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.