What do economists do?

Economics deals with the problems of scarcity and choice that have faced societies and nations throughout history, but the development of modern economics began in the 17th century. Since that time economists have developed methods for studying and explaining how individuals, businesses and nations use their available economic resources. Large corporations use economists to study the ways they do business and to suggest methods for making more efficient use of their employees, equipment, factories, and other resources.

The central problem of economics is to determine the most efficient ways to allocate the factors of production and solve the problem of scarcity created by society's unlimited wants and limited resources. In doing so, every society must provide answers to the following three questions:

What goods and services are to be produced, and in what quantities are they to be produced?

How are those goods and services to be produced?

Who will receive and consume (get to use) those goods and services?

The solution of these questions depends on the economic system of each particular society.

Active vocabulary

solution [sq'lu:S(q)n] n решение

employee ["emplOI'i:, Im"plOI'i: ] n рабочий, служащий

efficient [I'fIS(q)nt] a эффективный, действенный

quantity ['kwPntItI] n количество, величина

to allocate ['1lqkeIt] v распределять, размещать

to provide [prq'vaId] v снабжать, обеспечивать

to consume [kqn'sju:m] v потреблять, расходовать

to determine [dI'tE:mIn] v определять, устанавливать

to solve [sPlv] v решать

to depend on [dI'pend] v зависеть

to suggest [sq'dZest] v предлагать, советовать

Exercises

1. Find the English equivalents to the following Russian words and word combinations.

Заниматься, объяснение, доступный, на протяжении, созданный, получать, экономическая система, конкретное общество.

2. Find in the text the sentences with the modal verbs and their equivalents. Translate them into Russian.

3. Translate the sentences into Russian. Pay attention to the different meanings of the verb “to be” with the infinitive.

1. The market is to decide how much to produce.

2. The aim of that book is to form a theory of the role of government in economic life.

3. Governments are to regulate or plan production and consumption.

4. When the authors of the textbook discussed examples, their intention was to prepare students for future economic analyses.

5. Prices are to regulate production and consumption in a market economy.

6. A business society is a financial organization whose purpose is to help people buy houses or flats.

7. The problem with government regulation of markets is to control how government restrictions work in real life.

4. Answer the questions:

1. When did economics begin to develop?

2. What do large companies use economists for?

3. What is the central problem of economics?

4. What is the first question of economics?

5. What is the second question of economics?

6. What is the third question of economics?

7. What does the solution of these questions depends on?

5. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. На протяжении всей истории люди сталкивались с проблемой дефицита и выбора.

2. Экономисты предлагают методы эффективного использования рабочих, оборудования и других ресурсов.

3. Определение наиболее эффективных способов распределение факторов производства является основной задачей экономики.

4. Каждое общество должно дать ответы на основные экономические вопросы.

5. Экономисты должны решить какие товары и в каком количестве должны быть произведены.

LESSON 2

APPLIED ECONOMICS

TEXT A. FACTORS OF PRODUCTION

TEXT B. MICROECONOMICS AND MACROECONOMICS

GRAMMAR REVISION: THE PASSIVE VOICE,

PARTICIPLE II

TEXT A.