Economics Unit 3 Terms – Flashcards
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what a particular market is like and how it works - in other words, how much competition it has. There are 4 types of __________ ___________: 1) perfect competition, 2) monopolistic competition, 3) oligopoly, and 4)monopoly
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market structure
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A kind of market structure. This structure exists when there are many buyers and many sellers. No single buyer or seller can effect the price.
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perfect competition
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A kind of market structure. It is halfway between a monopoly and perfect competition. This structure exists when there are many sellers and many buyers in the market, like in a perfect competition. However, the products in the market are not perfect substitutes for each other. They are slightly different. So, this means that each seller has some control over price.
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monopolistic competition
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A kind of market structure. Also, a kind of imperfect competition. This structure exists when there are only a few sellers in the market and there are no close substitutes.
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oligopoly
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A kind of market structure. Also, a kind of imperfect competition. This structure exists when there is only one seller in the market and there are no close substitutes.
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monopoly
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A kind of monopoly. This structure exists when only one company provides a PUBLIC good or service. Examples include, the water company, the sewer system, the city bus system and the power company
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natural monopoly
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A kind of monopoly. This structure exists when buyers can only buy from one seller because everything else is so far away. "In my town, Wilson's gas station has a __________ ______________. There's not another gas station for 100 miles."
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geographic monopoly
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A kind of monopoly. This structure exists when buyers can only buy from one seller because the seller invented something and has a patent on it. "A chemist at Pfizer drug company invented a medicine and has a patent on it, so they have a ______________ ______________. They can charge as much as they want, because no one else can make that medicine, yet."
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technological monopoly
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A kind of monopoly. This structure exists when buyers can only buy from one seller because the seller is the government. For example, the government has a monopoly on snow plowing services.
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government monopoly
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Problems that keep new companies from entering a market. "I'd really like to open a new jewelry store, but there are too many __________ __ ________."
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barriers to entry
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A piece of paper you can get from the government when you invent something. The paper shows that you had the idea first, and that you alone can make and sell your invention.
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patent/copyright
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the money you need to spend to start a business.
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start up costs
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little ways a seller will change their product to try to make it a little different, and better, than the other products in the market. "New and improved Bounty is 10 times stronger than the competition!" is an example of ______________ __________
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product differentiation
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A group of sellers that agree to work together to control the price or differentiate their products. (This kind of working together is usually illegal.) OPEC is an example of a cartel.
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cartel
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________ _________ is what cartels do. It means to agree with your competitors on a price for your product.
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price fixing
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when one corporation joins with another corporation
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merger
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When two businesses who make the same product or provide the same service join together to make a bigger company.
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horizontal merger
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When one company merges with companies that make different kinds of things.
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conglomerate merger
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When companies that do different parts of one process (in the same "chain of supply") join together to make a bigger company. So, for example, if a wheat farmer, a flour miller, and a bread baker all join together to make a bigger company, that is an example of a ______________ _____________.
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vertical merger
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Federal Trade Commission. This is the government agency that regulates businesses and stock trades.
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FTC
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An Antitrust Act. This is a law enacted in 1890 to break up monopolies and make sure that there is competition in the marketplace. This law protects consumers.
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Sherman Act
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any medium from which people can get information. T.V., radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet are all examples of ______________.
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media
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an organized group of workers who try to get better working conditions for themselves. "The _________ is on strike to try to get paid work days for all union members."
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labor union
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A 1935 law that guarantees that workers can form unions. Before this law, bosses could stop their workers from forming unions. (Before this law, workers were sometimes expected to work 12-16 hours a day.)
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Wagner Act
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A law enacted to protect workers. This law 1) made child labor illegal, 2) required that workers be paid overtime pay 3) established the minimum wage
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The Fair Labor Standards act of 1938
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a kind of business structure. It is NOT a corporation. In this structure, two or more people own and manage a business. Partners share liability, profits, and losses. Many small businesses are partnerships. More people work for small businesses than any other kind of business in the USA.
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partnership
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a business owned by many people but treated by law as though it were a person. Like a person, a __________ can own property, make contracts, and pay taxes. Many of the world's biggest ___________ are in the oil and gas industry.
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corporation
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advertising
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non-price competition
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a person licensed to buy and sell stock
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broker
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laws written to stop monopolies from developing. The Sherman Act is an example of _____ ___________.
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anti-trust legislation
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An all-electronic stock exchange.
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NASDAQ
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The New York Stock Exchange
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NYSE
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this is what happens when the government reduces the controls over a market.
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deregulation
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a business established or operated under an authorization to sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a particular area "This is a picture of a McDonald's ________ in Thailand. Many fast food restaurants are ___________s."
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franchise
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a person who buys a franchise. __________s pay a certain percentage of their profits to the parent company (franchisor) "I own this UPS franchise on 7th Street in Minneapolis. I'd like to buy another one soon. I'm a _____________. I pay 5% of my profits every month to UPS Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia."
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franchisee
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the amount of time that a worker must work for an agreed daily wage "I had a 10 hour ____________ today."
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workday
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the number of workers who are in a union. "_________ ___________ has gone down since its peak in the 1950s."
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Union Membership
