The International Conference on Mining Environmental Management

1. All economies face scarcity, and all must decide how to allocate scarce resources and distribute goods and services, all face problems of inflation, unemployment, and unsatisfactory rates of growth.

Unit 10

2. The production ability shows the maximum possible amount
of specified goods or services that can be produced by a particular
economy.

3. One of society's primary economic goals is price stability
when the overall level of prices for goods and services remains
relatively constant.

4. Financial security is one of socio-economic goals.

5. Прочитайте следующие сочетания слов. Переведите их:

scarce means of production

alternative use of resources

opportunity cost

price stability

financial security

entrepreneurial ability

individual consumer

to make choice

to produce an output of

goods and services to use resources efficiently to be concerned with scarcity to operate on two levels — macroeconomics and microeconomics

6. Определите значения выделенных слов по сходству их корней с
ии соответствующих слов в русском языке:

limited resources; the problem of scarcity; three fundamental economic questions; material well-being; alternative use of resources; price stability; social and political environment; financial security; extraction of minerals; passive resources; national output; bank deposit; inflation and recession; individual consumer; business firm; economic choices; standard of living; to organize and coordinate economic activity; to produce goods and services; to examine and evaluate economic problems; to operate on two levels; to use resources efficiently

7. Прочитайте текст А и назовите основные экономические системы,
численные в нем. Скажите, что понимается под термином «экономика».

ТЕКСТА

Some Concepts of Economics

Economics is the allocation of the scarce means of product*» toward the satisfaction of human wants. The basic principle of economics is scarcity, which means that we cannot ever haw аВ

242_____________________________________________ Unit 10

we want of every goods and service. It means that our demands for goods and services are unlimited, while resources on earth are limited. Without the problem of scarcity, there would be no need for the subject of economics.

Societies need a system to organize and coordinate economic activities. Every economic system — whether free-market, government-controlled or mixed — must answer the three fundamental economic questions:

1. What goods and services will be produced?

2. How will they be produced?

3. For whom will they be produced?

These are three principal types of economic systems, but modern economies are a mixture. Because scarcity does¹ confront us, the answers are crucial to our material well-being and to our social and political environment.

In theory, scarce resources can be allocated among alternative users without the employment of markets and prices. This is the so-called command economy or centrally-directed economy in which the government would decide what would be produced, how it would be produced, and for whom it would be produced.

In free-market economies all decisions about resource allocation are made by households and businesses interacting in markets free of any sort of government intervention. Individuals in market economies pursue their own interests. But there are no completely free-market economies, all real governments affect decisions about resources allocation in many ways and for many reasons.

All modem economies are mixed — intermediate between the com­mand and fre^-market extremities. In mked economies, both govern­ment decisions and market forces affect the allocation of resources.

It should be noted that there are four primary economic goals
that a society aims to achieve: efficiency, price stability, full
employment and growth. In addition, there are socio-economic goals
which include environment protection, financial security, equity,¹
justice and economic freedom. '

Economic resources are often referred to as "the means of production" to produce an output of goods and services. These include land, labour, capital and entrepreneurial ability.

Land. All natural resources including fields, forests, mineral deposits, the sea, water as well as the ground in which these resources are found. Land is used not only for the extraction of minerals but for farming as well.

Unit 10____________________________________________ 243

Labour. All human resources including manual, clerical,³ technical, professional and managerial⁴ labour.

Capital. The physical means of production including factories, office buildings, tools and equipment. Alternatively: financial capital.

Entrepreneurial ability. The entrepreneur sets up a business, risks his or her own money, gets or loses the profits.

We may consider land, labour and capital passive resources which are combined by the entrepreneur to produce goods and services. A successful undertaking is rewarded by profit, an unsuccessful one is penalized by loss.

Economics operates on two levels, the macrolevel and the microlevel.

Macroeconomics deals with national output, employment, the money supply, bank deposits, and government spending, and how we can deal with inflation and recession.

Microeconomics operates on the level of the individual business firm, as well as that of the individual consumer.

And so what exactly is economics? Basically, economics is a set of tools that enables us to use our resources efficiently. The end result is the highest possible standard of living.

ПОЯСНЕНИЯ К ТЕКСТУ

^!Глагол to do может употребляться для усиления значения действия, выраженного смысловым глаголом в утвердительной форме. При переводе сказуемого перед ним добавляется слово действительно, фактически или на самом деле.

Economics does face many Экономика действительно

important problems. сталкивается со многими

важными проблемами.

²equity — справедливость, беспристрастность

³clerlcal — канцелярский (прилагательное от clerk — клерк, служащий)

⁴managerial — управленческий, административный

УПРАЖНЕНИЯ

8. Укажете, капе вредложеввв соответствуют содержанию текста. Под­твердите стен ответы фактами вэ текста.

I.It should be noted that the demands for goods and services are limited.

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2. Every economic system must answer three fundamental
economic questions.

3. Socio-economic goals include full employment and growth.

4. As a rule, land, labour and capital are considered active
resources and are not mentioned in the text.

5. The text gives some information on macroeconomics as well
as on microeconomics.

6. It is common to speak of only the three principal types of
economic systems — market, centrally-directed and mixed eco­
nomies.

7. All modern economies are free-market.

8. Scarce resources can be allocated among users without
markets.

9. Вы прослушали лекцию о некоторых основных принципах экономиче­
ской системы. В конце лекции профессор решил побеседовать с группой. От­
ветьте на его вопросы. Используйте выражения: /я ту opinion. I think. I
suppose. In fact. As Is known.