USU APEC 1600 MIDTERM

Interest Rate

the proportion of a loan that is charged as interest to the borrower, typically expressed as an annual percentage of the loan outstanding

Peonage Abolition act of 1867

voluntary or involuntary service or labor of any persons . . . in liquidation of any debt or obligation

Institutions

A foundation or organization of any kind, formal or informal

Thinking on the Margin

"Marginal" means incrementally more or less

Public Land Survey System

(Rectangular survey system) standardized system for federal land surveys. Eased boundary conflicts.

Section

1 sq mile=640 acres — the minor unit of the PLSS system

16th Amendment

1913, allowing Congress to levy a federal income tax, helped pave the way for prohibition

Tragedy of the anti-commons

A coordination breakdown caused by numerous rights holders who prevent others from using a resources in a socially beneficial manner. (Examples: patent pools, toll collection, patent laws that are too strong, NIMBY)

Market

A focal center where goods and services are exchanged

Public Good

A good that is non excludable and non rivalrous

Commodity Money

A good with exchange value separate from the market value of the commodity good

Metes and Bounds

A method of subdividing land using compass points and directions, typically using physical features of the local geography.

Open Access

A resource management setting where each individual decides on his or her own level of use without restriction

Monopsony

A single buyer of a good

Monopoly

A single seller of a good

Sharecropping

Agricultural production arrangement where a tenant uses a landowner's land in return for a share of the crops produced

Peonage

Also called debt slavery: employer compels a worker to pay off a debt with work. ("Serfdom, peasantry")

Contract

An agreement between two parties reguarding employment, sales, or tendency that is enforceable by law

Fixed Rent Contract

An agreement where agricultural land is rented for a set cash fee; proceeds from the production of the land belong to the tenant

Fixed Wage Contract

An agreement where an agricultural worker is paid a fixed wage for hours worked; proceeds from the production of the land belong to the landowner

Charter Company

An association formed by investors or shareholders, and authorized by the Crown, for the purpose of engaging in trade, exploration, and colonization

Double Coincidence of Wants

An exchange situation where the supplier of good A desires good B, and the supplier of good B desires good A

Preemption

An individuals right to settle land first and pay later

Indentured Servants

An institution by which people legally enter into an unfree labor contract where they are bound to work for an employer for a specific period of time

Chattel Slavery (traditional slaevery

An institution where humans are treated as personal property to be bought and sold as if they were commodities

Unit of Account

Any economic item used as a monetary unit to mark prices of goods and services

Fractionation

As original allottees die, heirs receive equal, undivided interests

Insecure Property Rights

Assignment of incomplete authority to determine how a resource is used through time

Non-Market Value

Benefits of a good or service that are not exchanged in a market

Homestead Act, 1862

Citizens could claim 160 cares of land by filling an application, improving the land for five years, and then filing for a deed of title. (You can own your own land)

Temperance Movement

Dedicated to promoting moderation and/or complete abstinence (of alcohol) —> prohibition movement

Tragedy of the Commons

Economic dilemma where every individual acting in their own interest brings ruin to the group collectively (non-excludable and rival)

Common Law

English law derived from customs and norms established through judicial precedent

Local option

Focus on local first. The ability of local political jurisdiction to allow decisions on certain controversial based on popular vote within their borders. (Ex: alcohol, marijuana)

Stock

Fractional ownership

Interstate commerce clause

Gives congress power to regulate commerce with foreign nations

Specie

Gold or silver minted into coins

Economic Institutions

Good Institutions Align Self-Interest with the Social Interest

21st Amendment

In 1933, repealing the 18th amendment and ending the prohibition of alcohol in America.

Rational Behavior

In economics, agents who make choices to maximize some type of objective are rational

Public Domain

Land owned by the United States government. Public domain consisted of nearly 1.44 billion acres of land

Indian Reservation

Land reserved for an American Indian tribe and managed semi-autonomously by the tribe with some management authority resting with the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Gains from Trade

Large Technology Differences (Weapons, travel, etc. Especially Agriculture) Therefore, large differences in marginal value of land

Deed

Legal document that transfers ownership of property

Morrill Land-Grant Acts

Morril act (1862) land to each state for colleges, required to teach agriculture, engineering, and military tactics. Morril act (1890) aimed at former confederate states, must show race not an admissions criterion or to designate separate land-grant institution, many of the historically black colleges and universities

Anti-Saloon League

Most powerful and effective anti-liquor organization ("the saloon must go")

