That means that in our economy there is a problem of scarcity. Scarcity: The goods available are too few to satisfy individual’s desires. Scarcity has two elements; our wants and our means of fulfilling those wants. The degree of scarcity is always changing because the quantity of goods, services and usable resources depends on technology and human action. Economic theory is divided into two parts: Microeconomics is the study of individual choice, and how that choice is influenced by economic forces.
Study such things as the pricing policies of firms, household’s decisions on what to buy. Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole. It considers problems of inflation, unemployment, business cycle and growth. The Economic Decision Rule: Using economic reasoning, decisions are often made by comparing marginal costs and marginal benefits. (Missing a class example) If the marginal benefit of Doing something exceeds the marginal cost, DO IT!
If the marginal cost of doing something exceeds the marginal benefit, DON’T DO IT! Marginal cost is the additional cost over and above costs already incurred Marginal benefit is the additional benefit above and beyond what has already accrued Economic reasoning is based on the premise that everything has a cost. Opportunity cost: Is the basis of cost/benefit economic reasoning; it is the benefit that you might have gained from choosing the next best thing.
The benefit forgone of the next-best alternative to the activity you have chosen Opportunity cost should always be less than the benefit of what you have chosen The opportunity cost of college includes: Items you could have purchased with the money spent for tuition and books Loss of the income from a full-time Job since you are a fulltime student The opportunity cost f money spent on the war on terrorism is less spending on health care or education Economic forces: Are mechanisms that ration scarce goods, the necessary reactions to scarcity.
Market force: Is an economic force that is given relatively free rein by society to work through the market. (when an economic force operates through the market, it becomes a market force. The invisible hand: is the price mechanism that guides our actions in a market. The invisible hand is an example of a market force. If there is a shortage, prices rise If there is a surplus, prices fall Economic Reality is controlled by three forces: Economic forces ( the invisible hand ) Social and cultural forces Political and legal forces Social, cultural, and political forces can play a significant role in the economy.
Social and political forces influence market forces Social and political forces often work together against the invisible hand Economic model: is a framework that places the generalized insights of the theory in a more specific contextual setting. Economic principle: is a commonly held insight stated as a law or general assumption. Models lead to… Theorems (propositions that are logically true based on the assumptions of the model)… o arrive at policy precepts (policy rules that conclude that a particular course of action is preferable) The invisible hand Theorem: According to the invisible hand theory, a market economy, through the price mechanism, will allocate resources efficiently When the quantity supplied is greater than the quantity demanded, price has a tendency to fall. When the quantity demanded is greater than the quantity supplied, price has a tendency to rise. Efficiency: Achieving a goal as cheaply as possible.
Economic institutions: are laws, common practices, and organizations in a society that affect the economy Economic policies: are actions (or inaction) taken by the government to influence economic actions Objective policy analysis keeps value views of how things should be To distinguish between objective and subjective analysis, economics is divided into three categories: 1 . Positive economics is the study of what is and how the economy works 2. Normative economics is the study of what the goal of the economy should be 3.
Art of economics is using the knowledge of positive economics to achieve the goals etermined in normative economics; it is the application of the knowledge learned in positive economics to achieve the goals determined in normative economics. RECT Economics is the study of: A) how government policies solve the three coordination problems. B) how human beings develop institutions to distribute limited resources. C) how human beings coordinate their wants and desires given a society’s decision- making mechanisms, social customs, and political realities.
D) the factors that produce perceived scarcity and how such scarcity can be reduced. Feedback: Response: This is the definition of the study of economics. The three central coordination problems of the economy are: what, how, and for whom. whether, what, and why. for whom, why, and what. how, why, and whether. Feedback: Response: Three central coordination problems any economy must solve are what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom to produce it.
Insert Surname 2 Professor’s Name: Student Name: Course Title: Date: Social norms
Insert Surname 2
Professor’s Name:
Student Name:
Course Title:
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Social norms are behaviours that are considered acceptable according to a particular group of people, society or culture. Social norms are foundations that direct the society to behave correctly. Social norms enable people to prepare for a situation without subjecting a people to uneasy social situations. Social pressure can influence people to unwillingly abide to social norms. People easily notice when social norms are not followed. A violation of social norms is usually accompanied by negative reaction from the society. The negative reactions from the society are expected to make people notice their mistakes and change expectedly (Fehr, Ernst and Tony, 2018). I this project, norm violation will be exercised in order to observe the reactions of the people in the society.
