WHAT IS ECONOMICS ? Lesson 1 1

THE FIRST TWO TERMS… ECONOMICS = ECONOMIE (het vak, de wetenschap) 2

THE FIRST TWO TERMS… ECONOMY = ECONOMIE (een regio, een land of groep landen) 3

CAN YOU MATCH THE 10 QUESTIONS WITH THE RIGHT ANSWERS? 4

1.Is economics a science? 5

2. A can of Red Bull is a ………. and a trip to Turkey is a ………. 6

3. What are the factors of production? ? ? ? ? 7

4. People selling something are sellers or ………. 8

5. People buying something are buyers or ………. 9

6. Ebay is an example of a ………. where people buy and sell 10

7. People want to do and have all kinds of things. We call these ………. and ………. 11

8. We all want to do and have more than we can afford. This situation is called ………. 12

9. When you only have €50 and you buy new shoes, you cannot buy the concert ticket you also want. This effect is called ……….. 13

10. So we have to make choices. The point is to make the best choice This choice is called ………. 14

1.Is economics a science? YES. Economics is a social science. It is the study of people’s behaviour. 15

2. A can of Red Bull is a ………. and a trip to Turkey is a ………. People sell and buy goods and services. 16

3. What are the factors of production? Nature, labor, capital and entrepreneurship are the basic elements to produce goods and services. 17

4. People selling something are sellers or ………. Suppliers sell goods and services. 18

5. People buying something are buyers or ………. Consumers buy goods and services. 19

6. Ebay is an example of a ………. where people buy and sell Suppliers and consumers meet and do business in a market. 20

7. People want to do and have all kinds of things. We call these ………. and ………. There are so many different needs and wants people want to satisfy. 21

8. We all want to do and have more than we can afford. This situation is called ………. Scarcity We can’t satisfy all our needs and wants: our resources are scarce. 22

9. When you only have €50 and you buy new shoes, you cannot buy the concert ticket you also want. This effect is called ……….. Opportunity cost = what you give up. 23

10. So we have to make a choice all the time. This is called ………. Trade-off The point is to make the best choices. 24

WHAT IS ECONOMICS ? 25

Definition 1: Economics is the study of people producing, selling and buying goods and services they want. 26

Definition 2: Economics is the study of people making trade-offs because of scarcity. 27

Definitions: Examples (supplier): - what good or service will I produce? - how will I produce? - how can I make more money? 28

Definitions: Examples (consumer): - what will I buy? - how can I save more money? - who sells the best good or service? 29

THE LAST TWO TERMS… MACROECONOMICS = de economische wetenschap op het niveau van de gehele economie 30

THE LAST TWO TERMS… MICROECONOMICS = de economische wetenschap op het niveau van een individu of groep van personen 31

SOME EXERCISES… (see exercise sheet 1) 32

WHAT DID YOU LEARN? 1)Can you enumerate the production factors? 2)Can you define ‘economics’, ‘scarcity’, ‘opportunity cost’ and ‘trade-off’ in your own words? 3)Can you give some examples of scarcity, opportunity cost and trade-off that relate to your personal life? 4)Can you apply scarcity, opportunity cost and trade-off to the world of the suppliers? 5)Can you value the importance of economics? 33