Economics

We live in a world of scarcity. Scarcity means that our wants exceed resources. Wants do not simply exceed resources; they are unlimited. Indeed, human wants are effectively unlimited but the resources available to satisfy them are finite. Scarcity forces people to compete with each other for scarce resources by making choices. Making the best choice possible from what is available is called optimizing. There is another word that has a similar meaning – economizing. Economiz­ing is making the best use of the resources available.

The social science that describes and analyzes how people in a society choose to use its scarce resources to satisfy their needs and wants is called economics.

Economics is a young science and a long way from having achieved its goal. Its birth can be dated fairly precisely in the 18^th century with the publication of Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations.”

Once economics was called the “dismal science” since a 19^th-century economist, Thomas Malthus, predicted that population growth soon would outstrip the ability of farmers to produce food.

Economic science, like the natural sciences and the other social sciences, attempts to find a body of laws of nature. It seeks to under­stand what is and is silent about what ought to be.

Economics tries to answer difficult questions that affect our daily lives. These questions concern 1) the production and consumption of goods and services; 2) wages and earnings; 3) unemployment; 4) inflation; 5) gov­ernment spending, taxation, and regulation; 6) inter­national trade; and 7) the distribution of wealth and poverty in a country and throughout the world.

These questions, known as seven big questions provide an overview of economics. They are big questions for two reasons. First, they affect the quality of human life with great intensity. Second, they are hard questions to answer.

Understanding economics concerns everyone as an individ­ual, as an earner and spender, and as a citizen. In fact, as a member of society, you cannot escape economics. Our food, home, clothes, and even leisure time are all affected, in part, by economic forces.

The more you know about economics, the better decisions you will be able to make. In fact, one common definition of economics is “the study of how people make a living.”

Professionals who study economics and discuss this decision-making process are called economists. Many economists are university professors. They teach and research economic issues. Large corporations and banks hire economists to study markets and business methods. The government and cities also employ economists to study economic problems and trends.

For convenience, economists usually study issues facing individuals, families, and businesses separately from problems facing nations. They even have specific names for each area of study – macroeconomics and microeconomics.

Microeconomics is the branch of economics that studies the decisions of individual households and firms. Microeconom­ics also studies the way that individual markets work and the detailed way that regulation and taxes affect the allocation of labour as well as of goods and services.

Macroeconomics is the branch of eco­nomics that studies the economy as a whole. It seeks to understand the big picture rather than the detailed individual choices. In particular, it studies the determination of the overall level of economic activity – of unemployment, aggregate income, av­erage prices, and inflation.

Another important branch of economics is international economics, which has three main subdisciplines: international trade, monetary economics and international finance.

Economic phenomena can be observed and mea­sured in great detail. But economists do more than observe and measure economic activity, crucial as that is. Their main task is to discover laws governing economic behaviour.

Vocabulary Notes:

1. scarcity [`skeəsəti] / [`skersəti] – недостача; нестача; дефіцит;

2. to exceed [ık`si:d] – перевищувати; перевершувати; виходити за межі;

3. effectively [ı`fektıvli] – фактично; по суті; практично;

4. optimizing [`Optımaızıŋ] – оптимізація; пошук оптимального рішення;

5. economizing [ı`kOnəmaızıŋ] – економія;

6. “dismal science” [`dızm ə l `sa ı ən^ts] – “похмура (гнітюча) наука”;

7. since [sın^ts] – оскільки; так як;

8. to predict [prı`dıkt] – передбачувати; провіщати; передрікати;

9. to outstrip [ֽaut`strıp] – обганяти; випереджати; перевищувати (у чомусь);

10. body (of) [`bOdi] / [`bα:di] – система (напр. законів); група (чогось);

11. to seek [si:k] – прагнути (чогось); добиватися (чогось); намагатися, робити спроби;

12. consumption [kən`sAm p ∫^ən] – споживання;

13. wages [`weıGız] – заробітна плата;

14. earnings [`ə:nıŋz] – заробіток; дохід, прибуток; виручка; надходження;

15. gov­ernment spending [`gAv<sup>ə</sup>nmənt `spendıŋ] / [`gAv<sup>ə</sup>rnmənt `spendıŋ] – державні витрати;

16. regulation [ֽregju`leı∫^ən] – правило; регламент; постанова; регулювання; упорядкування;

17. overview (of) [`əuvəvju:] / [`ouv^ərvju:] – загальне уявлення (про щось);

18. to affect [ə`fekt] – впливати; діяти (на);

19. quality of life [`kwOləti] / [`kwα:ləti] – якість життя;