Statement of the problem
In this project, the social norm will be broken by wearing out-dated style of clothing to a night time wedding reception. Normally people are expected to attend a wedding reception in elegant stylish attire. It is asocial norm for men to put on cool and stylish attire to a wedding reception (Chung, Adrienne and Rajiv, 2016).Considering that the wedding reception is going to take place in the evening; men are expected to put on cocktail suits. White clothes are not acceptable in wedding receptions. This kind of dressing is expected to be classy but modest enough to keep the guests focused to the bride and the bridegroom. Overdressing is unacceptable because it can cause distractions in the event. In order to break these social norms, a navy blue bulgy pair of trousers and a white oversized t-shirt will be worn. The t-shirt was tucked in the trousers. On the feet, a pair of black socks and a pair of brown shoes were worn. This kind of attire was expected to cause a stir among the guests that attended the wedding.
Hypothesis
The guests attending the wedding reception are expected to notice the weird dressing and give several glances as I walk into the reception hall wondering what I was thinking putting on such clothes. In order to attain maximum reaction I will attend the reception ceremony late. This will provide an opportunity to obtain maximum feedback since most of the guests will be expected to have arrived. The guests will also be expected to start murmuring and stealing glances at me. I project most guests will try to avoid having a conversation with me. In addition, I project that many guests will stare at my dressing. Some guests are expected to question the source of inspiration for my dressing.
I planned to wear in an unusual kind of attire that will be against the social expectations of the people attending the wedding reception. The wedding reception was estimated to have a minimum of sixty guests. I considered that this was an appropriate number to conduct the social experiment because there would be plenty of people to observe reactions from. In addition, people would not be expectant for someone to break a social norm in regards to appropriate dressing. The wedding reception was mostly hosting middle class people. People are therefore expected to dress elegantly. The wedding reception is hosted in a four star hotel. The location of the wedding reception increases the level of dressing expectations expected from every guest that attends the event.
As I entered the hotel main entrance, I first encountered the security guard. He asked me to stop and questioned where I was going. I explained that I was heading to the wedding reception and he finally let me enter the hotel. I could clearly see that he was battling with a lot of questions in his mind. When I entered the hall where the event was taking place everybody starred at me as I entered the room. Here was a momentary silence. As the bride and the bridegroom made their speech, two thirds of the guests looked in my direction. I felt uneasy and a bit strange by the number of guests that kept looking onto my direction. When the bride and bridegroom finished their speech people started socializing. I could see that most guests especially ladies, avoided talking to me. One of my friends gathered the courage and inquired what gad inspired my dressing. I simply smiled and explained that I was inspired by myself. Most of the aged guests showed little concern about my dressing. They continued to have a normal candid talk with me. After the event I left for home having successfully completed my assignment.
Summary and Interpretation
Violation of the social norm showed that norms are considered and followed by the society. Putting on an old fashioned style of clothing to a wedding reception is considered an abnormal way to dress in a wedding reception. I felt neglected during the wedding reception. I realized that social norms dictate the right style of dressing according to an occasion. This is shown by the large number of guests that avoided making a conversation with me due to my wired dressing style. The exercise showed that people follow closely follow social norms of dressing. I realised that people in the society are quick to judge a person based on the social norms.
The assignment made me realize that social norms dictate what is right and what is wrong in the society (Platteau & Jean, 2015). Social norms are used to determine good and bad social conduct in the society. However other factors that can lead to social norms violation are not considered. This tendency can make result into poor judgement of other people.
Work Cited
Chung, Adrienne, and Rajiv N. Rimal. “Social norms: A review.” Review of Communication Research 4 (2016): 1-28.
Fehr, Ernst, and Tony Williams. Social Norms, Endogenous Sorting and the Culture of Cooperation.No. 7003.CESifo Group Munich, 2018.
Platteau, Jean-Philippe. Institutions, social norms and economic development.Routledge, 2015.