For students, the alternative value of studying at the university reflects. Tasks and solutions "Basic economic concepts"

There are also two types of costs of higher education: direct and alternative. Let's consider each of these types in more detail with examples. modern society and personal experience.

First, let's take a look at the direct costs that can be fully attributed to a product or service. These include:

  • * the cost of raw materials and materials used in the production and sale of goods and services;
  • * wages of workers (piecework) directly involved in the production of goods;
  • * other direct costs (all costs that are in one way or another directly related to the product).

This definition is directly related to higher education, upon receipt of which there are direct costs. An example is students who, for one reason or another, study on a commercial basis. Each semester they must contribute a certain amount of money to continue their studies. Do not forget that with successful study and active participation in social and scientific life the university can switch to a budgetary basis of education. In addition, there may be costs for the purchase of stationery and additional educational literature necessary for training. Every month, students must replenish their social card for the purpose of unlimited travel.

Opportunity costs

The term was coined by Friedrich von Wieser, an Austrian economist, in 1914. By definition, Opportunity Costs mean lost profit (profit, income) as a result of choosing one of the alternative options for using resources and, thereby, rejecting other opportunities. The amount of lost profit is determined by the utility (product or service that satisfies human needs) of the most valuable of the discarded alternatives.

By your own example, you can see that on full-time learning all the time is devoted to classes. Every module / semester, the schedule changes, which does not allow getting a permanent job or attending additional classes, as there is not enough time. Because of this, many students miss out on the opportunity to earn extra money and gain experience while on the job. Also, some cannot afford to attend various sections to develop their talents, or special courses aimed at training future specialists. As a result, they do not develop in other directions only in the one that was chosen at the university.

It can be assumed that in modern world even more discoveries could be made in various areas of our life, but due to lack of time or devotion to other occupations, the scientific and technical process does not occur as quickly as it would like.

An alternative option may be part-time education, which allows you to devote most of the time not to study, but to personal interests. Unfortunately, this type of training is not always complete and most often does not bring as much knowledge and experience as full-time.

The object of economic analysis in each country is the shortage (scarcity, scarcity) of resources and the alternative choice of their use.

Since resources are scarce, the economy cannot provide an unlimited supply of goods and services. Moreover, decisions need to be made about which goods and services should be produced and which ones should be discarded.

In the vast majority of situations there are more than two choices. In such a situation, a rationally acting economic entity evaluates the benefits it receives from each alternative option for using resources, and chooses the most beneficial alternative for itself.

At the same time, he loses (loses) the benefit from another (alternative) use of available resources. Consequently, the costs (costs) of obtaining the selected good will be the highest benefit from the rejected options.

In other words, alternative (imputed) costs or selection price Is the benefit of the best unrealized alternative opportunity.

Alternative (imputed) production costs- this is the cost of production of one good, expressed in the amount of another good, from the production of which has to be abandoned in order to produce this good.

In other words, the economic costs of obtaining a certain good are other goods that could be obtained using the same resources, but which will have to be abandoned if the choice is made in favor of this good. Therefore they are called alternative costs or waste of lost opportunities.

For example, let us estimate the alternative costs of training a student at a university. First of all, having paid for the tuition, the student refuses to buy any goods (clothes, etc.). In addition, studies require time during which the student could earn money, just relax, etc. He refuses all this, deciding to study. Therefore, the economic costs of training include unearned money as well.

Thus, in order to estimate the full economic costs of obtaining a certain good, it is necessary to sum up all the losses (in the form of other non-received goods) that have to be incurred in this regard.

Accounting for opportunity costs in economic choice is the most important principle of microeconomic analysis.

On the transformation curve, we see that with each additional unit of one product, more and more other products have to be sacrificed, i.e. the opportunity cost increases.

What is reflected in s the law of an increase in imputed (opportunity) costs , which states: in conditions of limited and specific resources, alternative costs steadily increase as the output of any of the alternative types of products increases. Those. in the conditions of full use of resources and constant technology for each additional unit of one product, it is necessary to abandon an ever increasing number of other products.

The economic meaning of the law of increasing imputed costs is as follows: economic resources are unsuitable for their full use in the production of alternative products.

Operation of the law an increase in alternative (imputed) production costs is manifested in the fact that the production capability curve has convex shape.

When we try to increase the production of some goods, we have to switch from the production of other goods resources that are less and less suitable for this kind of application. And this switching operation is getting deeper and more expensive.

There is a law closely related to the above - the law of diminishing returns (productivity). It can be formulated as follows: a continuous increase in the use of one resource in combination with a constant amount of other resources for a certain stage leads to the cessation of the growth of returns from it, and then to its reduction.

This law is based again on incomplete interchangeability of resources. After all, replacing one of them with another (others) is possible up to a certain limit. For example, if four resources: land, labor, entrepreneurial ability, knowledge are left unchanged and such a resource as capital is increased (for example, the number of machines in a plant with a constant number of machine operators), then at a certain stage there comes a limit beyond which further growth the specified production factor is becoming less and less. The productivity of the machine operator, who serves an increasing number of machines, decreases, the percentage of rejects increases, idle times of machines increase, etc.

Thus, the main economic challenge is the choice of the most effective variant of the distribution of production factors in order to solve the problem of optimal opportunities, which is due to the unlimited needs of society and the limited resources.

The problem of efficiency is the main problem of economic theory, which studies the ways of the best use or application of scarce resources in order to achieve the greatest or maximum possible satisfaction of the unlimited needs of society (the goal of production). Thus, economic science is the science of efficiency, of the efficient use of scarce resources.

Any production is effective if, given the resources, it is impossible to increase the output of one good without reducing the output of another, therefore, any point lying on the curve of production possibilities is effective.

Resource allocation in which it is impossible to increase the output of one economic good without reducing the output of another is called Pareto-efficient or Pareto-optimal (after the famous Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto).

