1. Chapter 2
Resource Utilization

2. The Central Fact of Economics: SCARCITY
Resources are the things society uses to produce goods and services
These resources are scarce (limited)
The economic problem
There are never enough resources to produce all of the goods and services that people want

3. Four Economic Resources
Land
Labor
Capital
Entrepreneurial ability

4. Land
Land (a broader meaning than our normal understanding of the word)
Includes natural resources such as timber, oil, coal, iron ore, soil, water, as well as the ground in which these resources are found
Is used for the extraction of minerals and farming
Provides the site for factories, office buildings, shopping centers, homes, etc.
Produces “rent”

5. Labor
Labor
The work and time for which one is paid is what economists call “labor”
Money received for one’s labor is called wages and/or salaries
About two-thirds of the total resource cost is the cost of labor

6. Capital
Capital
Man-made goods used to produce other goods or services is what economists call “capital”
Examples are office buildings, stores, and factories
The money owners of “capital” receive is called “interest”
Capital is the MOST important of the four economic resources

7. Entrepreneurial Ability
The entrepreneur
Sets up a business
Assembles the needed resources
Risks his/her own (or borrowed) money
Makes a “profit” or incurs a “loss”
Is central to the American economy
23 million businesses are virtually all entrepreneurs
The vast majority work for themselves or have one or two employees

8. Our Economic Problem Revisited
Limited resources versus unlimited wants
There are NOT enough resources to produce everything that everyone wants
Therefore, CHOICES must BE MADE!
Every choice has an “opportunity cost” associated with it!

9. Opportunity Cost: An Important, Fundamental Concept in Economics
Because we cannot have everything we want, we must make choices
The thing we give up (our second-best choice) is called the opportunity cost of our choice
This is the foregone value of the next best alternative
In the economic world, “both” is not an admissible answer to a choice of “which one”

10. Inherit $40,000 Bought the car Can’t go to college
Two choices – buy a car or go to college
Bought the car
(Paid $40,000)
Can’t go to college
College graduate (lifetime earnings) $1,300,000
High School graduate (lifetime earnings) ,000
Opportunity Cost
$ 500,000

11. Underemployment of Resources
An unemployment rate greater than 5%
A capacity utilization rate less than 85%

12. The Production Possibilities Curve
Represents our economy at
Full employment
Full production

13. Hypothetical Production Schedule
As we shift from butter to guns, we have to give up increasing units of butter for each additional unit of guns
Production Possibilities Curve
Hypothetical Production Schedule
Point Units of Butter Units of Guns A B C D E F
This is known as the “law of increasing cost.” As the output of one good expands, the opportunity cost of producing additional units of this good increases.

14. Points Inside and Outside the Production Possibilities Curve Frontier
Point W represents output at more than full employment and full production and is currently unattainable
Where we usually are
A Recession
A Depression
Every point on the curve represents output at Full Employment and Full Production
Every point inside the curve represents output at less than Full employment and less than Full Production

15. Productive Efficiency
Is attained when the maximum possible output of one good is produced, given the output of other goods
Productive efficiency occurs only when we are operating on the production possibilities curve
Productivity efficiency means that the output of one good cannot be attained without reducing the output of some other good

16. Economic Growth Best available technology Expansion of labor
More or better trained labor
Expansion of capital
More or improved plant and equipment

17. Production Possibilities Curves
A move from PPC to PPC to PPC represents economic growth 1 2 3

18. Production Possibilities Curves Over Time
Country B
Country A
Country A represents slower economic growth than Country B
Country B represents much faster economic growth than Country A
Country A capital goods is 3.8 units
Country B capital goods is 7.0 units