39 Putting It Together: Economic Environment
Summary
In this module you learned about the fundamental principles of economics and how they shape the business environment. Below is a summary of the key points covered.
What Is Economics?
Economics focuses on the ways in which people, businesses, and governments make decisions when faced with scarce resources. Economists study the economy at either the microeconomic level (focus on individuals) or the macroeconomic level (focus on systems).
Forces Behind Supply and Demand
Supply
Supply is the amount of a good or service that a business is willing to produce at a given price. Quantity supplied refers to a specific quantity that will be supplied at a single point (price) on the supply curve.
Demand
Demand is the amount that consumers are willing and able to purchase of a good or service at a given price. Quantity demanded is a specific quantity that will be supplied at a single point (price) on the demand curve.
Equilibrium
Equilibrium is said to exist at the point where quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded, and therefore there is no excess or shortage in the market. The market is “in balance.” The equilibrium price is the price where the amount that consumers want to purchase is equal to the quantity that the producers are willing to supply. The equilibrium quantity is the quantity supplied and demanded at the equilibrium price.
Ceteris Paribus
The Latin phrase means “other things being equal,” and it refers to economists’ habit of comparing only two things at a time. For example, if the price of a product increases, the quantity demanded will decrease, assuming that all other factors that affect demand are held constant. In the real world, of course, many things change at the same time, but comparing them all at once makes it difficult to determine the effect of any one factor.
Economic Systems
Economic systems can be organized as traditional, planned, or market economies. Traditional systems are hunter-gatherer economies in which people consume what they produce. In command economies such as communism and socialism, the government exercises a high degree of control over production and pricing. In market economies such as capitalism, free-market supply and demand drives what is produced and consumed. The increasing complexity of the world has led to mixed economic systems that have characteristics of both command and market economies.
Health of the Economy
Economists use several measures to evaluate the health of an economy. Among the most important are GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the unemployment rate, and the CPI (Consumer Price Index). These three key economic indicators are used to measure how well the economy is achieving the goals of growth, high employment, and price stability.
Stages of the Business Cycle
The business environment is cyclical, meaning it goes through a cycle of stages, each of which is characterized by a different set of economic conditions. The four stages of the business environment are expansion, peak, contraction, and trough.
Synthesis
In this module you learned about the fundamental economic principles that affect the environment in which businesses operate. Understanding the economy is like getting the weather forecast before you head out the door. Might you need to pack a sweater or an umbrella or grab some sunscreen? Perhaps, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, head for the nearest cellar? If you ignore the forecast, you can find yourself unprepared and caught in a storm. Of course economic forecasts aren’t totally reliable—sometimes there’s a freak weather event that no one saw coming. Nonetheless, having a basic understanding of how supply and demand work, how different economic systems function, and how the business cycle connects to the economy can help you make informed decisions—and make the best out of a rainy day.