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Thinking Like an Economist
Every field of study has its own terminology
 Mathematics
• integrals  axioms  vector spaces
 Psychology
• ego  id  cognitive dissonance
 Law
• promissory  estoppel  torts  venues
 Economics
• supply  opportunity cost  elasticity  consumer surplus 
demand  comparative advantage  deadweight loss
Thinking Like an Economist
Economics trains you to. . . .
 To think about how to maximise the wealth of
nations
 Think in terms of alternatives.
 Evaluate the cost of individual and social choices.
 Examine and understand how certain events and
issues are related.
THE ECONOMIST AS A SCIENTIST
The economic way of thinking . . .
 Involves thinking analytically and objectively.
 Makes use of the scientific method.
 Uses abstract models to help explain how a
complex, real world operates.
 Develops theories, collects and analyzes data to
evaluate the theories.
The Scientific Method: Observation, Theory,
and More Observation
• Uses abstract models (law of demand,
production law ) to help explain how a
complex, real world operates.
• Develops theories, collects and analyzes data
to evaluate the theories.
The Role of Assumptions

• Some standard assumptions: 1. other things

remain the same 2. human behaviour will not
change etc.
• Economists make assumptions in order to
make the world easier to understand.
• The art in scientific thinking is deciding
which assumptions to make.
• Economists use different assumptions to
answer different questions.
Economic Models

• Economists use models to simplify reality in

order to improve our understanding of the
world.
• Two of the most basic economic models are:
• The Circular Flow Diagram
• The Production Possibilities Frontier
Our First Model: The Circular-Flow 0

Diagram
• The circular-flow diagram is a visual model of
the economy that shows how dollars flow
through markets among households and firms.
Figure 1 The Circular Flow

MARKETS
Revenue FOR Spending
GOODS AND SERVICES
•Firms sell Goods and
Goods
•Households buy services
and services
sold bought

FIRMS HOUSEHOLDS
•Produce and sell •Buy and consume
goods and services goods and services
•Hire and use factors •Own and sell factors
of production of production

Factors of MARKETS Labor, land,

production FOR and capital
FACTORS OF PRODUCTION
Wages, rent, •Households sell Income
and profit •Firms buy
= Flow of inputs
and outputs
= Flow of dollars
Our First Model: The Circular-Flow
Diagram
• Firms
• Produce and sell goods and services
• Hire and use factors of production
• Households
• Buy and consume goods and services
• Own and sell factors of production
Our First Model: The Circular-Flow
Diagram
• Markets for Goods and Services
• Firms sell
• Households buy
• Markets for Factors of Production
• Households sell
• Firms buy
Our First Model: The Circular-Flow
Diagram
• Factors of Production
• Inputs used to produce goods and services
• Land, labor, and capital
Mostly we use two models: 1. labour (L) 2.
Capital (k)
Our Second Model: The Production
Possibilities Frontier
• The production possibilities frontier is a graph
that shows the combinations of output that the
economy can possibly produce given the
available factors of production and the
available production technology.
Figure 2 The Production Possibilities Frontier
Quantity of
Computers
Produced

3,000 C

A
2,200
2,000 B
Production
possibilities
frontier
1,000 D

0 300 600 700 1,000 Quantity of

Cars Produced
Our Second Model: The Production
Possibilities Frontier
• Concepts illustrated by the production
possibilities frontier
• Efficiency
• Trade-offs
• Opportunity cost: the second best alternative use is
called opportunity cost (opportunity lost)
• Economic growth
Figure 3 A Shift in the Production Possibilities Frontier
Quantity of
Computers
Produced

4,000

3,000

2,300 G
2,200
A

0 600 650 1,000 CarsQuantity

Produced
of
Microeconomics and Macroeconomics

• Microeconomics focuses on the individual parts

of the economy.
• How households and firms make decisions and how
they interact in specific markets
• Macroeconomics looks at the economy as a
whole.
• Economy-wide phenomena, including inflation,
unemployment, and economic growth
THE ECONOMIST AS POLICY
ADVISOR
• When economists are trying to explain the
world, they are scientists.
• When economists are trying to change the
world, they are policy advisors.
Positive versus Normative Analysis

• Positive statements are statements that attempt

to describe the world as it is.
• Called descriptive analysis
• Normative statements are statements about how
the world should be.
• Called prescriptive analysis
Positive Versus Normative Analysis

?
• Are the following positive or normative

? statements?
• An increase in the minimum wage will cause a
decrease in employment among the least-skilled.
• POSITIVE

• Higher federal budget deficits will cause interest rates

?
to increase.
• POSITIVE
?
Positive Versus Normative Analysis

• Are the following positive or normative

statements? ?
• The income gains from a higher minimum wage are worth

?
more than any slight reductions in employment.
• NORMATIVE

• State governments should be allowed to collect from

tobacco companies the costs of treating smoking-related

?
illnesses among the poor.
• NORMATIVE
Economists in Washington

• . . . serve as advisers in the policymaking

process of the three branches of government:
• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial
A PARABLE FOR THE MODERN ECONOMY

Imagine an economic system with only two

goods, potatoes and milk and only two
people,
a potato farmer and a cattle rearer
– What should each person produce?
– Why should these people trade?
Production Possibilities

• Suppose the farmer and rearer decide not

to engage in trade:
– Each consumes only what he or she can
produce alone.
– The production possibilities frontier is also the
consumption possibilities frontier.
– Without trade, economic gains are diminished.
Figure 1 The Production Possibilities Frontier
(a) The Farmer’ s Production Possibilities Frontier

Milk

If there is no trade,
the farmer chooses
8 this production and
consumption.

