Unemployment is defined as a situation where someone of working age is not able to get a job but would like to be in full-time employment. Note: If a mother left work to bring up a child or if someone went into higher education, they are not working but would not be classed as unemployed …
Environmental sustainability is concerned with whether environmental resources will be protected and maintained for future generations. Issues of environmental sustainability Environmental sustainability is concerned with issues such as: Long-term health of ecosystems. Protecting the long-term productivity and health of resources to meet future economic and social needs, e.g. protecting food supplies, farmland and fishing stocks. …
Factors of production refer to the different elements that are used in producing goods and services. Factors of production are inputs into the productive process. The four main factors of production are: Land – this is raw materials available from mining, fishing, agriculture Capital – This is a manufactured item used to aid production, for …
Definition of allocative efficiency This occurs when there is an optimal distribution of goods and services, taking into account consumer’s preferences. A more precise definition of allocative efficiency is at an output level where the Price equals the Marginal Cost (MC) of production. This is because the price that consumers are willing to pay is …
Cognitive bias occurs when an individual person makes an ill-informed decision – often result from past preferences and deeply held beliefs. Cognitive bias means individuals diverge from rational choice and are influenced by non-economic factors, such as emotion and invested opinions. For example, an economist who supports tax cuts is more likely to concentrate on …
A trade war involves the imposition of tariffs between trading partners. This will almost certainly cause a fall in economic welfare for all the countries who experience higher tariffs and a fall in trade. However, this fall in economic welfare is not the same as a recession (a fall in GDP). In some circumstances, a …
Readers question: Who are the winners and losers from free trade? Free trade means that firms can export and import goods without tariff barriers. Free trade leads to lower prices and increased exports and imports. Economists are generally agreed that free trade leads to a net gain in economic welfare; as a result, economists generally …
A Pigovian tax is a tax placed on any good which creates negative externalities. The aim of a Pigovian tax is to make the price of the good equal to the social marginal cost and create a more socially efficient allocation of resources. It is named after the economist Arthur Pigou who developed the concept …