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Файл:Экономика. Понятия, принципы, проблемы. Учебное пособие
.pdf
Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации
Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное
учреждение высшего профессионального образования
"Тамбовский государственный технический университет"
Н. НИКУЛЬШИНА, О. ГЛИВЕНКОВА
ЭКОНОМИКА:
ПОНЯТИЯ, ПРИНЦИПЫ,
ПРОБЛЕМЫ
Допущено Учебно-методическим объединением по направлениям
педагогического образования в качестве учебно-методического
пособия для студентов высших учебных заведений, обучающихся
по направлению 540300 (050300) Филологическое образование»
Тамбов
Издательство ФГБОУ ВПО "ТГТУ"
2012
1
УДК 802.0(076)
ББК Ш13(Ан)я923
Н
Рецензенты:
Доктор педагогических наук,
профессор ФГБОУ ВПО "ТГУ им. Г.Р. Державина"
О.А. Артемьева
Доктор культурологии,
профессор кафедры иностранных языков ФГБОУ ВПО "ТГТУ"
Т.Г. Бортникова
Н
Никульшина, Н.Л.
Экономика: понятия, принципы, проблемы [Электронный
ресурс] : учеб. пособие / Н.Л. Никульшина, О.А. Гливенкова. –
Тамбов : Изд-во ФГБОУ ВПО "ТГТУ", 2012. – 160 с.
Пособие включает оригинальные тексты из современной англоамериканской экономической литературы и задания, ориентированные
на взаимосвязанное формирование умений во всех видах иноязычной
профильно-ориентированной речевой деятельности. Состоит из шести
тематических разделов, в которых последовательно раскрываются
основные понятия экономической дисциплины, формулируются ее
базовые принципы и законы, ставятся дискуссионные вопросы.
Предназначено для бакалавров 1, 2 курсов
обучения по дисциплине "Иностранный язык" по специальностям
080100.62 "Экономика", 080200.62 "Менеджмент", 080500.62 "Бизнесинформатика", 100700.62 "Торговое дело", 100100.62 "Сервис",
100800.62 "Товароведение". Представляет особый интерес для
студентов и аспирантов, изучающих экономику на английском языке.
УДК 802.0(076)
ББК Ш13(Ан)я923
2
© Федеральное государственное бюджетное
образовательное учреждение высшего
профессионального образования
"Тамбовский государственный технический
университет" (ФГБОУ ВПО "ТГТУ"), 2012
очной формы
FOREWORD
Economics: concepts, principles, problems is a multi-skills course
aimed at providing many-sided support to English language learners in
mastering the language in broad economic context.
The course covers the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing, while giving systematic attention to grammar and vocabulary. It
seeks to develop both fluency and accuracy in English through a topicbased syllabus.
The book consists of six units, each being organized around a central
topic:
1. What is Economics?
2. The Fundamental Problem of Economics.
3. Supply and Demand.
4. Market Power.
5. The Economic Functions of Government.
6. Unemployment.
The topic-driven syllabus provides a rich source of information on the
fundamentals of economics including basic concepts, principles and
theories and are of high interest to students studying economic discipline.
Readings are adapted from authentic up-to-date sources and edited for
clarity. These include:
Begg D. Economics. 4th ed. London: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 666 p.
Harvey J. Mastering Economics. 4th ed. London: Macmillan, 1994.
333 p.
Sloman J., Sutcliffe M. Economics. 3rd ed. Student Workbook and
Reader. London: Prentice Hall, 1997.
McConnell C.R., Brue S.L. Microeconomics. 11th ed. London:
McGraw-Hill, 1990. 338 p.
Schiller B.R. The Microeconomy Today. 5
Each unit is divided into nine sections which complement each other
by treating the unit topic from a different perspective.
The following unit structure is used throughout the course:
− starting point includes speaking activities which introduce a topic
through real-world information and are designed to generate students’
interest to it;
th
ed. 591 p.
3
− reading tasks promote developing such sub-skills as skimming,
scanning and making inferences;
− comprehension check is aimed at testing students’ understanding
the content of the unit;
− vocabulary exercises develop students’ knowledge of lexical items
relating to the unit topic (Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced
Learners. International Student Edition. Oxford: Macmillan, 2002. 1692 p.
was used as a reliable authority);
− world-building exercises focus on basic patterns of word-
formation;
− grammar section illustrates how structures and grammar items that
students may have previously encountered can be used in more complex
ways (Murphy R. English Grammar in Use. A self-study reference
and practice book for intermediate students. 2
nd
ed. Cambridge: CUP, 1994.
350 p.;
− discussion section is meant to develop speaking activities of the
students while commenting on the tables, diagrams and graphs, or analyzing
different situations, criticizing various points of view, giving arguments for
and against etc.;
− listening tasks are aimed at developing a variety of sub-skills such
as listening for general comprehension, listening for specific information,
and inferencing (some of the authentic recordings are taken from Robbins S.