4 A

0 16 32 Potatoes (ounces)

Copyright©2003 Southwestern/Thomson Learning

Figure 1 The Production Possibilities Curve
(b) The Rancher ’s Production Possibilities Frontier

Milk

24

If there is no trade,
the rancher chooses
this production and
consumption.

12 B

0 24 48
Potatoes (ounces)

Copyright©2003 Southwestern/Thomson Learning

Specialization and Trade

• Suppose instead the farmer and the

rancher decide to specialize and trade…
– Both would be better off if they specialize in
producing the product they are more suited to
produce, and then trade with each other.

The farmer should produce potatoes.

The rancher should produce meat.
Figure 2 How Trade Expands the Set of Consumption
Opportunities
(a) The Farmer’ s Production and Consumption

Milk

Farmer's
consumption
with trade
8 Farmer's
production and
consumption
5 A* without trade
4
A Farmer's
production
with trade

0 32 Potatoes (ounces)
16 17

Copyright©2003 Southwestern/Thomson Learning

Figure 2 How Trade Expands the Set of Consumption
Opportunities
(b) The Rancher’s Production and Consumption

Meat (ounces)

24 Rancher's
production
with trade
Rancher's
consumption
18 with trade

13
B* Rancher's
production and
B
12 consumption
without trade

0 12 24 27 48
Potatoes (ounces)

Copyright © 2004 South-Western

COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

• Differences in the costs of production

determine the following:
– Who should produce what?
– How much should be traded for each product?
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

• Two ways to measure differences in costs

of production:
– The number of hours required to produce a
unit of output (for example, one pound of
potatoes).
– The opportunity cost of sacrificing one good
for another.
Absolute Advantage

• The comparison among producers of a

good according to their productivity.
– Describes the productivity of one person, firm,
or nation compared to that of another.
– The producer that requires a smaller quantity
of inputs to produce a good is said to have an
absolute advantage in producing that good.
Absolute Advantage

• The Rearer needs only 10 minutes to

produce an ounce of potatoes, whereas
the Farmer needs 15 minutes.
• The Rearer needs only 20 minutes to
produce an ounce of meat, whereas the
Farmer needs 60 minutes.
The Rancher has an absolute advantage in
the production of both meat and potatoes.
Opportunity Cost and Comparative Advantage

• Compares producers of a good according to

their opportunity cost, that is, what must be
given up to obtain some item
• The producer who has the smaller
opportunity cost of producing a good is said
to have a comparative advantage in

? producing that good.

• Who has the comparative advantage in the
production of each good?
?
Comparative Advantage and Trade

• Potato costs…
– The Rearer’s opportunity cost of an ounce of
potatoes is ½ a liter of milk
– The Farmer’s opportunity cost of an ounce of
potatoes is ¼ a liter of milk
• Meat costs…
– The Rearer’s opportunity cost of a liter of milk is 2
ounces of potatoes.
– The Farmer’s opportunity cost of a liter of milk is 4
ounces of potatoes...
Comparative Advantage and Trade

…so, the Rearer has a comparative

advantage in the production of milk
but the Farmer has a comparative
advantage in the production of
potatoes.
Comparative Advantage and Trade

• Comparative advantage and differences in

opportunity costs are the basis for
specialized production and trade.
• Whenever potential trading parties have
differences in opportunity costs, they can
each benefit from trade.
Gains from Trade
Comparative Advantage and Trade

• Benefits of Trade
– Trade can benefit everyone in a society
because it allows people to specialize in
activities in which they have a comparative
advantage.
FYI—The Legacy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo

• Adam Smith
– In his 1776 book An Inquiry into the Nature and
Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
performed a detailed analysis of trade and economic
interdependence, which economists still adhere to
today.
• David Ricardo
– In his 1816 book Principles of Political Economy and
Taxation, David Ricardo developed the principle of
comparative advantage as we know it today.
APPLICATIONS OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

• Should Tiger Woods Mow His Own Lawn?

? ?
? ?
APPLICATIONS OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

Should the United States trade

with other countries?
• Each country has many citizens with different
interests. International trade can make some
individuals worse off, even as it makes the
country as a whole better off.
– Imports—goods produced abroad and sold domestically
– Exports—goods produced domestically and sold abroad
 Summary

• Economists try to address their subjects with a

scientist’s objectivity.
– They make appropriate assumptions and build
simplified models in order to understand the world
around them.
– Two simple economic models are the circular-flow
diagram and the production possibilities frontier.
 Summary

• Economics is divided into two subfields:

– Microeconomics is the study of decision-making
by households and firms in the marketplace.
– Macroeconomics is the study of the forces and
trends that affect the economy as a whole.
 Summary

• A positive statement is an assertion about how

the world is.
• A normative statement is an assertion about
how the world ought to be.
• When economists make normative statements,
they are acting more as policy advisors than
scientists.
 Summary

• Economists who advise policymakers offer

conflicting advice either because of differences
in scientific judgments or because of
differences in values.
• At other times, economists are united in the
advice they offer, but policymakers may
choose to ignore it.