Economic efficiency characterizes the relationship between the number of units of rare resources that are used in the production process, and the amount of a product obtained as a result of this process, i.e. covers the problem "COST - ISSUE" ().

18. Opportunity costs paid education do not include:

a) the salary that could be obtained by working instead of training;

b) expenses for educational literature and stationery;

c) food costs;

d) tuition fees.
19. A farmer can grow potatoes and wheat in his field. If he sows the whole field with potatoes, then he will harvest 400 tons, and if with wheat - 100 tons. What is the alternative cost of one ton of wheat:

a) the alternative cost cannot be precisely determined, since it is not known how much wheat is sown, and how much potatoes;

b) 4 tons of potatoes;

c) 1/4 ton of potatoes;

d) the opportunity cost cannot be determined, since the prices are unknown.
20. You earn 200 rubles per day. One day you decide to go to football in the afternoon, paying 50 rubles for a ticket. Your costs are:

a) 100 rubles as income for half a day;

b) 50 rubles per ticket;

c) 150 rubles as the sum of income for half a day and the ticket price;

d) no opportunity costs.
21. On the curve of production possibilities, the growth of production of one type of product is combined:

a) with a decrease in the production of another type of product;

b) with the growth of production of another type of product;

c) with a constant volume of production of another type of product;

d) any of the above options is possible.

55. Marginal costs are:

a) maximum production costs;

b) the average cost of manufacturing a product;

c) costs associated with the release of an additional unit of production;

d) the minimum cost of product release.

56. Total production costs are:

a) the costs associated with the use of all resources and services for the production of products;

b) explicit (external) costs;

c) implicit (internal) costs, including normal profit;

d) costs of a commodity producer associated with the purchase of consumer durables.

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a) Adam Smith;

c) Francois Quesnay;

d) David Ricardo.

6. The problems studied by microeconomics include:

a) economic growth;

b) unemployment;

c) monopolistic competition;

d) public debt.
7. Macroeconomic indicator is not:

a) the price of the computer;

b) GDP growth rate;

c) unemployment rate;

d) price level.
8. The subject of macroeconomics is not:

a) state tax policy;

b) the rate of economic growth of the country;

c) the state budget deficit;

d) the level of wages of an individual worker.

9. The laws of supply and demand are studied within the course:

a) management;

b) microeconomics;

c) macroeconomics;

d) finance.

10. The economic school that expresses the interests of the commercial bourgeoisie in the era of initial capital accumulation is:

a) mercantilism;

b) physiocratism;

c) marginalism;

d) Marxism.
11. The mental decomposition of phenomena into their component parts and the allocation of its individual sides in order to identify that specific in them that distinguishes them from each other is:

a) an economic experiment;

b) analysis;

c) discounting;

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12. Each point on the production capability curve characterizes:

a) the minimum volume of product release;

b) the maximum volume of product release;

c) the best combinations of product release;

d) alternative combinations of goods for a given amount of resources.
13. For a person who has the opportunity to get a job with pay from 4000 to 6000 rubles per hour, the opportunity cost of one hour of leisure is equal, rubles / hour:

14. For students, the alternative value of studying at the university reflects:

a) the amount of the scholarship;

b) the maximum earnings that can be earned by dropping out of school;

c) government spending on the education of the average specialist;

d) the costs of the parents for the maintenance of the student.
15. Which of the following lists of factors of production is more accurate:

a) labor, land, capital, labor, management;

b) labor, means of production, technology, entrepreneurship, management;

c) resources, technology, entrepreneurship;

d) labor, land, capital, entrepreneurship.

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16. Economic property relations are characterized by:

a) the use of legal norms;

b) relations between people about things, goods;

c) people's attitudes to things, goods;

d) the relationship between the means and objects of labor.
17. What is behind the claim that every economic system is faced with the problem of limited resources:

a) there are times when some products can only be bought at high prices;

b) production resources are never enough to meet all human needs;

c) in any economy there are periods of recession when there is a shortage of something;

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22. Ownership of property is:

a) actual possession of the object;

b) extracting useful properties from it;

c) all of the above is true;

d) all of the above is incorrect.
23. The economic system solves the following issues:

a) what, how, for whom and what is the growth rate;

b) what, how, for whom;

c) when, where, why;

d) what, where, for whom.

24. The criteria for differentiating the types of economic systems are:

a) the form of ownership of resources;

b) type of coordination mechanism;

c) the level of well-being of members of society;

d) answers a and b are correct.
25. If economic problems are solved by both the market and the government, then the economy is:

a) market;

b) command;

c) mixed;

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26. A fundamental problem facing all economies:

a) investments;

b) consumption;

c) production;

d) limited resources.
27. Which of the named characteristics does not apply to a market economy:

a) private property;

b) centralized planning;

c) competition;

d) freedom of entrepreneurship.
28. Problems of “what, how and for whom to produce” may be related to:

a) only to societies where central planning dominates;

b) only to a market economy;

c) any society regardless of its socio-economic and political organization;

d) only to totalitarian systems.

