曼昆微观经济学讲稿

Principles of Economics1．EconomyThe word economy comes from a Greek word for “one who manages a household.”经济一词来源于希腊语，意思是“管理家庭的人”。

2.Scarcity 稀缺Means that society has limited resources and therefore cannot produce all the goods and services people wish to have.…意思是说，社会拥有有限的资源，不能生产出人们想要的所有物品与劳务。

3.Economics 经济学Economics is the study of how society manages its scarce resources.经济学——研究社会如何管理稀缺资源的学科。

4.How People Make Decisions4.1People face tradeoffs.人们面临权衡取舍To get one thing, we usually have to give up another thing.为了得到我们喜爱的一件东西，我们通常不得不放弃另一件喜爱的东西。

Efficiency v. EquityEfficiency means society gets the most that it can from its scarce resources. Equity means the benefits of those resources are distributed fairly among the members of society.效率——社会能从其稀缺资源中得到最多东西的特性。

平等——社会资源的经济成果在社会成员中公平分配的特性4.2The cost of something is what you give up to get it.某东西的成本就是为得到它所放弃的东西Decisions require comparing costs and benefits of alternatives.做出决策时需要比较可供选择的行动方案的成本与收益The opportunity cost of an item is what you give up to obtain that item.机会成本——为了得到某种东西所必需放弃的东西。

4.3Rational people think at the margin.理性人考虑边际量Marginal changes are small, incremental adjustments to an existing plan of action.边际变动——对当前行动计划微小的增量调整Marginal changes in costs or benefits motivate people to respond.The decision to choose one alternative over another occurs when that alternative’s marginal benefits exceed its marginal costs!成本或收益的边际改变会激励人们做出反应。

当一个方案的边际收益大于边际成本时，人们选择这个方案，而不去选择别的。

4.4People respond to incentives.人们会对激励做出反应5.How People Interact with each other5.1Trade can make everyone better off.贸易可以使每个人状况更好。

People gain from their ability to trade with one another.Competition results in gains from trading.Trade allows people to specialize in what they do best.人们可以从与他人相互交易的能力中获益。

竞争可以使人们从贸易中获益。

贸易可以让人们从事他们最专长的工作。

5.2Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity.市场通常是组织经济活动的一种好方法。

A market economy is an economy that allocates resources through the decentralized decisions of many firms and households as they interact in markets for goods and services.Households decide what to buy and who to work for.Firms decide who to hire and what to produce.市场经济——当许多企业和家庭在物品与劳务市场上相互交易时通过他们的分散决策配置资源的经济。

家庭决定购买什么和为谁工作。

企业决定雇佣谁和生产什么。

Adam Smith made the observation that households and firms interacting inmarkets act as if guided by an “invisible hand.”亚当.斯密提出了全部经济学中最有名的观察结果：家庭和企业在市场上相互交易，他们仿佛被一只“看不见的手”所指引，导致了合意的市场结果。

5.3Governments can sometimes improve economic outcomes.政府有时能改善市场经济效果。

Market failure occurs when the market fails to allocate resources efficiently.市场失灵——市场本身不能有效配置资源的情况。

When the market fails (breaks down) government can intervene to promote efficiency and equity.当市场失灵时，政府可以对市场进行干预以促进效率和平等。

Market failure may be caused by an externality, which is the impact of one person or firm’s actions on the well-being of a bystander.市场失灵的一个可能原因是外部性。

外部性是一个人的行为对旁观者福利的影响。

Market failure may also be caused by market power,which is the ability of a single person or firm to unduly influence market prices.市场失灵的另一个可能原因是市场势力。

市场势力是指一个人或一个企业不适当地影响市场价格的能力。

6.The forces and trends that affect how the economy as a whole works6.1The standard of living depends on a country’s production.一国的生活水平取决于它生产物品与劳务的能力。

Standard of living may be measured in different ways:By comparing personal incomes.By comparing the total market value of a nation’s production.生活水平可以用不同的方式衡量:比较人均收入。

比较一个国家产出的总的市场价值。

Almost all variations in living standards are explained by differences in countries’ productivities.几乎所有生活水平的差异都可以归因于各国生产率的差别。

Productivity is the amount of goods and services produced from each hour of a worker’s time.生产率是指一个工人一小时所生产的物品与劳务量。

6.2Prices rise when the government prints too much money.当政府发行了过多货币时，物价上升。

Inflation is an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy.One cause of inflation is the growth in the quantity of money.When the government creates large quantities of money, the value of the money falls.通货膨胀是指经济中物价总水平的上升。

通货膨胀的一个原因是货币量的增长。

当一个政府创造了大量本国货币时，货币的价值就下降。

Society faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment.社会面临通货膨胀与失业之间的短期权衡取舍。

The Phillips Curve illustrates the tradeoff between inflation and unemployment: 菲利普斯曲线说明了通货膨胀与失业之间的短期权衡取舍:1-2Thinking Like an Economist1.Economics trains you toThink in terms of alternatives. 从不同的角度思考问题。

Evaluate the cost of individual and social choices. 评估个人和社会选择的成本。

Examine and understand how certain events and issues are related.检查和理解一些事件和问题是如何相互关联的。

The economic way of thinking. 经济学思考方法Involves thinking analytically and objectively.客观地分析与思考。