Key Terms

Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

Economy
Economics
Market economy
Invisible hand
Microeconomics
Market failure
Recession
Macroeconomics
Economic growth
Individual choice
Resource
Scarce
Opportunity cost
Trade-off
Marginal decisions
Marginal analysis
Incentive
Interaction
Trade
Gains from trade
Specialization
Equilibrium
Efficient
Equity
fairness; everyone gets his or her fair share. Since people can disagree about what’s “fair,” equity isn’t as well defined a concept as efficiency
in short supply; a resource is scarce when there is not enough of the resource available to satisfy all the various ways a society wants to use it
the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
refers to the way in which the individual pursuit of selfinterest can lead to good results for society as a whole
an economic principle that states that by dividing tasks and trading, people can get more of what they want through trade than they could if they tried to be self-sufficient
the branch of economics that studies how people make decisions and how those decisions interact
anything, such as land, labor, and capital, that can be used to produce something else
(of choices) my choices affect your choices, and vice versa; a feature of most economic situations. The results of this interaction are often quite different from what the individuals intend
an economic situation in which no individual would be better off doing something different
an economy in which decisions about production and consumption are made by individual producers and consumers
the real cost of an item: what you must give up in order to get it
the branch of economics that is concerned with the overall ups and downs in the economy.
a period of economic downturn when output and unemployment are falling; also referred to as a contraction
the study of marginal decisions
refers to the way in which the individual pursuit of selfinterest can lead to bad results for society as a whole
the decision by an individual of what to do, which necessarily involves a decision of what not to do
when individuals provide goods and services to others and receive goods and services in return
describes a market or economy that takes all opportunities to make some people better off without making other people worse off
a situation in which different people each engage in the different task that he or she is good at performing
a decision made at the “margin” of an activity to do a bit more or a bit less of that activity
the growing ability of the economy to produce goods and services
a system for coordinating society’s productive activities
anything that offers rewards to people who change their behavior
a comparison of the costs and benefits of doing something

Economy, p. 2

Economics, p. 2

Market economy, p. 2

Invisible hand, p. 2

Microeconomics, p. 3

Market failure, p. 3

Recession, p. 3

Macroeconomics, p. 4

Economic growth, p. 4

Individual choice, p. 4

Resource, p. 5

Scarce, p. 5

Opportunity cost, p. 6

Trade-off, p. 7

Marginal decisions, p. 8

Marginal analysis, p. 8

Incentive, p. 8

Interaction, p. 10

Trade, p. 11

Gains from trade, p. 11

Specialization, p. 11

Equilibrium, p. 12

Efficient, p. 14

Equity, p. 14