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57. Economic profit is equal to the difference:

a) between gross income and external costs;

b) between external and internal costs;

c) between gross income and total costs;

d) between total revenue and depreciation.
58. Variable costs include all the costs listed below, except:

a) wages;

b) costs of raw materials and supplies;

c) depreciation;

d) payments for electricity.
59. The costs of producing a unit of output are:

a) general costs;

b) average costs;

c) external costs;

d) variable costs.
60. Internal costs include:

a) expenses for the purchase of raw materials and materials for the production of products;

b) the cost of resources belonging to the enterprise;

c) costs associated with the acquisition of a land plot by an enterprise;

d) rent for the equipment used.
61. Purchase of raw materials by an enterprise from suppliers includes:

a) to external costs;

b) to internal costs;

c) to fixed costs;

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93. An example of transfer payments is:

a) wages;

c) profit;

d) unemployment benefit.
94. GDP can be calculated as the sum:

a) consumption, investment, government procurement and net exports;

b) consumption, transfer payments, wages and profits;

c) investment, wages, profits and the cost of intermediate goods;

d) the cost of final goods, intermediate goods, transfer payments and rent.
95. The founder of macroeconomics as a science is:

a) J.M. Keynes;

b) A. Marshall;

c) A. Smith;

d) K. McConnell.
96. Potential GNP is:

a) the value of all goods and services produced in the economy, from a certain base period to the present;

b) the value of all goods and services that can be produced if the economy operates in conditions of full employment of the labor force;

c) the value of all goods and services that can be produced if the economy functions with full employment of labor and capital;

d) the extent to which GNP can increase if the level of investment is maximized.
97. The classical model assumes that the aggregate supply (AS) curve will be:

a) horizontal at the price level determined by aggregate demand;

b) horizontal at the price level determined by the interest rate and government policy;

c) vertical at an arbitrary level of GNP;

d) vertical at the level of potential GNP.

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121. Direct taxes do not include:

a) corporate income tax;

b) personal income tax;

c) payment for water, land tax;

d) VAT, excise taxes, customs duties.
122. A pronounced anti-inflationary fiscal policy presupposes:

a) increasing the level of taxation and reducing government spending;

b) reduction in both tax revenues and government spending;

c) tax increases and more high level government spending;

d) tax cuts and a higher level of government spending.

Opportunity costs

It is customary to understand production costs as a group of expenses, money expenditures necessary to create a product. That is, for enterprises (firms, companies), they act as payment for the acquired production factors.

These expenses cover the payment of materials necessary to support the production process (raw materials, electricity, fuel), staff salaries, depreciation, and costs to ensure production management.

When goods are sold, entrepreneurs receive revenue.

Some part of the received financial resources goes to compensate for production costs (money for the production of the required amount of goods), the second part is to ensure profit, the main goal for which any production is started. This means that production costs will be less than the cost of the goods per profit.

What are Opportunity Costs?

Most of the costs of production - from the use of resources that provide this very production. When resources are used in one place, they cannot be used elsewhere, because they are rare and limited.

For example, money that was spent to buy a blast furnace that would produce pig iron cannot be used to make soda.

Result: if it is decided to use any resource in some way, then it will not be possible to spend it in another way.

Given this very circumstance, in any decision to start production, it becomes necessary to refuse to use a certain amount of resources in order to use this very resource in the manufacture of other products. Thus, opportunity costs are generated.

Opportunity costs of production - costs in the production of goods that have passed the assessment in terms of lost opportunities with the possible use of this same amount of resource for another purpose.

Example:

To be able to understand how the opportunity cost is estimated, consider a desert island with Robinson Crusoe. Corn and potatoes are two crops that he planted near his own hut.

His plot of land is very limited on all sides: one side is the ocean, the other side is rocks, the third side is his hut, and the fourth side is rocks. He decides to increase the area allotted for corn.

He will be able to implement this plan only when he reduces the area for planting potatoes.

The opportunity cost in the production of each future corn cob in this situation can be expressed by potato tubers, which were not received by them later on using the potato land resource to increase the area under corn.

But in this example, it was only about two products. And what is the right thing to do when it comes to tens, hundreds, thousands of different products that are dissimilar to each other? In such cases, money comes to the rescue, with which all possible goods are measured against each other.

What is included in the opportunity cost?

Opportunity costs of production can act as the difference between profits, the opportunity to obtain which arises when using the most profitable alternative uses of the resource, and the profits that were actually received by entrepreneurs.

But not all producer costs fall under the concept of opportunity costs. When resources are used, costs incurred by producers in an unconditional manner (for example, costs for registration, renting premises, and the like) will not apply to alternative ones. Therefore, non-alternative costs will not take part in the economic choice.

The main differences between implicit and explicit costs

From an economic point of view, it is customary to divide costs of an alternative nature into two categories: explicit and implicit costs.

The first category, explicit costs, includes costs of an alternative nature, the form of which is cash payments to suppliers for factors of production and intermediate goods. The complex of such costs includes:

  • remuneration of employees (payment in money for employees providing production);
  • financial costs for making purchases or paying for the rent of special equipment for production, structures, buildings in which the process of production of goods will take place (cash payments in favor of capital suppliers);
  • payment of transportation costs;
  • payment of utilities (water, electricity, gas);
  • fees for using the services of insurance companies and banking institutions;
  • settlements with suppliers of resources of a material nature - raw materials, semi-finished products, components.

Implicit costs distinguish costs of an exclusively alternative nature that arise when using resources owned by the organization itself (unpaid costs). They can be presented in the following forms:

1) In the form of cash payments that could be received in the case of the most profitable investment of resources at the disposal of the company. Lost profit, payment that could have been received by the owner when carrying out other work, interest on capital invested in various kinds of securities, rent payments for the use of land.

2) In the form of normal profit, as a minimum remuneration in favor of the entrepreneur in order to keep him in the chosen branch of business.

For example, an entrepreneur is engaged in the production of furniture, and will consider sufficient profit for himself, which is 15% of the total amount of capital invested in the production process.

When the production of furniture gives him a normal profit of less than 15%, he will change his occupation, moving his capital to other industries that can provide a higher level of his profit.

3) For the owners of capital - in the form of profit that could be obtained by them by investing their own resources not in this, but in any other business.

For owners of land plots, the essence of implicit costs is the rent that could be received when renting out their plots.

For entrepreneurs (and those who carry out ordinary labor activities), the implicit cost may be the payment that they could have received while working for other firms in the same period of time.

So, in production costs, Western economic theory also includes the income of entrepreneurs (Marx interprets this as the average return on capital invested).