First Insights into Business. London: Longman, 2001. 175 p.);
− writing section contains activities through which students learn the
basics of academic writing such as definition, comparison and contrast,
cause and effect, classifying, exemplifying, paraphrasing, interpretation of
data etc. (Jordan R.R. Academic Writing Course. Study skills in English. 3
rd
ed. London: Longman, 1999. 160 p.)
The task format includes "alternatives", "matching", "true-false".
"multiple choice", "gap-filling", "completion", "sequencing", "transfer",
"free answers".
It has been our goal with Economics: concepts, principles, problems to
provide stimulating subject matter that will make learning English
interesting and effective and to give students the tool they need to
communicate in professional setting.
Nadezhda Nikulshina
Olga Glivenkova
4
Unit 1
WHAT IS ECONOMICS?
STARTING POINT
1. Do you know what economics studies? What kind of science is it?
Can you explain the difference between “economy” and
“economics”?
Do you think economics is the study of:
a) how to produce the most goods for the most people;
b) how society decides what, how, and for whom to produce;
c) how to avoid waste and inefficiency.
2. People take up economics for different reasons (e.g. preparing
for a career in business, gaining a deeper understanding of government
policy, concern about serious situation of unemployed etc.). What is
your reason for studying economics? Do you think it is worth your time
and effort?
3. Write down as many economic terms used in everyday life as
you remember. Compare your lists with a partner or the class.
READING
1. Skim the text about the nature and methodology of economics.
Find an appropriate heading for each paragraph:
a) the main concern of economics;
b) the branches of economics;
c) major economic goals;
d) the tasks of empirical economics and economic theory;
e) methods used by economists.
1. Human beings have lots of wants. We want, among other things,
love, social recognition, and the material necessities and comforts of life.
Our striving to improve our material well-being, to “make a living,” is the
concern of economics. More specifically, economics is the study of the
behavior of human beings in producing, distributing and consuming
material goods and services.
5
In order to produce anything, we need resources, or factors of
production – land, labor, and capital (buildings and machinery). Factors of
production are used to produce final goods and services which satisfy our
material wants. And this is done through the organizational mechanism
which we call the economic system or economy. Unfortunately, the quantity
of available resources is limited. We cannot produce everything we want in
the quantities we desire. Resources are scarce relative to our desires.
Scarcity is a basic fact of economic life. So, economics is concerned with
the efficient use of scarce resources in the production of goods and services
to satisfy material wants and the economy means a system for the
management, use and control of the money, goods and other resources of a
country, community or household.
2. Understanding how various economies work is the basic purpose of
studying economics. We want to know how an economy is organized, how
it behaves, and how successfully it achieves its basic objectives. What do
economists do? They formulate economic principles which are useful in
setting policies designed to solve economic problems. The economists
gather facts which are relevant to a particular problem or specific segment
of the economy. This task is sometimes called descriptive or empirical
economics. The generalizations stated by economists are called
“principles”, “theories”, “laws”, or “models”. Principles and theories – the
end result of economic analysis – bring order and meaning to a number of
facts by tying these facts together, putting them in correct relationship to
one another, and generalizing upon them. The task of economic theory or
“economic analysis” is the derivation of these principles. Economic
principles are particularly valuable in formulating economic policy designed
to solve problems and control undesirable events.
3. Economists are as likely to move from theory to facts in studying
economic behavior as they are to move from facts to theory. Stated more
formally, economists use both deductive and inductive methods. Induction
means deriving principles from facts. Deduction involves stating a
hypothesis and then gathering facts to determine whether the hypothesis is
valid. The deductive method goes from the general to the particular, from
theory to facts.
4. Some economic principles are concerned with macroeconomics,
while others connected with microeconomics. Macroeconomics is the
branch of economics that focuses on the behavior of an entire economy –
the “big picture”. In macroeconomics we worry about such national goals as
full employment, control of inflation, and economic growth, without
worrying about the well-being or behavior of specific individuals or groups.
The essential concern of macroeconomics is to understand and improve the
performance of the economy as a whole.
6
Microeconomics is the branch of economics that is concerned with the
details of this “big picture”. In microeconomics we focus on the individuals,
firms, and government agencies that actually comprise the larger economy.
Our interest here is in the behavior of the individual economic actors. Here
we talk in terms of an individual industry, firm, or household, and
concentrate upon such things as the output or price of a specific product, the
number of workers employed by a single firm and so forth. Microeconomics
also studies how government activities such as regulations and taxes affect
individual markets. Besides microeconomics tries to understand what
factors affect the prices, wages and earnings. In short, macroeconomics
examines the forest, not the trees. It gives us a bird’s-eye view of the
economy. In microeconomics we examine the trees, not the forest.
Microeconomics is useful in achieving a worm’s-eye view of some very
specific component of our economic system.
5. Four major economic goals are widely accepted in many societies.
These goals may be briefly listed as follows:
• Full employment. Suitable jobs should be available for all who are
willing and able to work.
