Resource Allocation
Overview
Nobody in the world is in charge of deciding how many loaves of bread get baked tomorrow. There is no bread ministry, no national loaf committee, no register of hungry people. And yet tomorrow morning the bakeries will open with roughly the right amount of bread, made from flour that arrived from mills that were told by nobody how much to grind. Something is coordinating all of that, and it is not a person.
This lesson is about the mechanism that does the coordinating. You will learn what economists actually mean by a market, why economists split markets into factor markets and product markets, and how an economy's work divides into three sectors whose relative sizes shift as a country develops. Then you will meet the oldest idea in the subject: that people and countries produce far more when each concentrates on one thing, and that this gain comes with a bill attached, paid by workers who repeat one task all day and by countries that put everything on one crop.
Objectives
- Markets
- Allocation of resources
- Factor and product markets
- Economic sectors
- Primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
- Goods and services
- Specialisation, division of labour, and exchange
- The benefits of specialisation and division of labour and exchange
- The costs of specialisation and division of labour and exchange
Mind map
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Lesson Note
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Lesson Evaluation
Congratulations on completing the lesson on Resource Allocation. Now that youve explored the key concepts and ideas, its time to put your knowledge to the test. This section offers a variety of practice questions designed to reinforce your understanding and help you gauge your grasp of the material.
You will encounter a mix of question types, including multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and essay questions. Each question is thoughtfully crafted to assess different aspects of your knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Use this evaluation section as an opportunity to reinforce your understanding of the topic and to identify any areas where you may need additional study. Don't be discouraged by any challenges you encounter; instead, view them as opportunities for growth and improvement.
- Which one of the following firms operates in the tertiary sector? A. A copper mine B. A car assembly plant C. A commercial bank D. A steel works Answer: C
- Which of the following best describes a market? A. A building in which goods are sold B. An opportunity for buyers and sellers to interact in order to establish price C. A government body that sets prices D. The total output of an economy in a year Answer: B
- A firm hires an accountant. In which type of market does this transaction take place? A. A factor market B. A product market C. A foreign exchange market D. A tertiary market Answer: A
- Which of the following is a drawback of the division of labour for a worker? A. Output per worker rises B. Less training is required C. The work becomes repetitive and motivation may fall D. Average costs per unit fall Answer: C
- As an economy's income per person rises over time, which change is most likely? A. The primary sector's share of output rises B. The tertiary sector's share of output rises C. All three sectors keep exactly the same share D. The secondary sector disappears Answer: B
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