Therefore, the receipt of this kind of income is considered as a payment for all possible risks, as a reward for an entrepreneur, an incentive for him to keep his financial assets, without leaving the established company, without diverting some of the resources to use them for other purposes.

Differences in economic and accounting costs

Production costs, including normal or average profit, constitute a complex of costs that is economic in nature.

Economic, or imputed costs in a modern economy, are those that were carried out under conditions that make it possible to make the best decision for the company in economic terms when using resources. They are considered the ideal that every company should strive to achieve.

Of course, in most cases, in reality everything happens a little differently, because it can be very difficult to achieve any ideal, or almost impossible.

It should be additionally noted that the costs of an economic nature are not equal to the concepts and meanings included in the accounting data. The amount of profit received by entrepreneurs will not be included in the accounting costs.

Internal costs are directly related to those costs that arise when using part of your own product to further support the production process.

For example, about half of the grain harvest that was grown in the fields of the enterprise was used for sowing work on the same land areas from which it was previously harvested.

Since this grain is the property of the company and is used to meet its own internal needs, no payment will be made.

Internal costs are directly related to the use of their own product, which will be converted into resources to further support the production process in the company.

External cost - a financial cost to obtain the required amount of resources to maintain production, which are not owned by the owners of the company.

The costs arising in the production process can be classified not only taking into account the resources used - the resources of the company, or those that had to be paid. There are other classifications as well.

The costs of alternative choices arise from limited resources and virtually unlimited human needs. Only the demand among consumers and the corresponding price lead to the correct use of limited resources.

For the first time the concept of "costs of alternative choice" appeared at the end of the 19th century, it was introduced into scientific circulation by Friedrich Wieser. The essence of the theory that he put forward is that by producing some goods, we lose a lot of usefulness from other useful things that could be done using the same amount of resource.

A person cannot have everything he desires. Therefore, you have to make a choice based on the size of your income. In most cases, a person is inclined to choose the product, after the purchase, which will receive the maximum satisfaction.

To make a purchase of the selected product, a person must deny himself the purchase of other things. Those goods that have to be abandoned when making purchases of selected things are imputed (hidden) acquisition costs. When buying goods, in most cases, a certain amount of money is given in return.

In practice, you have to give up the following desired things that you could buy, spend the same amount.

Enterprises, like individuals, also have to make their own choice - on what to spend their own funds. For example, profits can be donated to charity, dividends can be paid to persons who own shares. Leadership must identify priorities and address them.

Opportunity costs: accounting and economic

Economically, costs reflect the relationship between the release of a particular product and indicators that affect the production process. If the organization uses its own resources, and not purchased from other companies, it is more convenient to set prices for goods in one monetary unit for the report.

purpose of costing- calculation of the difference between the cost of the product and its price for the consumer. These calculations are based on production and cycle costs. Changes in resource and maintenance costs affect the minimum operating costs. Figure 1 shows the main types of costs.

Fig. 1 - Production costs

Costs are categorized according to different criteria. Consider such types of production costs as alternative, economic and accounting.

What are accounting costs?

Accounting costs- financial expenses that the company spends on production needs. This category of costs is an external payment by the company to specific suppliers.

Let's consider their classification (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2 - Classification of accounting production costs

Direct and indirect costs

The main categories of accounting costs are direct and indirect... The first type is the cost of directly manufacturing products, the second is the finance spent on the acquisition of funds and production resources. Without taking into account indirect costs, settlement procedures, preparation of invoices and depreciation deductions of the company are impracticable.

Bookkeeping costs amortize fixed assets. Investment is always present in any economic sector. Their components: buildings and equipment required for the production of products. This is the fixed capital.

Structures are exposed to external influences, therefore, a specific period is used (several tens of years), as well as equipment (up to two years).

The accounting department of the company is obliged to take into account the depreciation of the components of fixed capital and take into account the amortization expenses among the costs.

What are economic costs?

Economic (time) costs- the total cost of business procedures performed by the firm in the course of the release of goods or the provision of services. For example, resources and raw materials not included in the market turnover.

Economic costs are:

  • Internal... The costs of using the company's own resources in the production process.
  • External... The cost of purchasing resources for the external production process.
  • Permanent... Associated with factors of production that persist for a long time. They are formed as a result of the presence of technical devices in the company and are covered even if the latter are not used in production. It is possible to get rid of such expenses by 100% only with an absolute stop of the company's work, in this situation, fixed costs become sunk costs. For example, funds spent on advertising, rental of premises, depreciation. Such costs are present even if the firm's profits are zero.
  • Variables. Proportional to the volume of the manufactured product. The more goods are planned to be released, the higher the costs are expected. For example, finance for the purchase of raw materials, energy, fuel resources, transport. The main percentage of variable costs falls on the purchase of materials and the salaries of workers.
  • Total gross costs- the total amount of costs for the entire period of production. Includes fixed and variable costs. The cost of producing a product, which is directly proportional to the increase in the volume of the latter. To find out whether an enterprise is profitable, it is necessary to analyze all changes in costs, for which the change in variable and gross costs is compared with the gross limit.
  • Limit- the cost of unplanned units of goods or the deviation from the recorded total costs with a quantitative increase in production. The value of marginal costs is inversely proportional to the dynamics of the quantity of the product produced.
  • Average- total costs for each released product. They are applied, as a rule, for the purpose of comparison with the final price of the goods. To calculate this value, the total gross variable costs are divided by the quantity of the product produced. These costs are dependent on parameters such as payback, cost, market value and income.

Examples of calculating economic costs:

Suppose that the calculation of costs is not done by the accounting staff, but by the owner of the company. His task is to find out whether it is profitable for him to engage in entrepreneurship in this area in the future.

Here you need to approach the costs from an economic point of view.

Then not only real costs are taken into account, but also those funds that the company did not receive, having invested this particular capital and spent just such time.

