曼昆微观经济学原理第一章

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1、Inthischapter,lookfortheanswerstothesequestions:Whatkindsofquestionsdoeseconomicsaddress?Whataretheprinciplesofhowpeoplemakedecisions?Whataretheprinciplesofhowpeopleinteract?Whataretheprinciplesofhowtheeconomyasawholeworks?0TENPRINCIPLESOFECONOMICS1WhatEconomicsIsAllAboutScarcity:thelimitednatu

2、reofsociety’sresourcesEconomics:thestudyofhowsocietymanagesitsscarceresources,e.g.howpeopledecidewhattobuy,howmuchtowork,save,andspendhowfirmsdecidehowmuchtoproduce,howmanyworkerstohirehowsocietydecideshowtodivideitsresourcesbetweennationaldefense,consumergoods,protectingtheenvironment,andothe

3、rneeds00TheprinciplesofHOWPEOPLEMAKEDECISIONSTENPRINCIPLESOFECONOMICS3HOWPEOPLEMAKEDECISIONSAlldecisionsinvolvetradeoffs.Examples:Goingtoapartythenightbeforeyourmidtermleaveslesstimeforstudying.Havingmoremoneytobuystuffrequiresworkinglongerhours,whichleaveslesstimeforleisure.Protectingtheenviro

4、nmentrequiresresourcesthatcouldotherwisebeusedtoproduceconsumergoods.Principle#1:PeopleFaceTradeoffs0TENPRINCIPLESOFECONOMICS4HOWPEOPLEMAKEDECISIONSSocietyfacesanimportanttradeoff:efficiencyvs.equalityEfficiency:whensocietygetsthemostfromitsscarceresourcesEquality:whenprosperityisdistributedun

5、iformlyamongsociety’smembersTradeoff:Toachievegreaterequality,couldredistributeincomefromwealthytopoor.Butthisreducesincentivetoworkandproduce,shrinksthesizeoftheeconomic“pie.”Principle#1:PeopleFaceTradeoffs0TENPRINCIPLESOFECONOMICS5HOWPEOPLEMAKEDECISIONSMakingdecisionsrequirescomparingthecost

6、sandbenefitsofalternativechoices.Theopportunitycostofanyitemiswhatevermustbegivenuptoobtainit.Itistherelevantcostfordecisionmaking.Principle#2:TheCostofSomethingIsWhatYouGiveUptoGetItTENPRINCIPLESOFECONOMICS6HOWPEOPLEMAKEDECISIONSExamples:Theopportunitycostof……goingtocollegeforayearisnotjustth

7、etuition,books,andfees,butalsotheforegonewages.…seeingamovieisnotjustthepriceoftheticket,butthevalueofthetimeyouspendinthetheater.Principle#2:TheCostofSomethingIsWhatYouGiveUptoGetItTENPRINCIPLESOFECONOMICS7HOWPEOPLEMAKEDE