Economies of Scope

Economies of Scope

…forms of business consolidation that can bolster economies of scope: Mergers take place when two similar-sized companies combine into one. Acquisitions occur when one company takes over another company. For…

Decisions Involving Uncertainty

decisions involving uncertainty

Decision-making under uncertainty is a complex topic because all decisions are made with some degree of uncertainty. But there are specific scenarios in which economic experiments have shown that some…

Commercial Banks

Commercial Banks

…or certificates of deposits but pays out less than it charges for loans. Functions of Commercial Banks The basic role of a commercial bank is to provide financial services to…

Monopsony Market Structure

Monopsony Market Structure

…Wages The above graph demonstrates the quantitative difference between a standard competitive labor market and a non-competitive monopsony. In the graph, the competitive labor market is represented by the line…

Deadweight Loss

Deadweight Loss

…concept of welfare is such a general term that the definition can often vary depending on the context. Deadweight Loss and Under-/Overvaluation Both under- and overvaluation have negative consequences in…

Production Possibilities Frontier

Production Possibilites Curve

…production of another commodity. Production Possibilities Frontier Example The production possibilities frontier is graphed as a curve, or arc. On such a graph, one of the commodities is shown on…

Cross Price Elasticity of Demand

Cross Price Elasticity of Demand

…B made consuming these products together more expensive. This implies that most consumers perceive products A and B as complements that are more enjoyable consumed together than consumed separately. Complements…

Monopoly Market Structure

Monopoly Market Structure

…that under a monopoly there is no difference between a firm and an industry. 3. Competition There are no close competitors in the market for that product. 4. Price Maker…

Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining

…unions and company management come to a collective bargaining agreement. Collective Bargaining Agreements A collective bargaining agreement will typically include elements such as: Working conditions Conditions of employment Work hours…

Trade Barriers

Trade Barriers

…time to grow and become competitive. This is a reasonable argument for imposing trade barriers. However, in some cases, government protection never ends. These industries become competitive only because the…

Price Elasticity of Demand (PED)

Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand

…rate, which represents a higher elasticity. Conversely, flattening the curve causes demand to change at a slower rate, denoting relative inelasticity. For example, if I increase the price of a…

Types of Taxes

Types of Taxes

…unemployment by increasing low-income people’s purchasing power. Most economies around the world use a progressive tax to assess taxes for individual income. Common, well-known examples of progressive taxes include estate…

Absolute Advantage

absolute advantage

…producing the same good as it produced more of the same good. Absolute Advantage vs. Comparative Advantage Both absolute advantage and comparative advantage are enormously significant concepts for understanding how…

Variable Cost

variable costs

…levels. There are also semi-variable costs, which are a more complex combination of variable and fixed. Variable Cost Examples The most common types of variable costs include: Raw materials involved…

Diseconomies of Scale

Diseconomies of Scale

…means higher costs per unit of production. 4. Ineffective communication When there are many departments and divisions within a large firm, communication can become more difficult. Ensuring that information travels…

Expansionary Monetary Policy

Expansionary Monetary Policy

…for commercial banks. With lower borrowing costs, commercial banks can charge individuals lower interest rates for loans as well. As a result, the economy has a greater money supply overall….

Circular Flow Model

Circular Flow of Income

…circular flow model easier to understand but excludes significant elements of the economy that are quite important to understand how it functions in full. These are the three most significant…

Free Market

Free Market

…The large-scale companies with greater capital and labor resources can beat out smaller companies simply for their size alone, rather than for the quality of their product; if this process…

Advantages of Free Trade

Advantages of free trade

…too high prices. 5. Price Local firms now have to compete against firms from all across the world, especially online. Competition is a win for consumers who can enjoy the…

Barriers to Entry

Barriers to Entry

…down all the cable themselves, which is pretty expensive. 2. Economies of Scale Competitors can’t compete with other firms that have much lower production costs. Ex: Not many firms will…

Stagflation

Stagflation

…called “stagflation”: it’s a clear combination of inflation and economic stagnation. Economic stagnation is defined as an extended span of minimal or nonexistent economic growth (generally, that means under 2…

Washington Consensus

washington consensus

The Washington Consensus refers to a set of free-market economic policies supported by prominent financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the U.S. Treasury. A…

Liquidity Preference Theory

Liquidity Preference Theory

…rates leads to a rise in capital investment. Keynesian Liquidity Preference Theory An increase in Money Supply leads to a fall in Interest Rates (the Liquidity Preference Theory denoted by…

Proportional Tax

Proportional Tax

A proportional tax is a kind of income tax wherein all taxpayers are taxed at the same percentage rate, no matter how high or low their income. A proportional tax…

Subsidies

Subsidies

…oil companies Common examples of individual subsidies include unemployment benefits, welfare payments, and government-subsidized interest rates for student loans. Types of Subsidies 1. Production Subsidy A production subsidy encourages suppliers…

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

gross domestic product (GDP)

…time. GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country, and to make international comparisons Businesses can also use GDP as a guide to decide how…

Risk

risk

…cross-section of stocks within the portfolio. In complete markets, there is no compensation for idiosyncratic risk—that is it does not matter for its price. For instance, in a complete market…

Financial Intermediaries

financial intermediaries

…disadvantages of direct finance. Financial Intermediaries Examples 1. Insurance Companies Insurance companies offer insurance to help spread the risk of default. You would go to an insurance company if you…

Indifference Curve

indifference curve

…consumer has no preference for either combination of goods on the same line because they are understood to provide the same level of utility to the consumer. Indifference Curve Example…

Structural Unemployment

Structural unemployment

Structural unemployment is a persistent, extended type of unemployment resulting from changes in the foundational structure of the economy. Factors that contribute to structural unemployment include government policy, competition, technology,…

The Federal Reserve

the federal reserve

…members. They are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and serve 14-year terms. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is in charge of open market operations: most significantly,…

Deflation

deflation

…decline in the circulation of money would lead to less money going around. 2. Debt After a credit bubble like the one experienced in the United States in 2008, has…

Crowding Out Effect

crowding out effect

…lower consumer spending. Therefore, higher government spending financed by the higher tax should not have the effect of increasing overall aggregate demand because the increase in G (which denotes government…

Introduction to Inflation

inflation

…up to 3 percent annually. The Federal Reserve states that inflation of around 2 percent or lower is actually good for economic growth, and aims to maintain inflation at around

Principles of Money And Banking

Principles of Money and Banking

…has value and inflation adversely affects value. It affects decisions on immediate or later consumption, investment, and compound interest earnings. Lenders will demand compensation for parting with their money and…

The Glass-Steagall Act

Provisions in the Glass-Steagall Act

…became sloppy and objectives became blurred. Unsound loans were issued to companies in which the bank had invested, and clients would be encouraged to invest in those same stocks. It…