For example, you are a lawyer by profession. You receive an offer to become a director of legal services in another organization, where you will work with the same efforts as in your company, but receive 12 thousand rubles.

At the same time, you take 10 thousand from the income of your business, put them in a bank deposit and provide yourself with an annual income for this amount. That is, using this option, you will receive a total profit of 22 thousand, but by choosing to open your own company, you are missing out on this opportunity.

This amount will reflect your implicit costs. For the purpose of calculating economic costs, add up the implicit costs with the accounting ones: I (e) = I (n) + I (b).

From many calculations, it turns out that by using such factors as time and capital in the most profitable way, that is, by choosing the best option for using resources, an entrepreneur will receive an income of 82 thousand rubles.

Is the manager satisfied with the work of his company, who receives an accounting profit of 20 thousand, and an economic one - minus 2 thousand? Naturally not. IN this case resources were misused.

Economic costs in our life

Economic costs are present every day in the life of any person when he has to make economic choices.

For example, when choosing what kind of transport (auto, rail, air) you will get to another city, do not forget not only about the explicit costs (ticket cost), but also about the implicit ones - the profit that you can earn during the move.

From this point of view, inexpensive transport is often the most expensive. That is why entrepreneurs are trying to move from one settlement in the other by the fastest, not the cheapest, ways.

By entering educational institution, you need to take into account not only tuition fees, but also the lost income, which you lose by giving up another kind of activity.

The economic costs for the supplier of inputs are revenues. By paying them, the company excludes the possibility of alternative use of resources.

For example, your company employs a locksmith who knows Chinese well. But you will not raise his salary based on this alone.

However, if a Chinese competitor appears next to you, you will have to increase the income of this worker so that he does not change his place of work.

conclusions

So, let us conclude that in case of improper use of resources, the company "pays" with an economic loss.

What happens if you choose the right alternative investment opportunity? The size of the accounting profit will be the same as the implicit costs, the income from the resources used - the maximum, the economic costs will begin to correspond to the company's profit.

Economic profit in this case tends to zero, but the owner of the company should be satisfied with such an indicator, since he does not remain at a loss by dwelling on this and not any alternative possibility.

Thus, zero economic profit is the norm and corresponds to the average income. Under what circumstances will the firm have an economic profit "in the black"? If it makes the most of the resources used in a well-conceived scenario.

Positive economic income is the result of an entrepreneur's organizational talent, a "bonus" that he receives for using the latest technology and technology, and for the correct management of the company.

The part of it, which is larger than the accounting profit, is called excess profit. It depends on it in which area the main resources will be directed.

But with an increase in the amount of resources, the market supply also increases, which reduces the price of products, bringing the economic profit back to zero.

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Objective 1.

The principle of rational housekeeping involves minimizing costs or maximizing utility. Yes or no?

Objective 2.

For students, the alternative value of studying at the university reflects:

a. the amount of the scholarship;

b. the maximum earnings you can get by dropping out of school;

c. expenses of parents for the maintenance of the student.

Objective 3.

The characteristics of the economic good are:

a. the ability to meet needs;

b. rarity;

c. value;

d. all of the above is true.

Task 4.

The seamstress Dotsenko is engaged in individual entrepreneurial activity: he sews fashionable clothes to order. She spends two days on one thing and receives a payment of 60 monetary units. As a rule, it also works on weekends. But next weekend she was offered a two-day vacation outside the city. The cost of the voucher is 100 monetary units. Mrs. Dotsenko decided to rest. What will the opportunity cost be equal to?

Task 5.

On weekends you can go skiing in the mountains. Ride and skiing costs 80 money units, but you are willing to pay 100 money units.

a. will you go to the mountains?

b. your friend offers to fix his computer for 30 money units. you love collecting computers so much that you would agree to help a friend for free. In this case, will you go to the mountains?

c. You work on weekends in a restaurant and you can earn 100 money units. You don't like this job, so you won't do it in less than 90 money units. In this case, will you go to the mountains?

d. if you don't go to the mountains, you can visit an exhibition of works by a famous artist. Admission is free for students, but you dreamed about it so much that you are ready to pay 15 den. In this case, will you go to the mountains?

Task 6.

Programmer Ivanova earns 10 monetary units per hour. Her mother is retired. In the store for beef for 8 den. per kilogram you need to stand for an hour, for beef for 12 den. there is no queue per kilogram. At what volume of purchases is it rational to purchase cheaper beef for the programmer Ivanova? Her mother?



Task 7.

Plot the production capability curve (CPV) for a conditional country using the following data.

1. Can the country's economy produce 2 million pieces of investment goods and 15 million pieces of consumer goods?

2. Can the country's economy produce 4 million pieces of investment goods and 3 million pieces of consumer goods?

Task 8.

An agricultural enterprise that specializes in growing vegetables has two greenhouses. One can grow 2000 tons of cucumbers per year or 1500 tons of tomatoes. For the second, it is known that the alternative cost of 1 ton of cucumbers is equal to 0.5 tons of tomatoes with a maximum tomato harvest of 600 tons.

1. Determine the opportunity cost of producing cucumbers in the first greenhouse.

2. In which greenhouse is it more profitable to grow tomatoes; cucumbers?

3. Build the checkpoint of the enterprise.

Problem 9.

Show the following flows, market objects and subjects on the circuit diagram of the mixed economy:

1. the private cafe paid for the telephone calls;

2. the pensioner paid for the telephone calls;

3. the joint-stock company has made a profit;

4. a former employee of a private enterprise received a pension;

5. the Ivanenko family;

6. Sidorenko was educated;

7. money;

Problem 10.

The graph shows the conditional CPV of a certain country, which determines the correspondence between the production of consumer goods and public goods. Determine which of the points on the graph corresponds to the type of economic system.

Problem 11.

