WHAT IS ECONOMICS?

scarcity – недостатня кількість, брак чогось make choice – робити вибір resources – ресурси satisfy one's wants – задовольняти чиїсь потреби individual consumer – окремий споживач

be faced with the problem – стикатися з проблемою income – дохід private ownership – приватна власність profit – прибуток

Human wants are unlimited, but the resources necessary to satisfy those wants are limited. Thus, every society is faced with the problem of scarcity. Since there is not enough of everything to go around, everyone – individuals, business firms, and government – needs to make choices from among the things they want. In the process they will try to economize to get the most from what they have.

Economics is the social science that describes and analyzes choices from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants. The need to choose is imposed on us by our income, wealth and ability to borrow.

The food you eat, the home you live in, the clothes you wear, and the way you spend your leisure time are all affected, in part, by economic forces. Economic forces also affect decisions in the world of business. The more you know about the subject, the better career decisions you will be able to make.

The development of modern economics began in the 17th century. Since that time economists have developed methods for studying and explaining how individuals, business and nations use their economic resources. Large corporations use economists to study the way they do business and to suggest methods for making more efficient use of their employees, equipment, factories, and other resources.

The resources that go into the creation of goods and services are called the factors of production. They include natural resources, human resources, capital and entrepreneurship. Each factor of production has a place in our economic system, and each has a particular function. Our country is rich in natural resources. Economists also use the term «land» when they speak of natural resources as a factor of production.

The price paid for the use of land is called rent. Rent becomes income to the owner of the land.

The price paid for the use of labour is called wages. Wages represent income to workers, who own their labour.

Payment for the use of someone else's money or capital is called interest.

Entrepreneurship, closely associated with labour, is the managerial or organizational skills used by most firms to produce goods and services. The reward to entrepreneurs for the risks, innovative ideas and efforts that they have put into the business are profits (whatever remains after the owners of land, labour and capital have received their payments).

Every society must answer the fundamental economic questions:

1) What goods and services are to be produced?

2) How are they to be produced?

3) Who will receive them?

The way in which a society answers these questions is known as its economic system.

I. Translate into English:

приватнавласність; робити вибір; прибуток; задовольняти чиїсь потреби; ресурси; недостатнякількість; витрачати гроші; окремийспоживач; стикатися з проблемою; виробляти товари; прибуток

II. Fill in the gaps with: scarcity; wages; interest; rent; choices; systems; resources

1. Everyone goes through life having to make.... 2. The price paid for the use of land is called.... 3. The price paid for the use of labor is called.... 4. Traditional economic... are usually found in the more remote areas of the world. 5. Payment for the use of someone else's money, or capital, is called.... 6.... exists because human wants are unlimited, but the necessaries to satisfy those wants are limited. 7. The... or factors of production are land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship.

III. Answer the questions:

1 Why must all societies deal with scarcity? 2 What is economics? 3 Why is the need to choose imposed on us? 4 When did the development of modern economics begin? 5 What is rent? 6 What is wages? 7 What is interest? 8 What is profit? 9 What questions must every society provide answers to?

IV. Translate into English:

1 Бажання людини безмежні, а кошти, необхідні для їхнього здійснення, обмежені. 2 Перед кожним суспільством постає проблема нестатку. 3 Економічні чинники впливають на рішення у світі бізнесу. 4 Ресурси, необхідні для створення товарів та послуг, називають чинниками виробництва. 5 Заробітна плата - це винагорода, яку отримують робітники за свою працю. 6 Економіка - це наука, яка описує і аналізує вибір з недостатніх ресурсів, які мають задовольнити потреби населення. 7 Кожний чинник виробництва має місце в економічній системі і певну функцію.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11