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utility
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Satisfaction one receives from consuming a good or service
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total utility
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Total satisfaction resulting from the consumption of a given product
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marginal utility
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Additional satisfaction obtained by consuming one more unit of product
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diminishing marginal utility
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Decreasing utility that a consumer receives from each successive unit of a given product as total consumption increases
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utility maximizing consumer
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allocates expenditure so that their last dollar spent on product X has equal utility as the last dollar spent on product Y
MUx / Px = MUy / Py or MUx / MUy = Px / Py
MUx / Px = MUy / Py or MUx / MUy = Px / Py
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theory of marginal utility
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real income
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income expressed by purchasing power as the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased with this money income
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substitution effect
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increases quantity demanded for a product whose price has fallen and decreases quantity demanded for a product whose price has risen
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income effect
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normal good
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a good that consumers demand more of when their incomes increase
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inferior good
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a good that consumers demand less of when their incomes increase
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consumer surplus
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difference between the maximum amount the consumer is willing to pay for a unit of product and what the consumer actually pays
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the paradox of value
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goods with low price and low marginal value have high total value e.g. water, and goods with high price and high marginal value have low total value e.g. diamonds
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price floor
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A legal minimum on the price at which a good can be sold, when binding they cause excess supply
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price ceiling
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A legal maximum on the price at which a good can be sold, when binding they cause excess demand
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deadweight loss
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the amount of economic surplus lost due to a price ceiling or a price floor
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inelastic curve
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0<n<1
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elastic curve
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n>1
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economic surplus
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The difference between value to customers and additional costs to producers.
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output quota
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an expensive "license to produce" a limited amount of product that rises the price consumers are willing to pay if demand is inelastic
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elastic demand
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very responsive to change in price
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inelastic demand
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relatively unresponsive to change in price
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equation for elasticity of demand
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% change in quantity demanded / % change in price
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equation for elasticity of demand over two points
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(change in Qd/average Qd)/(change in P/average P)
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perfectly inelastic
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n=0
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unit elastic
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n=1
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perfectly elastic
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n=infinity
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excise tax
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a tax on the production or sale of a good
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tax incidence
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the location of the burden of tax e.g. who bears most of the tax burden
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consumer burden
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when demand is inelastic relative to supply
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seller/producer burden
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when supply is inelastic relative to demand
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income elasticity of demand
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n(y) = % change in quantity demanded / % change in income
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cross elasticity of demand
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a measure of the responsiveness of demand for one product when the price of another product changes
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n(xy) < 0
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complements (when the price of one rises, demand for the other falls)
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n(xy) > 0
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substitutes (when the price of one rises, demand for the other also rises)
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normative statement
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what ought to be; based on a value judgement
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positive statement
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what is, was or will be; not based on a value judgement
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endogenous variable
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dependent
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exogenous variable
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independent
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index number
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(value in given period / value in base period) x 100. To establish relative change in multiple variables.
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cross-sectional data
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observations of the same variable at one point in time in different places
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time-series data
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observations of one variable through time
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scarcity
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Limited quantities of resources to meet unlimited wants
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oligopolistic market
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High concentration ratio for a few firms serving one market
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strategic behaviour
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Behaviour designed to take account of the reactions of one's rivals to one's own behaviour - oligopoly
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cooperative outcome
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a situation in which existing firms cooperate to maximize their joint profits - oligopoly
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non-cooperative outcome
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an industry outcome reached when firms maximize their own profit without cooperating with other firms - oligopoly
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game theory
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The theory that studies decision making in situations in which one player anticipates the reactions of other players to its own actions - oligopoly
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nash equilibrium
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an equilibrium in which each firm is doing the best it can conditional on the actions taken by its competitors
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collusion
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agreement among sellers to act jointly in common interest - overt, covert or explicit
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tacit collusion
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collusion without explicit agreement- the firms simply understand what is mutually beneficial
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explicit collusion
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cooperation involving direct communication between competing firms about setting prices - usually illegal and forms cartels e.g. OPEC
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productive efficiency
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The production of a good in the least costly way; occurs when production takes place at the output at which average total cost is a minimum and marginal cost is the same for all firms in an industry
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allocative efficiency
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A state of the economy in which production is in accordance with consumer preferences; in particular, every good or service is produced up to the point where the last unit provides a marginal benefit to society equal to the marginal cost of producing it
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pareto efficient
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output is such that marginal costs equals marginal value to customers (the market price), the idea of allocative efficiency