The company plans to launch a new type of product and is considering three production technologies.

1. What technology will the company choose if it is interested in using fewer resources?

2. What technology will the company choose if it aims to maximize profit?

3. Let us assume that the price of the resource "labor" has decreased to 2 monetary units. per unit, and the resource "capital" has grown to 6 monetary units per unit. How will the choice of the company change?

End of form

ANSWERS TO TASKS

Solutions to problems on the topic: "Theory of consumer behavior"

Objective 1.

Answer.

Moving from one combination to the next Q meat (kg) Q cheese (kg)
from A to B 2,5–4= –1,5 1 – 0,5=0,5 –1,5:0,5=–3
from B to C 1,5 – 2,5= –1 1,5 – 1=0,5 –2
from C to D 1– 1,5= –0,5 2,5 – 1,5=1 –0,5

That is, at first the consumer is ready to give up 3 kg of meat in favor of one kg of cheese. Further, the replacement rate decreases: for one kg of cheese, the consumer is ready to give up 2 kg of meat. And when switching from combination C to combination D, the consumer donates only 0.5 kg of meat for 1 kg of cheese.

Objective 2.

Answer.

Objective 3.

Answer.

Task 4.

Answer.

Task 5.

Answer.

The table gives the general usefulness of drinks, therefore, to solve the problem, it is necessary to find the marginal usefulness.

4 Pepsi and 1 Fanta: TU = 15 + 13 + 10 + 8 + 10 = 46 + 10 = 56;

3 Pepsi and 2 Fanta: TU = 15 + 13 + 10 + 10 + 9 = 38 + 19 = 57;

2 Pepsi and 3 Fanta: TU = 15 + 13 + 10 + 9 + 6 = 28 + 25 = 53;

1 Pepsi and 4 Fanta: TU = 15 + 10 + 9 + 6 + 3 = 15 + 28 = 43.

Comparing the results obtained, we conclude: a combination of drinks, consisting of 3 bottles of Pepsi and 2 bottles of Fanta, will bring the greatest usefulness.

Task 6.

Answer.

In the task, it is necessary to determine the set of goods that will bring the greatest satisfaction with a limited budget, using the rule: To do this, fill in the table:

The table shows that two options are possible:

1.2 units of product A and 2 units of product B; 2 * 10 + 2 * 5 = 30 monetary units;

2. 3 units of product A and 4 units of product B; 3 * 10 + 4 * 5 = 50 monetary units

In the first case, the consumer will not spend the entire budget, so he needs to choose the second option.

Task 7.

Answer.

In the equilibrium position, the following condition is fulfilled:

MU a = 10, R a = 0.7 monetary units.

MU в = ?, Р в = 0.5 monetary units.

Task 8.

Answer.

1.the budget constraint can be determined by the schedule: the consumer can buy only product A, at a price of 0.8 monetary units. he will pay: 5 * 0.8 = 4 monetary units, or goods B: 10 * 0.4 = 4 monetary units, that is, the budget is 4 monetary units;

point A on the graph corresponds to a situation in which a consumer can buy only goods A in quantity

3. any point to the left of the budget line characterizes such a set of goods, which leaves extra money. For example point B: 2 * 0.8 + 2 * 0.4 = 2.4 monetary units.

4. point C lies above the budget line, therefore such a combination of goods for a given budget is impossible: 3 * 0.8 + 7 * 0.4 = 5.2 monetary units.

Problem 9.

Answer.

The budget line is built on the basis general equation: I = P x Q x + P y Q y

28 = 1Q a + 2Q b,

We build the graph by two points:

Q b = 0, Q a = 28,

Q a = 0, Q b = 14.

Budget line slope , as well as at the equilibrium point, we find on the segment (12.16)

Problem 10.

Answer.

MU a = 40, R a = 0.6 monetary units.

MU in = 50 currencies, P in = 1 monetary unit.

Utility maximization occurs when the following condition is met:.

The family does not maximize utility by purchasing such a set of goods. For the greatest satisfaction, it is necessary either to reduce the marginal utility of good A, or to increase the marginal utility of good B.

Marginal utility is the utility of an additional unit of a commodity. And with each next unit of the consumed goods decreases according to the law of diminishing marginal utility. That is, the family needs to increase consumption of good A or reduce consumption of good B.

Problem 11.

Answer.

I = 13 monetary units;

MU p = 30 - 2x, MU about = 19 - 3y;

P n = 2 monetary units, P o = 1 monetary units.

Since there are two unknowns x and y in the problem, it is necessary to compose a system of equations.

The first equation is the budget constraint: I = P x Q x + P y Q y, 13 = 2x + y.

The second equation is the consumer equilibrium condition:

x = 5 (kg) y = 13-2 * 5 = 3 (kg).

The consumer is ready to buy 5 kg of tomato and 3 kg of cucumber.

Problem 12.

Answer.

1. goods can be irreplaceable at some level, but independent goods are still replaced by their usefulness, and are no different.

Problem 13.

Answer.

Problem 14.

Answer.

Q, pcs.
U, yutil
TU
MU
MU i = MU i –P (= 7) -1 -3 -5
MU i at P = 5 -1 -3

Problem 15.

Answer.

I = 16 monetary units - nominal income, less utility - U1

Problem 16.

Answer.

1. point A goes to point B;

2. point A goes to point C;

3. effect of income: point A goes to point D;

4. substitution effect: point D goes to point C;

Problem 17.

Answer.

1. an increase in prices for at least one product can be considered as a decrease in income. The effect of income from price can be considered in terms of a separate effect of decreasing income. For the goods of the highest group, the volume of consumption will decrease. A normal product is bought less with a rise in prices. At the same time, demand is partially transferred to a product with a constant price. The answer is presented in problem number 14.

Problem 18.

Answer.