20. earner [`ə:nə] – особа, що отримує заробітну плату; годувальник;

21. spender – той, хто витрачає кошти;

22. to make a living – заробляти на життя;

23. to hire [`ha ı ə] / [`haı^ər] – наймати; надавати роботу; запрошувати на роботу;

24. to employ – наймати; давати роботу;

25. trend – напрям; загальна спрямованість; тенденція;

26. convenience [kən`vi:niən^ts] – зручність; вигода; користь;

27. individual household – індивідуальне домашнє господарство; (окрема) сімейна одиниця;

28. allocation [ֽælə`keı∫^ən] – розміщення; розподіл; призначення;

29. the big picture – загальна картина; загальне уявлення;

30. determination [dıֽtə:mı`neı∫^ən] – визначення; встановлення;

31. aggregate income [`ægrıgət `ınkAm] – загальна сума доходів; сукупний дохід;

32. av­erage price [`æv ə rıG] – середня ціна;

33. to observe [əb`zə:v] – спостерігати; стежити; вести наукові спостереження;

34. to mea­sure [`meჳə] / [`meჳ^ər] – міряти; вимірювати; оцінювати, визначати (характер тощо);

35. crucial [`kru:∫^əl] – вирішальний; критичний.

Task 10. Correct the following statements.

1. Human wants hardly exceed available resources.

2. Scarcity forces people to share their scarce resources with each other.

3. Optimizing is making the quickest possible choice from what is available.

4. Optimizing and economizing denote different economic phenomena.

5. Economics dates back to the Middle Ages.

6. Thomas Malthus is known for his fundamental work The Wealth of Nations.

7. Economics has nothing to do with social phenomena.

8. Economics was called the “optimistic science.”

9. Understanding economics concerns only economists and business owners.

10. Economic forces hardly affect our everyday lives.

11. The more you know about economics, the gloomier you become.

12. Professionals who study economics are called decision-makers.

13. Economists do not work for non-profit organizations.

14. Microeconomics studies the economy as a whole.

15. The only task of economists is to observe and measure economic activity.

Task 11. a) Match the terms in column A with their definitions in column B:

A

B

1. scarcity 2. economist 3. economizing 4. microeconomics 5. macroeconomics

a)the study of large economic systems, such as those of whole countries or areas of the world; the features or state of such a system; b)a situation in which the supply of something is not enough for the people who want or need it; c)the branch of economics that studies individual markets or the decisions and choices made by individual businesses, families, etc. about spending or earning money, for example the choice to charge a particular price for goods; d)using something such as money or other resources carefully, so that you waste as little as possible; e)a person who studies or writes about economics; a person whose job involves studying particular economies and predicting their future progress;

b) Translate into Ukrainian.

1. All economic questions arise from the fundamental fact of scarcity. 2. Economizing on food is the only choice we have. 3. Economists generally agree on basic principles and models about the world that is. 4. Microeconomics examines the interaction of producers, buyers, and sellers in markets. 5. The city is affected by the macroeconomics of the region.

Task 12. Match the words in column A with their synonyms in column B.

A	B
1.effectively	a)limited;
2.to outstrip	b)to attempt, to try;
3.dismal	c)indeed; in fact;
4.finite	d)economizing;
5.earnings	e)to employ;
6.to seek	f)to govern;
7.allocation	g)income;
8.to force	h)gloomy;
9.to hire	i)distribution;
10.optimizing	j)to exceed;

Task 13. In the text “Economics” (Task 9) find the words opposite in meaning:

1. Excess, surplus;	3. unavailable;	5. to cooperate;
2. poverty;	4. employment;	6. ample.

Task 14. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate terms from the box.

scarcity

capital

satisfy

limited

face

There will always be a difference between what peo­ple want and the resources available to (1) _____ those wants. Human wants are unlimited, but the resources (land, labour, (2) _____, and time) required to satisfy them are limited. Once that limit is reached, nothing else can be produced. Thus, if human wants are unlimited, but resources to satisfy those wants are (3) _____, then people in every society (4) _____ the same problem: the problem of (5) _____.

Task 15. a) Fill in the blanks with corresponding noun or verb forms. Use your dictionary if necessary.

NOUN	VERB
1.-----------	to publish
2.excess	-----------
3.-----------	to grow
4.analysis	-----------
5.-----------	to consume
6.achievement	-----------
7.-----------	to inflate
8.prediction	-----------
9.-----------	to regulate
10.provision	-----------

b) Use the correct noun or verb forms in the sentences. Change the grammatical form of the words if necessary.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-29