for 7 gives a producer surplus of
Income Elasticity of Demand
A measure of how much the demand for a good changes in response to changes in income. Example: Demand for luxury cars might increase more than proportionally as people's incomes rise.
Cross Elasticity of Demand
A measure of how much the demand for one good changes in response to a change in the price of another good. Example: As the price of butter increases, the demand for margarine might also increase.
Price Floor
A legal minimum on the price at which a good can be sold. Example: Minimum wage laws set a price floor for labor, ensuring workers are paid at least a certain hourly rate.
Price Ceiling
A legal maximum on the price at which a good can be sold. Example: Rent control sets a price ceiling on apartments in some cities, limiting the rent landlords can charge.
Deadweight Loss
The loss of economic efficiency that occurs when the equilibrium for a good or service is not achieved or is not achievable. Example: Taxes imposed on a good creating a gap between the consumer's price and the producer's price.
Externality
A cost or benefit for a third party who did not agree to it caused by an economic activity. Example: The pollution from a factory that affects the health of nearby residents.
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