1.U2 = 0 income compensates for labor, U2 - 5> 0, U1<0 бесплатный труд несёт отрицательную полезность;

4. the income effect reduces the need for labor, the substitution effect increases its productivity;

5. a) on the example of U3, b) U1;

6. For example, point 2. Independent income shifts the budget line up in parallel;

7. the shift of the utility line refers to the consideration of income only from a given labor, income lines - total income.

4.2 Solving problems on the topic: "Product, price, money, credit"

Objective 1.

Answer.

1. the equilibrium value of the bank interest as the price of money is determined by the equilibrium condition: Q D = Q S. Q S = 25,

P is the price of money, that is, the bank interest is 30%.

2. in the event that the bank increases the money supply by 5 million units (Q S = 30), then the new equilibrium price will be:

The bank interest rate will drop to 28.75%.

Objective 2.

Answer.

By Fisher's formula MV = PQ, where: M is the mass of monetary units;

V is the velocity of money circulation;

P is the price of the product;

Q is the number of products on the market.

The total cost of goods sold is PQ

PQ = 174 million

Objective 3.

Answer.

In bank A, the depositor will receive Pn = S (1 + i) n, where S - contribution, i - percentage, n- number of years.

S = 500, i = 0.2, n= 5, P = 500 (1 + 0.2) 5 = 500 * 2.49 = 1244

In bank B, the depositor in 5 years will receive Pn = S (1+ in) = 500(1+5*0,25)=500*2,25=1125.

It is more profitable to invest in bank A.

Task 4.

Answer.

1.nominal rate =

2.real rate = nominal - inflation rate = 20% -22% = -2%

Task 5.

Answer.

1. Ordinary interest with exact number of loan days:

156=21+28+31+30+31+15;

S = 20,000 (1 + 0.14) = 21,213.3, monetary units

2. Ordinary interest with an approximate number of loan days:

S = 20,000 (1 + 0.14) = 21 205.6, monetary units

3. Exact interest with approximate number of loan days:

S = 20,000 (1 + 0.14 ·) = 21,189.0, monetary units

4. Exact interest with banking number of working days:

S = 20,000 (1 + 0.14 ·) = 21,516.7, monetary units.

Task 6.

Answer.

I eff = (1+) mn - 1.

i = (1+) 365 - 1 = 0.115156, i.e. 11%.

The depositor's real income is 1 tenge. the invested funds will not be 10 tiyn. (from the condition), and 11 tiyn. Thus, the effective interest rate on the deposit is higher than the nominal one.

Task 7.

Answer.

a) i = (1+) 4 - 1 = 0.1038, i.e. 10.38%;

b) i = (1+) 2 - 1 = 0.1025, i.e. 10.25%.

The calculation shows that the difference between the rates is insignificant, however, the accrual of 10% per annum on a quarterly basis is more profitable for the depositor.

Task 8.

Answer.

Calculation of the accrued amount when the interest rate changes over time with the accrual of simple interest.

S = P (1 + i 1 t 1 + i 2 t 2 + i 3 t 3 + i n t n),

where i n is the simple interest rate, t n is the duration of the accrual period.

S = 10,000 (1 + 0.10 · 1 + 0.105 · 1 + 0.11 · 1) = 13 150, monetary units;

DR = 3 150 monetary units

Problem 9.

Answer.

When calculating compound interest, the formula is applied

S = P (1 + i 1 t 1) (1+ i 2 t 2) (1+ i 3 t 3) (1+ i n t n),

where i n is the compound interest rate, t n is the duration of the period of its accrual.

S = 10,000 (1 + 0.10 · 1) · (1 + 0.105 · 1) · (1 + 0.11 · 1) = 13 492.05, monetary units.

Problem 10.

Answer.

The term of the loan (deposit) is determined by the formula: t = · 365.

t = () 365 = 730 days (2 years).

Problem 11.

Answer.

t = () = 0.08 = 8% per annum.

Problem 12.

Answer.

The change in value under the influence of inflation can be calculated:

S = P (1 + r · t), where (1 + r · t) is the average price level for a specific period; r - inflation rate, expressed as a coefficient.

S = 5,000 (1 + 0.13 1) = 5,650, monetary units

In other words, a year later, in the amount of 5,650 monetary units. it will be possible to purchase the same set of goods and services as at the beginning of the period, only for the amount of 5,000 monetary units.

Problem 13.

Answer.

S = 5000 (1 + 0.13) 5 = 9 212, monetary units

Problem 14.

Answer.

The inverse problem of the previous one, that is, it is necessary to determine the average inflation rate for a specific time interval (within a period), based on data on the price level for a year or more. The solution is carried out by calculating the mathematical root, the degree of which is equal to t.

r = 4 = 1.033 = 3.3%.

Problem 15.

Answer.

1. The consumer goods market is serviced by a commodity exchange, on which transactions are concluded: with a premium (option), forward and futures transactions.

2. labor market - labor exchange;

3. securities market - stock exchange;

4. capital market - banks, financial and credit intermediaries.

Problem 16.

Answer.

Bank costs. 12 * 0.2 = 2.4 (million monetary units) - payments to depositors.

Bank income. Due to the need to reserve deposits, the bank cannot lend the entire 12 million, therefore:

1) 12 * 0.15 = 1.8 (million currency units) - the reservation rate.

2) 12 - 1.8 = 10.2 - the amount of the loan.

If the bank ottadst all the money on credit at 40% per annum, then the income will be equal to:

10.2 * 0.4 = 4.08 (million monetary units)

Bank profit = income - costs: 4.08-2.4 = 1.68 million units.

Problem 17.

Answer.

Buy option. Rryn at the time of delivery is 130. The option gives the right to buy for 100, having paid for such a right earlier a premium of 10, that is, the buyer will spend 110. He will not cancel the contract, because 110<130, и таким образом выигрыш покупателя составит 130-110=+20. Продавец вынужден (обязан) продавать за 100, а мог бы продать, если бы не заключил контракт, за 130. С учётом премии его проигрыш -20.

