Economic inquiry and choices
הוצג| English | משמעות |
|---|---|
| normative/ˈnɔːmətɪv/ | נורמטיבי |
| opportunity cost/ɒpəˈtjuːnɪti kɒst/ | עלות הזדמנות |
A decision you can investigate
- A news report says a new rail line is efficient; a comment says it is unfair.
- These claims ask different questions about resource use and distribution.
Build the explanation
- A positive statement can be tested against evidence; a normative 规范性的 statement includes a value judgement.
- Models simplify reality to reveal mechanisms; explain which assumptions make the mechanism plausible.
Match the terms to their precise meanings.
רמת קושי 2/5 · 140 מטבעות + בונוס קטן בהשלמה הראשונה היום
Use these definitions in the particular context of Economic inquiry and choices.
Work through the evidence
- Building the rail line uses land and labour that could support another project. Its opportunity cost 机会成本 is the benefit of the best rejected project.
- On a straight frontier the same labour makes 20 desks or 40 chairs, so one desk costs 2 chairs. A point inside the frontier is unused capacity, not a larger set of possibilities.
- Assess efficiency and equity separately before considering trade-offs between them.
Which statement is normative?
רמת קושי 1/5 · 100 מטבעות + בונוס קטן בהשלמה הראשונה היום
Building the rail line uses land and labour that could support another project. Its opportunity cost is the benefit of the best rejected project. Assess efficiency and equity separately before considering trade-offs between them.
Test the limits
- Do not label every uncertain forecast normative. A forecast may still be testable.
- Explain assumptions such as other factors remaining constant before transferring a model to a real case.
Which caution belongs to this particular task?
רמת קושי 1/5 · 100 מטבעות + בונוס קטן בהשלמה הראשונה היום
Do not label every uncertain forecast normative. A forecast may still be testable. Explain assumptions such as other factors remaining constant before transferring a model to a real case.
Label every uncertain forecast normative. A forecast may still be testable.
רמת קושי 1/5 · 100 מטבעות + בונוס קטן בהשלמה הראשונה היום
Explain assumptions such as other factors remaining constant before transferring a model to a real case.
Apply and explain your answer
- Which statement is normative?
- The rail project should prioritise equality over profit.
Choose the two statements supported by this lesson.
רמת קושי 2/5 · 140 מטבעות + בונוס קטן בהשלמה הראשונה היום
The concept and worked evidence support these claims; the stated limits rule out the universal shortcut.
Use the terms precisely
- normative: Containing a judgement about what ought to be.
- opportunity cost: The benefit of the next-best alternative forgone.
Building the rail line uses land and labour that could support another project. Its opportunity cost is the benefit of the best rejected project. Assess efficiency and equity separately before considering trade-offs between them.
Do not label every uncertain forecast normative. A forecast may still be testable. Explain assumptions such as other factors remaining constant before transferring a model to a real case.
A positive statement can be tested against evidence; a normative statement includes a value judgement.
Write from a clinic plot
- One plot can be a clinic or a rail yard. The same workers can make 12 lamps or 36 mugs.
- State the opportunity cost of the yard if the clinic is the best rejected use, and the opportunity cost of one lamp. "The council ought to build the clinic" is a different kind of sentence from a forecast that the yard will be busy. This is not a Paper 3 essay.
One plot can be a clinic or a rail yard, and the clinic is the best rejected use. The same workers make 12 lamps or 36 mugs. What is the opportunity cost of the yard, and of one lamp? Which sentence is normative?
Opportunity cost is the best rejected alternative. 36 divided by 12 is 3. A sentence about what ought to be done is normative. A forecast can still be tested.
What is the opportunity cost of one lamp?
רמת קושי 1/5 · 100 מטבעות + בונוס קטן בהשלמה הראשונה היום
The same workers make 12 lamps or 36 mugs, so one lamp costs 3 mugs. The two totals are alternatives, not a sum that is given up. Other options — 12 lamps (because that is the other total); 36 mugs plus 12 lamps (because both totals are given up).