Glossary of Terms

Circular flow diagram: a diagram that explains the flow of money from firms to households to firms and the flow in the opposite direction of goods and services between firms and households.
Consumer Price Index (CPI): a measure of the average change in prices of a representative basket of goods and services.
Factors of production: any input producers, farmers, and manufacturers use to make or grow products.
Economic models: simplified versions of reality that help boil down complex issues into simple but essential relationships
Theory – an idea or proposition intended to explain something
Inflation – the general rise in prices that erode the purchasing power of money.
Invisible hand – an idea brought forth by Adam Smith that suggests when all producers and consumers act selfishly, markets will provide goods and services in the best way possible
Efficiency – a state whereby the best solution or outcome is attained
Equity – fairness
Macroeconomics – the study of broad economic issues concerned with the entire nation
Microeconomics – the study of how individuals or firms behave
Nominal price – the price of a good or service valued in dollars (or another currency)
Normative – subjective
Positive – objective
Real price – the value of a good or service relative to another or a bundle of goods and services.
Dismal science – commonly used to describe the study of economics as focusing on misery

References

Carter, R. Thacker, E. Heaton, K., and Burritt, B. 2019. Grazing and harvest efficiency of forage by cattle on western rangelands. AG/Rangeland, Agricultural Extension, Utah State University. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3039&context=extension_curall

Supplementary Resources

There are many interesting articles on the Internet, in the economic literature, in the popular press and in the news. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Freakonomics looks at a diverse array of topics using economic analysis to make sense of them. The writing is easy to follow and quite funny. The link is: http://freakonomics.com/

If you like reading about economics, Greg Mankiw’s site is great.