Natural Resource

Naturally occurring materials or substances such as forests, minerals, fertile land, or water that can be used for economic gain

19th Amendment

Passed in 1920 women's suffrage. provides men and women with equal voting rights

Excise Tax

Per unit tax on a specific good. Its purpose is to raise revenue

Price Discrimination

Power to charge higher prices to consume who are willing to pay more

18th Amendment

Prohibition amendment. Sale, production, and transport of alcohol banned in 1919 (ratification)

The Power of Trade

Purchasing and selling power between participants in the energy industry

Price

Quantity of payment given from one party to another in exchange for goods or services

Regulation

Requirements governments impose on firms and individuals to achieve governments purposes

Minimum Efficient Scale

Scale at which long-run average costs are minimized

Trail of Tears

Series of forced removals of American Indian nations from homelands in the southeastern US to "Indian Territory". Thousands of deaths

Deforestation

The action of clearing a wide area of trees

Return on Investment

The benefit an investor receives for the outlay of capital

Returns to Scale

The change in production (or output) that results when factors of production (or inputs) are increased

Shirking

The conscious decision to work in a less productive manner than stipulated in a contract

Persistence

The continuing impact of an institution or change (shock) from the past, occurring through channels beyond the initial change

Willingness to Pay Consumer Surplus

The difference between the total amount a buyer is willing to pay and the amount they actually pay

Producer Surplus

The difference between the total amount a seller is willing to accept and the amount they actually receive

Indian Territory

The ever-changing land west of the Mississippi allocated to Indian tribes when they were relocated from areas farther east. The area eventually shrank and was incorporated into the state of Oklahoma

Excludable

The extent to which is possible to prevent users from accessing a resource

Rival (Subtractability)

The extent to which one persons consumption of a resource decreases the quantity of the resource available for use by others

Opportunity Cost

The highest-valued alternative given up in order to engage in some activity

Labor Market

The interaction of workers, those seeking employment, and employees, those seeking labor

Title

The legal concept of ownership

Township

The major unit of the PLSS system; 36 sq miles

Risk

The probability of a negative outcome

Import

The purchase of goods or services from an external source

Export

The sale of goods or services produced in a home country (or local market) to other markets

Human Capital

The stock of knowledge, personality attributes, etc. that allow a person to perform labor and produce economic value

Economics

The study of the use of scarce resources that have alternative uses

Positive Analysis

The study of what is

Normative Analysis

The study of what ought to be

Columbian Exchange

The widespread change of: diseases, plants, food crops, animals, ideas, culture, and human populations

Property Rights

Theoretical socially-enforced constructs in economics for determining how a resource or economic good is used and owned

Triangle Trade

Trade that evolves when a region has export commodes not needed in the region where its major imports come from

Balance of trade

Value of exports minus value of imports

Trade-offs

a balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features

"Bootleggers and Baptists"

a concept put forth by regulatory economist, Bruce Yandi, derived from the observation that regulations are supported both by groups that want the ostensible purpose of the regulation, and by groups that profit from undermining that purpose

National Monument

a historic site or geographical area set aside by a national government and maintained for public use

Indian Removal Act (1830)

a policy pursued intermittently by American presidents early in the nineteenth century. President given authority to negotiate with tribes for their removal .Tens of thousands were forced west. Many did not leave peacefully

Externality

a side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved

Common Pool Resource

a type of good consisting of a natural or human-made resource system, whose size or characteristics makes it costly, but not impossible, to exclude potential beneficiaries from obtaining benefits from its use

Lost Cause

an American pseudo-historical, negationist ideology that holds that the cause of the Confederacy during the American Civil War was a just and heroic one.

Dust Bowl

an area of land where vegetation has been lost and soil reduced to dust and eroded, especially as a consequence of drought or unsuitable farming practice

Dawes Act (1887)

congressional act to break up tribal land holdings and provide individual allotments to tribe members and eventually white settlers as well.

Indian Reorganization Act (1934)

congressional act which reversed the Dawes Act, established common tribal land holdings, and allowed for local self-government by tribes.

Insurance

contract which transfers the risk of loss from one party to another in exchange for a payment, typically called a premium

Black Codes

laws passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866 in the United States after the American Civil War with the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans' freedom, and of compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt

Incentives

something, such as money, a reward, or lack of a cost, which motivates an individual to perform an action

Convict Leasing

system of penal labor practiced in the Southern United States. Convict leasing provided prisoner labor to private parties, such as plantation owners and corporations. The lessee was responsible for feeding, clothing, and housing the prisoners.