Economics is as old as the human race: it is probably the first art which man acquired. When some cavemen went out to hunt while others remained to defend the fire or when skins were traded for flint axes we had economics. But economics as an academic discipline is relatively new: the first major book on economics Adam Smith's «The Wealth of Nations» was published in 1776. Since that time the subject has developed rapidly and there are now many branches of the subjects such as microeconomics, international economics and econometrics as well as many competing schools of thought.
Economics is a comprehensive theory of how society works. The great classical economist Alfred Marshall defined economics as «the study of a man in the everyday business of life». This is rather too vague a definition. Any definition should take account of the guiding idea in economics, which is scarcity. Virtually everything is scarce; not just diamonds or oil but also bread and water. How can we say this? The answer is that one only has to look around the world to realize that there are not enough resources to give people all they want. It is not only the very poor, who feel deprived, even the relatively well off seem to want more. Thus when we use the word ‘ scarcity’ we mean that all resources are scarce in the sense that there are not enough to fill everyone's wants to the point of satiety. We therefore have limited resources both in rich countries and poor countries. The economist's job is to evaluate the choices that exist for the use of these resources. Thus we have another characteristic of economics: it is concerned with choice. Another aspect of the problem is people themselves; they do not just want more food or clothing, but specific items of clothing and so on. We have now assembled the three vital ingredients in our definition, people, scarci ty and choice. Thus we could define economics as the human science, which studies the relationship between scarce resources and the various users, which compete for these resources.
Economics, says Paul Samuelson, is the study of how society chooses to employ scarce productive resources to produce various goods and services and distribute them for consumption among various competing groups and individuals. You understand what it means to “economize” in your own life. It means we have to learn to “make do” because we do not have all that we want. The world is in a similar situation. There are factors of production available: land and natural resources, human labor, capital (machines, tools, and buildings), and entrepreneurship (the willingness by business owners to take risks and introduce new products and services to the market) Those resources are used to produce goods and services to satisfy our need for food, shelter, and clothing, and our other needs. The economic questions are: “Who decides how to allocate those resources?” and “How should they be allocated?”
Today, resource allocation in some countries is largely government controlled. That is the nature of the communist systems (for example, the former Soviet Union) Resource allocation may also be left to individual consumers, bargaining in the marketplace and trading goods and services. That is the nature of capitalist systems (for example, the United States) In between are systems that are based on private exchange and some government ownership and allocation. That is the nature of socialist systems or welfare-state systems (for example, Sweden and Denmark) There are no pure capitalist or communist systems; all systems have mixture of consumer choice plus government-controlled allocation. Regardless of the system used, the ultimate goal of economics is to make optimum use of resources so that people can attain a good standard of living (that is, have homes, cars, clothes, and other tangibles) and enjoy a good quality of life (that is, education, health, a clean environment, and happiness)
Macroeconomics. What causes one country to prosper and grow while other countries, with similar resources, remain poor? How much of a country’s wealth should be spent on government programs such as defense, welfare, and education? The subject of macroeconomics discusses these and other similar questions. Macroeconomics is the study of a nation’s economy as a whole. Macroeconomics can be a fascinating subject to study, because it looks at such important issues as whether or not taxes should be raised, the problems of inflation and depression, and much more.
Microeconomics. What happens to the price of corn when there is a drought in the Midwest? What happens to the supply of farm products when the government subsidizes farmers or keeps farm prices artificially low? What is the impact of income taxes versus sales taxes on consumers? How does one determine the value of leisure time? The subject of microeconomics discusses these and other similar questions. Microeconomics is the study of the behavior of people and organizations in particular markets. It looks at how prices are determined and how people and businesses respond to changes in the market (for example, changes in the demand for and supply of products)
Economic flows. You and I and all the other people in the world preside businesses with the factors of production we mentioned earlier: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. In return, businesses provide us with the goods and services we want and need. Businesses receive money from individuals who become owners. Profits the businesses make belong to the owners and flow back to them through dividends. Thus, there is a circular flow of inputs, outputs, and money between businesses and the public In addition to the circular flow between businesses and the public, there is a flow of money and other resources to the government from the public and businesses that is returned in the form of public goods and services such as roads, schools, and hospitals. Today the economy of every country is an integral part of the world economy. Many business firms use labor from other countries, buy land in other countries for their facilities, and receive money from foreign investors. To understand events in a national economy, therefore, one has to understand the world economy.
During the past five years, $800 billion in foreign capital flowed into the United States. Foreign investors have been buying companies, banks, luxury hotels, and retail chains. They have also been building new factories and financing a major portion of the national debt by buying government securities. Because the world has become so interdependent, it is important to understand the various world economic systems and how they work. Every economic society has to answer three fundamental questions. “ What ”, “ How ”, and “ For whom?”
