Supply

Supply is the quantity of goods and services that producers offer at various possible prices during a given time period. Profit is the key motivation behind suppliers' behavior in providing goods to the marketplace. The supply of goods can be either elastic or inelastic. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Explain the difference between supply and quantity supplied - Explain what the law of supply states - Explain what supply schedules and supply curves illustrate - Describe supply elasticity

To secure their rights, many U.S. workers organized labor unions. These unions struggled for higher wages, improved working conditions, and job security for workers. Labor union membership has declined in recent years, resulting from several factors. In many ways, unions have tried to face these challenges. In addition, the government's attitude toward unions has changed during the last century - swinging from regular support of business owners in the late 1800s to passing laws to protect workers' rights in the early 1900s. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Explain why labor unions were developed - Describe how labor unions are organized - Identify the main challenges facing unions today - Examine how government attitudes toward labor unions have changed

Money is a key to the economic process. For centuries people have traded and bartered, but the use of money has made more sophisticated transactions possible. Money serves basic functions and has basic characteristics to assist in these exchanges. Societies have historically used different items as money, but regardless of which form money takes it ultimately must satisfy the needs of producers and consumers. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Explain the functions that money serves - Describe the characteristics that an item must have to be used as money - Identify the sources of money's value - Identify and describe the types of money that are used in the United States

Business cycles are fluctuations in economic activity that occur in a market system as measured by increases or decreases in real Gross Domestic Product. Most economists agree that the level of economic activity have an impact on the business cycle. By analyzing key indicators, economists are able to determine the occurrence or duration of each phase of the business cycle and to predict where the economy is headed. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Examine the four phases of the business cycle - Identify the three leading indicators used to determine the current phase of the business cycle, and predict where the economy is headed

The determinants of supply are the factors other than price can affect supply of a product over time, shifting the supply curve to the left or right. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Explain what it means for a product's supply to shift - Identify factors that might cause a product's supply curve to shift - Describe the difference between a tax and a subsidy

Economists analyze price fluctuations by examining the price level, inflation, and deflation. They use both the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI) to measure the amount of fluctuation, estimating the pace at which the price level increases. These fluctuations can affect the purchasing power of the dollar, the value of real wages, interest rates, saving and investing, and production costs. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Explain how economists evaluate price changes over time - Describe what causes inflation - Identify the main two price indexes that economists use to measure inflation - Explain how inflation affects the economy

Business cycles are fluctuations in economic activity that occur in a market system as measured by increases or decreases in real Gross Domestic Product. Most economists agree that the level of economic activity have an impact on the business cycle. By analyzing key indicators, economists are able to determine the occurrence or duration of each phase of the business cycle and to predict where the economy is headed. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Examine the four phases of the business cycle - Identify the three leading indicators used to determine the current phase of the business cycle, and predict where the economy is headed

Fiscal policy is influenced by the schools of supply-side economics and demand-side economics, both of which pursue the goal of economic growth. The chief tools of fiscal policy are marginal tax rates, tax incentives, government spending, public transfer payments, and the progressive income tax. Fiscal planners use these tools whether they believe in supply-side theory or demand-side theory. Several limitations can limit the effectiveness of fiscal policy on the economy. VIDEO OBJECTIVES - Explain how supply-side and demand-side theories differ - Identify the chief tools of fiscal policy - Describe the factors that limit the success of fiscal policy