- •Предисловие
- •Unit 1 What is it all about?
- •I. Answer the comprehension questions:
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English:
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations.
- •Russian Experience
- •In Search of Intellect and Wealth
- •1. Economic environment.
- •2. Economics.
- •3. Economy. Unit 2 Economics and Economy
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV.Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Gauging the True Size of Russia’s Economy
- •Russia No longer Among World Market’s Top Players
- •Unit 3 The Oil Price Shocks
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •World Experience
- •Cheap Oil! Good news for the world’s consumers, but bad news for struggling producers
- •More Money in Most Pockets
- •Income Distribution
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Shop assistance We’ve all heard of the New Rich in Russia, but what do they spend their money on? John Helmer digs into the latest consumer research and comes up with some unexpected answers.
- •Unit 5 The Role of the Market
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II. Vocabulary
- •III. Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •By Roy Medvedev
- •Unit 6 Demand, Supply, and the Market
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Citicorp Invests in Russia
- •Unit 7 What Do Governments Do?
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II. Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Russia Has Dropped Out of the Community of Developed Countries
- •Incomes and expenditures.
- •1. Transfer payments
- •2. Social security and unemployment benefits
- •3. Income tax
- •Unit 8 What Should Governments Do?
- •Most of the goods supplied by businesses and demanded by consumers are private goods
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice
- •Russian Experience
- •State Duma Rejects Welfare Package Again
- •Unit 9 Business Organization
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II. Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Common Profile of a Russian Enterprise
- •Unit 10 Market Structure and Imperfect Competition
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II. Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English:
- •IV. Situations and communication practice
- •Russian Experience
- •Russian Tobacco Manufacturers Lie Low
- •Unit 11 Factor Markets: Labour
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English:
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Recruitment in Russia: Still Climbing
- •Insufficient social integration.
- •Working Without Pay
- •Unit 12 Human capital
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •World Experience
- •Finding Opportunity in the Global Economy. By Bill Gates.
- •1. Human capital
- •2. Signalling and screening.
- •3. Pay differentials. Unit 13 Coping with Risk in Economic Life
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Reuters Eyes on Russia’s Risks
- •Unit 14 Taxes and Public Spending
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II. Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Taxes Higher in Russia Than Elsewhere
- •A Country Where People Pay Taxes
- •Unit 15 Money and Modern Banking
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Savings of “Very Rich” Families (Data of a quality interview)
- •The Battle of the Banks
- •The History of Russian Money (The ruble celebrates its 1000th birthday)
- •Unit 16
- •International Trade and Commercial Policy
- •I. Comprehension questions
- •II.Vocabulary
- •III.Translate from Russian into English
- •IV. Communicative practice. Situations
- •Russian Experience
- •Higher Excise on Imports
- •Contents
1. Economic environment.
2. Economics.
3. Economy. Unit 2 Economics and Economy
Every group of people must solve three basic problems of daily living: what goods and services to produce, how to produce these goods and services, and for whom to produce these goods and services.
Economics is the study of how society decides what, how, and for whom to produce.
By goods we mean physical commodities such as steel, cars, and strawberries. By services we mean activities such as massages or live theatre performances which can be consumed only at the instant they are produced. In exceptional circumstances, society may find that some of the questions about what, how, and for whom to produce have already been answered; until the arrival of Man Friday, Robinson Crusoe need not worry about the “for whom” question. In general, however, society must answer all three questions.
By emphasizing the role of society, our definition places economics within the social sciences, the sciences that study and explain human behaviour. The subject matter of economics is that part of human behaviour which relates to the production, exchange, and use of goods and services. The central economic problem for society is how to reconcile the conflict between people’s virtually limitless desires for goods and services, and the scarcity of resources (labour, machinery, and raw materials) with which these goods and services can be produced. In answering the questions what, how, and for whom to produce, economics explains how scarce resources are allocated between competing claims on their use.
Because economics is about human behaviour, you may be surprised that we describe it as a science rather than a subject within the arts of humanities. This reflects the way economists analyze problems, not the subject matter of economics. Economists aim to develop theories of human behaviour and to test them against the facts. We are going to discuss the tools economists use and explain the sense in which this approach is scientific. This does not mean that economics ignores people as individuals. Moreover, good economics retains an element of art, for it is only by having a feel for how people actually behave that economists can focus their analysis on the right issues. Before examining the tools of the trade, it is helpful to have a clearer understanding of the problems in which economists are interested.
Trying to understand what economics is about by studying definitions is like trying to learn to swim by reading an instruction manual. Formal analysis makes sense only once you have some practical experience. We will discuss two economic issues to show how society allocates scarce resources between competing uses. In each case we see the importance of the questions what, how, and for whom to produce.
Notes
1. by emphasizing the role of society, our definition places economics within the social sciences — делая акцент на роли общества, наше определение ставит экономику в ряд общественных наук;
2. between competing claims on their use — между многими, конкурирующими между собой претендентами на их использование;
3. this reflects the way economists analyse problems, not the subject matter of economics — в этом отражается не предмет экономики, а то, каким образом экономисты анализируют проблемы;
4. to test them against the facts — проверять их на практике;
5. for it is only by having a feel for how people actually behave that economists can focus their analysis on the right issues — потому что, только зная, как в действительности ведут себя люди, экономисты могут правильно выбрать проблемы для анализа;
6. the tools of the trade — научный аппарат, инструментарий экономики;
7. only once you have — только если у вас есть.