• Price stability. Sizable upswings or downswings in the general
price level, that is, inflation and deflation, should be avoided.
• Economic growth. The production of more and better goods and
services, or, more simply stated, a higher standard of living, is desired.
• An equitable distribution of income. No group of citizens should
face stark poverty while other citizens enjoy extreme luxury.
In each case, the goal itself is formulated through the political process.
The economist’s job is to help design policies that will allocate the
economy’s resources in ways that best achieve these goals.
2. Scan the text and write the number of the paragraph where
you can find the following information. Do it as quickly as possible:
___ economic theory
___ descriptive economics
___ macroeconomics and microeconomics
___ factors of production
___ principles, laws, models
___ economic goals
___ economic system
___ economic analysis
___ deductive and inductive methods
___ distribution of income
___ human needs
7
___ behavior of an entire economy
___ price stability
___ scarce resources
___ behavior of specific individuals
___ economic growth
___ stating a hypothesis
___ full employment
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. Match a line in A with a line in B to define the following terms:
A B
1. Factors of
production
2. Economics
3. Microeconomics
4. Macroeconomics
5. Induction
6. Deduction
7. Hypothesis
8. Descriptive or
empirical
economics
9 .Economic theory
10. Economy
a) The branch of economics that studies
aggregate economic behavior, the economy as
a whole.
b) Resources used to produce goods and
services, e.g. land, labor, capital.
c) An idea which is suggested as a possible way
of explaining facts, proving an argument
d) A social science studying economy.
e) A process of reasoning using known facts to
produce general rules or principles.
f) The branch of economics that studies
individual behavior in the economy, the
components of the larger economy.
g) A process of reasoning using general rules or
principles to form a judgement about a
particular fact or situation.
h) General principles and knowledge as opposed
to practical methods or skills.
i) The task of gathering economic facts which
are relevant to a particular problem of the
economy and testing hypotheses against facts
to validate theories.
j) A social mechanism that covers the
management, use and control of various
resources.
8
2. Fill in the blanks using the words from the list in the bottom.
A. Economics is a social science studying economy. Like the natural
sciences and other social sciences, economics tries to develop
1) ____________ or 2) ___________ by building models. The predictions
of the models form the basis of 3) ___________ . Then the predictions of
the models are compared with the 4) ___________ of the real world.
a) facts, b) laws, c) principles, d) economic theories.
B. Economics as a science consists of two disciplines that is of
1) _______ and 2) __________. The study of economics focuses on the
broad question of 3) ________ allocation. Macroeconomics is concerned
with allocating the resources of an 4) _______ to achieve 5) ________
(e.g. full employment). Microeconomics focuses on the behavior and goals
of 6) _______ producers or markets.
a) individual, b) microeconomics, c) macroeconomics, d) entire
economy, e) resource, f) economic goals.
3. Scan the text to find information to answer the questions.
1. What is the basic purpose of studying economics?
2. What are factors of production?
3. What is an economic system?
4. What is the task of economic theory?
5. What do economists do at the level of empirical economics?
6. What methods do economists employ?
7. Explain in detail the interrelationships between economic facts,
theory and policy.
8. What does macroeconomics focus on?
9. What is the concern of microeconomics?
10. What do 4 economic goals stated and described in the text imply?
4. Choose the answer from the alternatives.
1. Economics may best be defined as:
a) the interaction between macro and micro considerations;
b) the study of the behavior of people and institutions in the
production, distribution, and consumption of scarce goods;
c) the empirical testing of value judgements through the use of
induction and deduction.
9
2. Economic theories:
a) are useless because they are not based upon laboratory
experimentation;
b) which are true for individual economic units are never true for the
economy as a whole;
c) are generalizations based upon a careful observation of facts.
3. Generally speaking, it may be said that the inductive method:
a) cannot be applied in economic analysis;
b) moves from facts to generalizations or theory;
c) begins with the hypotheses which are then tested against real-world
facts.
4. The deductive method:
a) begins with the hypotheses which are then tested against facts;
b) begins with facts and moves to generalizations or theory;
c) applies to the physical sciences, but not to social sciences.
5. Microeconomics is concerned with:
a) detailed examination of specific economic units which comprise
the economic system;
b) total levels of income, employment, and output;
c) an overall view of the operation of the economic system.
6. Macroeconomics approaches the study of economics in terms of:
a) the entire economy;
b) governmental units;
c) individual firms.
5. Indicate whether each of the following statements is referred to
microeconomics or macroeconomics.
1. The unemployment rate in the United States was 7 percent in 1986.
2. The Alpo dogfood plant in Bowser, Iowa, laid off 15 workers last
month.
3. An unexpected freeze in central Florida reduced the citrus crop and
caused the price of oranges to rise.
4. Our national output, adjusted for inflation, grew by 2.5 percent in
1986.
5. Last week Manhattan Chemical Bank lowered its interest rate on
business loans by one-half of 1 percentage point.
6. The consumer price index rose by more than 12 percent in 1980.
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