The production of buildings, machinery, tools, and other equipment that
will enhance the ability of future economic participants to
produce. The term can also be applied to efforts to
upgrade the knowledge and skill of workers and thereby increase
their ability to produce in the future.
The method of organization that relies on public-sector decision-making
(voting, political bargaining, lobbying, and so on). It can be
used to resolve the basic economic problems of an economy.
A method that breaks down the production of a commodity into a series of
specific tasks, each performed by a different worker.
A profit-seeking decision-maker who decides which projects to undertake
and how they should be undertaken. A successful entrepreneur's
actions will increase the value of resources.
The successful introduction and adoption or a new product or process; the
economic application of inventions.
The discovery of new product or process, often facilitated by the
knowledge of engineering and scientific relationships.
A principle that states that individuals, firms, regions, or nations can
gain by speciaLizing in the production of goods that they
produce cheaply (that is, at a low opportunity cost) and
exchanging those goods for other desired goods for which they
are high opportunity cost producers.
A method of organization that allows unregulated prices and the
decentralized decisions of private property owners to resolve
the basic economic problems of consumption, production, and
distribution.
A person who buys and sells, or who arranges trades. A
middleman reduces transactions costs, usually for a fee
or a markup in price.
The high valued benefit that must be sacrificed (forgone) as the result
of choosing an alternative.
Property rights that are exclusively held by an owner, and that can be
transferred to others at the owner's discretion.
A curve that outlines all possible combinations of total output that
could be produced, assuming (a) the
utilization of a fixed amount of productive resources,
(b) full and efficient use of those resources, and (c) a
specific state of technical knowledge.
The rights to use, control, and obtain the benefits from a good or
service.
The body of skills and technological knowledge available at any given
time. The level of technology establishes the relationship
between inputs and the maximum output they can generate.
The time, effort, and other resources needed to search out, negotiate,
and consummate an exchange.