Sell ​​option. R market at the time of delivery 130. The seller has the right to sell under the contract for 100, but this is less than the market price, and it is profitable for him to refuse and sell the goods on the free market. At the same time, he loses the previously paid bonus -10. The buyer wins the +10 bonus without losing anything or making purchases.

Problem 18.

Answer.

2. broker;

3. broker;

Problem 19.

Answer.

M 0 = 9583 million monetary units. 43%

M 1 = 9583 + 4511 = 14094 million monetary units.

M 2 = 14094 + 7620 = 21714 million monetary units.

M 3 = 21714 + 355 = 22069 million monetary units. 100%

Money supply structure:

Cash - 43%

Money in current accounts - 20%

Time deposits - 35%

Trust deposits and securities - 2%

End of form

1. Which of these provisions is irrelevant to the definition of the subject of theoretical economics?
A) efficient use of resources;
C) unlimited production resources;
C) maximum satisfaction of needs;
D) material and spiritual needs;
E) the rarity of the good.

2. In which of the following cases is the study of theoretical economics not practical?
A) each person is influenced by the economy and influences it himself;
B) each person makes money using their knowledge and experience about certain areas of activity. Theoretical economics teaches students how to live;
C) every person faces political problems, many of which are related to the economy;
D) everyone who understands the principles of the functioning of the economy is better able to solve their own economic problems.

3. Economic theory:
A) Suitable for studying all economic systems;
B) Suitable only for studying the capitalist economic system;
C) Cannot be useful in the study of economic relations inherent in socialism;
D) Answers B and C are correct;
E) Suitable for studying pre-industrial systems.

4. Macroeconomics is defined as an area of ​​economic theory that studies:
A) the processes taking place in the national economy, taken as a whole;
B) the role of the state in the economy;
C) global problems of economic development of mankind;
D) the same problems as political economy in the original meaning of the term;
E) correct answers C) and D);

5. Which of the following statements is correct:
A) Economic laws act objectively, but people must study them and use them in practice;
B) Economic laws act according to the will of people, people establish them;
C) Economic laws operate by themselves, regardless of the will and desires of people;
D) Economic laws are the same as legal laws;
E) Answers B and D are correct.

6. What are economic laws:
A) Substantial internal, stable causal relationships in industrial relations;
B) Formalized ideas about economic phenomena;
C) Scientific abstractions, allowing to determine the essential aspects of economic phenomena;
D) Articles of the criminal and civil codes that regulate economic relations, economic activity;
E) Legal laws.

7. What are economic categories:
A) simplified statements;
B) subjective assessment of concepts;
C) scientific abstractions expressing certain aspects of production relations;
D) causal relationships;
E) formalized ideas about economic phenomena

8. An economy is efficient if it has achieved:
A) full employment;
B) full use of production resources;
C) either full employment or full utilization of the remaining resources;
D) both full employment and full use of other productive resources;
E) all of the above is wrong

9. If economic growth contributes to an equitable distribution of income, then these two macroeconomic objectives are:
A) are logically related to each other;
B) contradict each other;
C) complement each other;
D) are mutually exclusive;

10. What is the economic goal if society seeks to minimize costs and maximize returns from limited productive resources?
A) achieving full employment;
B) maintaining economic growth;
C) economic security;
D) cost effectiveness;
E) all of the above is wrong.

11. Fundamental economic issues “what, how and for whom to produce” are solved at the micro and macro levels. Which of these issues can be resolved only at the macroeconomic level.
A) what is produced?
B) What level of inflation will we face?
C) How many goods and services will be produced?
D) who will produce the goods and services?
E) For whom will the goods and services be produced?

12. Select a function that is not related to the functions of economic theory:
A) Cognitive;
B) Practical;
C) Methodological;
D) Intermediary;
E) Critical.

13. The problem of "what to produce":
A) can only stand in front of a private entrepreneur, but not in front of society;
B) can be considered as the problem of choosing a point on the LPV;
C) is studied on the basis of the law of diminishing productivity of factors of production;
D) occurs only in conditions of an acute shortage of resources;
E) there is no correct answer.

14. Rarity is:
A) Characterization of industrial systems only;
B) The concept, reflecting the impossibility of full satisfaction of human needs;
C) Characterization of pre-industrial systems only;
D) Efficiency;
E) Effective demand.

15. Determine which of the following three economic resources contains examples of factors of production only:
A) bank account, shopkeeper, sulfur;
B) banker, oil, tractor;
C) geologist, machine tool, money;
D) bonds, coal, foreman;
E) money, technologist, gas.

16. The efficient functioning of the economic system on the production capabilities graph reflects:
A) Any point on the production capability curve;
B) The point below the production capability curve;
C) The point above the production capability curve;
D) A point lying on the curve of production possibilities and equally distant from both ordinates;
E) The correct answers are A and D.

17. For students, the alternative value of studying at the university reflects:
A) The maximum earnings that can be earned by working;
B) The amount of the scholarship;
C) Government spending on the education of the average specialist;
D) Expenses of parents for the maintenance of the student;
E) Time spent by a young person on training;

18. Which of the following characteristics is incorrect in relation to economic good:
A) Is only the result of production;
B) Can meet the needs of people;
C) Is insufficient to meet the needs of all people;
D) It is not gratuitous: in order to have an economic good, one must give up another economic good;
E) Correct answers B, C.

19. Limitedness is a problem that:
A) Exists only in poor countries;
C) Only poor people have;
C) All people and societies have;
D) Never occurs in rich people;
E) Never occurs in rich countries.

20. The desire of the individual to obtain the maximum result at the minimum cost is human behavior:
A) Rational;
C) Irrational;
C) Dependent;
D) Consumer;
E) Public.