What? What goods are to be produced with the scarce resource: clothes, food, cars, submarines, television sets and so on?
How? Given that we have basic resources of labor, land, how should we combine them to produce the goods and services, which we want?
For whom? Once we have produced goods and services we then have to decide how to distribute them among the people in the economy.
One alternative definition of economics is that it is the study of wealth. By wealth the economist means all the real physical assets, which make up our standard of living: clothes, houses, food, roads, schools, hospitals, cars, oil tankers, etc. One of the primary concerns of economics is to increase the wealth of a society, i.e. to increase the stock of economic goods. However, in addition to wealth we must also consider welfare. The concept of welfare is concerned with the whole state of well being. Thus it is not only concerned with more economic goods but also with public health, hours of work, with law and order, and so on.
Modern economics has tried to take account not only of the output of economic goods but also of economic such as pollution.
VI. К словам из колонки А подберите соответствующие слова из колонки В:
A B
1. entrepreneurship a. предприятие, бизнес
2. human labor b. предпринимательство
3. goods c. сделка
4. business e. человеческий труд
5 produce f. владелец
6 means of g. потребление, расход
7. need h. производство
8. bargain i. потребность, нужда
9. economic j. нанимать
10. economics k. капитал
11. owner l. производить
12. capital m способ, средство
13. consumption n. обмен
14. employ o. товары
15. exchange p. экономический
16. production q. экономика
V. Заполните пропуски словами, наиболее подходящими по смыслу:
1. There are _____ available: land and natural resources, human labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.
| a)bargains b) factors of production | c) markets d) business |
2. Those resources are used to produce _______ and services to satisfy our need for food, shelter, and clothing, and our other needs.
| a) means c) factors of production | b) goods d) capital |
3. In between are systems that are based on private exchange and some government __ and allocation.
| a) capital | c) business |
| b) ownership | d) goods |
4. The following sections define some basic terms in _______.
| a) economics b) welfare-state | c) market d) business |
5. ______ can be a fascinating subject to study, because it looks at such important issues as whether or not taxes should be raised, the problems of inflation and depression, and much more.
| a) Macroeconomics b) Microeconomics | c) Economics d) Systems |
6. Businesses receive money from individuals who become _____.
| a) owners b) entrepreneurs | c) employers d) economists |
7. What happens to the supply of farm _____ when the government subsidizes farmers or keeps farm prices artificially low?
| a) goods b) products | c) bargains d) marketplaces |
VI. Определите, какие из следующих утверждений истинные, а какие ложные; Отметьте их буквами «T» (True), или “F” (False) соответственно:
1. Today, resource allocation in some countries is largely controlled.
2. Even welfare-state countries such as Norway and Sweden rely mostly on government business for wealth.
3. Regardless of the system used, the ultimate goal of economics is to make optimum use of resources so that people can attain a bad standard of living.
4. Nearly every major social, political, or economics issue can be discussed more intelligently and objectively once one understands basic macroeconomics.
5. Microeconomics is the study of the behavior of people and organizations in particular markets.
6. It looks at how prices are determined and how people and businesses respond to change in the marketplace.
7. Today the U.S. economy is an integral part of the world economy.
8. The future of the U.S. economy is directly tied to the future of economics in Japan, West Germany, Russia, Sought Korea, Canada and so on.
VII. Определите, какие из приведенных ниже утверждений лучше выражает основную мысль текста ECONOMICS:
1. Economics is the study of how society chooses to employ scarce productive resources to produce various goods and services and distribute them for consumption among various competing groups and individuals.
2. Economics is the study of a nations economy as a whole.
3. Economics is the study of the behavior of people and organizations in particular markets.
4. Economics can be challenging to study because it teaches principles that can be used in everyday buying and selling transactions with other.
VIII. Выберите правильный перевод подчёркнутых слов из приведенных ниже вариантов:
a) конкурировать c) конкурирующие
b) конкурировавшие d) конкурируют
2. Resource allocation may also be left to individual consumers, bargaining on the marketplace and trading goods and services.
a) обмениваться c) обменены
b) обменявшись d) обменяет
3. Dr. Greenspan is very much a fighter against inflation and feels that government spending must be cut.
a) растратив с) расходы
b) растратившие в) тратить
4. Employing more employees firm increases labor resources. a) нанимая c) наймёт
b) наняв d) нанимавшая
5. Having distributed financial resources, firm can direct the remains on the development of production.
a) распределив c) распределяющая
b)распределяя d) распределять
7. Entrepreneurs, managing the factory, try to increase the ability of work of their business.
a) управление c) управляя
b) управляющий d) управлявший
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