1. Evaluating Economic Performance

2. Economic and Social Goals
Seven Major Social/Economic Goals:
Economic Freedom
Economic Efficiency
Economic Equality
Economic Security
Full Employment
Price Stability
Economic Growth

3. Freedom Economic Freedom Ability to choose one’s: Occupation Employer
Uses for money
Businesses choose where and how they want to produce

4. Efficiency Economic Efficiency
Resources are scarce, so factors of production must be used wisely
As a society, we try to ensure that the benefits gained from use of the four factors are greater than costs incurred

5. Equity Economic Equity Equal pay for equal work
It is against the law to discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race, religion, or disability
Law protects consumers from fraud and misrepresentation

6. Security Economic Security
What to do if members of society become ill, are harmed in an accident, or the economy just leaves them behind?
Disability insurance
Unemployment benefits
Medicare/Medicaid
Social Security

7. Full Employment Full Employment
People with jobs save society money because society does not have to expend funds supporting them
People with jobs also make money for society because they buy and sell, contributing to the economy as a whole

8. Price Stability Price Stability
Preventing inflation – a rise in the general level of prices – is one major economic goal
When inflation occurs, those on a fixed income have less buying power
Interest rates rise
Business activity slows down
Price stability makes it easier to plan, adds a degree of certainty to the future

9. Growth Economic Growth
First, as population increases, we need a larger economy just to maintain the current standard of living
Second, most people want their standard of living to improve over the course of their lives – growth is necessary to do that

10. Trade-Offs Oftentimes these goals can conflict in some way
Raising tariffs to protect the U.S. shoe industry could create jobs, leading to full employment – but it also conflicts with our goal of economic freedom
Raising the minimum wage could contribute to equity – on the other hand, it could interfere with both efficiency and freedom to pay whatever wages the employer deems appropriate

11. Capitalism and Economic Freedom
Under capitalism, private citizens own the factors of production
Free enterprise is also used to describe our market system
Ideal of a free enterprise system is to allow competition with a minimum of government interference

12. Competition and Free Enterprise
5 Characteristics of Free Enterprise Economy
Economic Freedom
Voluntary Exchange
Private Property Rights
Profit Motive
Competition

13. Economic Freedom
Private actors can choose to work where and when they want to work
Possible to choose whether to start a business, or whether to be someone else’s employee
Employees can choose to leave, or employers can choose to make an employee leave
Businesses can set prices however they want, productive whatever they want, and make as much or as little as they want

14. Voluntary Exchange Buyers and sellers have to agree
Transactions are made in such a way that both the buyer and seller are better off after the exchange
Idea that you don’t have to spend your money, so if you did exchange it for something, you found that good/service more valuable than the money

15. Private Property Rights
You own tangible possessions like homes, cars, clothes, etc.
People also own intangibles likes skills and talents
In terms of efficiency, property generally promotes more efficient use
Private property rights provide incentives to work, save, and invest

16. Profit Motive
Possibility of financial gain encourages economic actors to take risks
Profit – the extent to which a person or organization is better off at the end of a period than they were at the beginning
Profit motive – encourages people and organizations to improve their material well-being

17. Competition
The struggle among sellers to attract consumers while lowering costs
Customers get to choose where they spend their money, so entrepreneurs have an incentive to make them happy
Ideally, the result is that goods and services are produced at the lowest cost and are allocated to those who are willing and able to pay for them

18. Entrepreneurs and Consumers
Role of the Entrepreneur:
Organize land, capital, and labor in order to seek profit
Entrepreneurs take the risk that they can provide something consumers want at a price consumers are willing to pay
Role of the Consumer:
“consumer sovereignty” – the consumers decide which businesses fail and which businesses succeed
Q: What’s the assumption here?

19. The Role of Government Protector Provider and Consumer Regulator
Promoter of National Goals

20. Protector
Even in a free market, the game has rules. Government’s job is to enforce those rules.
Enforces laws against:
False/misleading advertising
Unsafe food and drugs
Environmental hazards
Unsafe automobiles
Abuses of individual freedoms

21. Provider and Consumer
Government provides national defense for everyone
Education and public welfare are distributed by both states and the federal government
Roads, parks, libraries, public transportation
The government can also act as a consumer – it has to buy the materials and labor to construct public works and provide public services

22. Regulator
Government has a role in preserving competition in the marketplace
Oversees:
Interstate commerce
Communications
Banking
Nuclear energy
Building and zoning permits

23. Promoter of National Goals
Remember our seven goals: freedom, efficiency, equity, security, full employment, price stability, and economic growth
We have laws outlawing child labor and providing Social Security – we chose to use government to modify our economy to meet certain goals
U.S. (and essentially every other market economy) has a mixed economy – also called a modified private enterprise economy