Micro and Macro Economics
Micro and Macro Economics
Productive resources
FIRMS HOUSEHOLDS
Recovery
• Usually slow to begin due to a general lack of confidence
in the economy
• Governments will look to boost demand (using
fiscal/monetary policy)
• Together with confidence, output, income and employment
rise
• Investment flows into the economy
Once the actual output has risen above the trend line, the
boom phase of the cycle is entered.
Governments seek to stabilise the economic system to avoid
the distortions of a widely fluctuating trade cycle.
BPP LEARNING MEDIA
Inflation
• Loss of output
• Loss of human capital
• Increasing inequalities in the distribution of income
• Social costs
• Increased burden of welfare payments
Category Comment/cause
Real wage Supply of labour exceeds demand, but real wages do not
unemployment fall for the labour market to clear. This can be caused by
strong trade unions and minimum wage agreements.
Structural Long term changes to the conditions of the industry
affecting the employment levels. This can be
concentrated in one location if a major employer ceases
business.
Technological When new technology is introduced automation can lead
to falls in employment even when output is rising.
Cyclical or demand During recovery and boom years, there will be high
deficient demand for output and unemployment will be low. The
reverse is true during decline and recession years.
Category Comment/cause
Frictional Difficulty in matching workers with jobs. It is temporary
and only lasts for the period of transition from one job to
the next
Seasonal Pattern of demand throughout the year can cause
fluctuations in the demand for staff, eg tourism and
farming
Market demand
Overall economic
G Cost of finance O
policy
O Taxation R
Protection vs Free Trade G
V
Grants, incentives, sponsorship A
Industry policy
E Regulation (eg investor N
Protection, company law)
R I
Entry barriers, capacity
Environment and
N infrastructure Distribution S
policy
Workplace regulation, A
M
Employment law
Social policy T
E Labour supply,
Skills, education I
N Trade promotion, export credits
O
Foreign policy EU and GATT obligations
T N
Export promotion to allies
Aid recipients
Decision Comment
Output capacity Grants or tax incentives to invest
Competition Forbid or allow takeovers/mergers
Outlaw anti-competitive practices
Opening markets to new entrants
Monopolies Break them up; regulate them
Sales demand Government policy affects demand
Decision Comment
Health and safety Legislation, regulations
Employment Equal opportunities legislation
Consumer Product safety standards
Tax Sales tax, income tax, accounting control
Types of tax
Direct tax
Indirect tax
Paid directly by person
Collected via an
to revenue authority
intermediary (a
Eg income tax
supplier) who passes it
Usually proportional &
on to consumer
unavoidable taxes
Specific =
Ad valorem =
fixed sum per
fixed %
unit
Financial account
Capital account
Flows of capital to/from non
Public sector flows of capital
government sector
Deficit Surplus
A. Structural unemployment
B. Cyclical unemployment
C. Frictional unemployment
D. Marginal unemployment
(2 marks)
Answer: A
Answer: C
(1 mark)
Answer: A
A. 1 and 3
B. 2 and 3
C. 3 and 4
D. 1 and 4
(2 marks)
Answer: C
Macro-economic
Deficit Surplus environment
Business cycle
Economic Fiscal Monetary
policy policy policy
Phases
• Growth • Revenue • Interest rates
• Inflation • Expenditure • Credit control • Recession
control • Exchange • Depression
• Employment rates • Recovery
• Balance • Boom
imports/
exports
Customer Suppliers
Firm
Organisation Employees
Interest groups
Affected by:
Relative performance
Price
Value proposition = what you get for what you pay
Characteristics:
• Many small (in value) buyers and sellers, which
individually cannot influence the market price
• No barriers to entry or exit, so businesses are free to
enter or leave the market as they wish
• Perfect information such that production methods and
cost structures are identical
• Homogenous (identical) products
• No collusion between buyers or sellers
Example:
Tulip sellers in Amsterdam
Example:
Hairdresser
Consequences:
Firm sets its own price, which can lead to 'super-normal'
profits
Characteristics:
• Complex products
• Differentiation (possibly through branding)
• High barriers to entry
• Significant influence over prices
Example – airlines:
• Virgin
• Emirates
• British Airways
• American Airlines
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
Demand
The quantity of goods that
potential customers would buy
or attempt to buy, if the price
of the goods was at a certain
level
Supply
The quantity of goods that
existing suppliers or would be
suppliers would want to
produce for the market at a
given price
• Price
• Inter-related goods: substitutes (tea and coffee) and
complements (bread and butter)
• Income levels: normal goods and inferior goods
• Fashion and expectations
• Income distribution
Implications
• Increasing the price causes total revenue to fall
Implications
• Increasing the price causes total revenue and profits to
rise
Income
Normal
good
Inferior
good
Quantity demanded
ANSWER
Under assumption 1, the demand for swimming pools will be confined to household 1.
Even if this household owns three or four properties, the demand for swimming pools is
likely to be less than under assumption 2, where potentially all five households might
want one.
1
Excess Demand Demand
5 15 25 Quantity
Slide 224
BPP LEARNING MEDIA
Example – Increase in consumer incomes
Price
S
P1
P0
D1
D0
Q0 Q1 Quantity
Slide 225
BPP LEARNING MEDIA
Example – Goods become less fashionable
P0
P1
D0
D1
Q1 Q0
In the short-run the firm will only supply if the selling price
covers all of the variable costs.
This is extended to say that the firm will only supply if it can
generate a profit, ie sell for more than the marginal
production cost.
A. It is diagonal
B. It is horizontal
C. It is vertical
(1 mark)
Answer: B
• Introduction to microeconomics
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articles/introduction-to-microeconomics.html
Micro-economic factors
Influences
Equilibrium
Price Elasticity of
Q Q P P Demand
PED =
2 1 2 1 Cross Elasticity of
Q P1 Demand
1
Income Elasticity
of Demand