Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost · 稀缺性、选择与机会成本
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| wants/wɒnts/ | 欲望 | yù wàng |
| scarcity/ˈskeəsɪti/ | 稀缺性 | xī quē xìng |
| resources/rɪˈzɔːsɪz/ | 资源 | zī yuán |
| finite/ˈfaɪnaɪt/ | 有限的 | yǒu xiàn de |
| opportunity cost/ɒpəˈtjuːnɪti kɒst/ | 机会成本 | jī huì chéng běn |
| next best alternative/nekst best ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv/ | 次优选择 | cì yōu xuǎn zé |
| consumers/kənˈsuːməz/ | 消费者 | xiāo fèi zhě |
| production possibility frontier/prəˈdʌkʃn ˌpɒsəˈbɪlɪti ˈfrʌntɪə/ | 生产可能性边界 | shēng chǎn kě néng xìng biān jiè |
Why you can never have everything
- There will never be enough — enough time, money, land, or workers — to satisfy everyone's wants 欲望.
- That single fact, scarcity 稀缺性, is where all of economics begins. It forces every person, firm and government to choose.
为什么你永远不能拥有一切
- 永远不会有足够的——足够的时间、金钱、土地或工人——来满足每个人的欲望。
- 那一个事实,稀缺性(scarcity),是所有经济学开始的地方。它迫使每个人、企业和政府选择。
The economic problem
- Resources 资源 (land, labour, capital) are finite 有限的; human wants are unlimited.
- So every society must answer three questions:
- What to produce?
- How to produce it?
- For whom to produce it?
A car assembly line: capital (machines and robots) plus the division of labour, each worker or robot repeating one task
经济问题
- 资源(resources,土地、劳动、资本)是有限的;人的欲望(wants)是无限的。
- 所以每个社会都必须回答三个问题:
- 生产什么?
- 如何生产?
- 为谁生产?
一条汽车装配线:资本(机器和机器人)加上劳动分工,每个工人或机器人重复一个任务
The basic economic problem arises because: · 基本的经济问题产生,因为:
Scarcity = unlimited wants meeting finite resources; it forces choice. · 稀缺性 = 无限的欲望遇到有限的资源;它迫使选择。
Every economy must decide what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom. · 每个经济都必须决定生产什么、如何生产,以及为谁。
These three questions follow directly from scarcity. · 这三个问题直接来自稀缺性。
Match each economic agent to a choice it faces. · 把每个经济主体与它面对的一个选择配对。
Scarcity forces choice at every level — consumers, firms and governments alike. · 稀缺性在每个层面迫使选择——消费者、企业和政府都一样。
Choice and opportunity cost 机会成本
- Because resources are scarce, choosing one thing means giving up another.
- Opportunity cost = the value of the next best alternative 次优选择 you give up.
- It applies to consumers 消费者 (a phone vs a holiday), firms (cars vs trucks) and governments (hospitals vs schools).
A straight PPC means constant opportunity cost; a bowed PPC means increasing opportunity cost
选择与机会成本
- 因为资源稀缺,选择一样东西意味着放弃另一样。
- 机会成本(opportunity cost)= 你放弃的次优选择(next best alternative)的价值。
- 它适用于消费者(一部手机对一次假期)、企业(汽车对卡车)和政府(医院对学校)。
一条直的 PPC 意味着不变的机会成本;一条外凸的 PPC 意味着递增的机会成本
Opportunity cost is: · 机会成本是:
It is the single next-best alternative sacrificed, not the money price or every option. · 它是牺牲的单个次优选择,不是货币价格或每个选项。
Showing it on a PPF
- A production possibility frontier 生产可能性边界 shows the maximum combinations of two goods an economy can make.
On the curve (A) is efficient; inside (B) wastes resources; beyond (C) is unattainable. Moving along the curve has an opportunity cost.
Reading opportunity cost. To make more consumer goods (move right along the curve), the economy must give up some capital goods (move down). That sacrifice is the opportunity cost.
在 PPF 上展示它
- 一条生产可能性边界(production possibility frontier)显示一个经济体能制造的两种商品的最大组合。
在曲线上(A)是有效率的;里面(B)浪费资源;外面(C)无法实现。沿曲线移动有一个机会成本。
读机会成本。 要制造更多消费品(沿曲线向右移),经济体必须放弃一些资本品(向下移)。那个牺牲就是机会成本。
The production possibility frontier · 生产可能性边界
Producing more of one good means giving up some of the other — that trade-off is the opportunity cost, shown by the slope of the frontier. · 生产更多一种商品意味着放弃一些另一种——那个权衡是机会成本,由边界的斜率显示。
A point inside (below) the production possibility frontier represents: · 生产可能性边界里面(下方)的一个点代表:
Inside the curve means resources are unemployed or wasted — production could rise. · 在曲线里面意味着资源未被利用或被浪费——生产能上升。
Moving along a PPF to make more of one good has an opportunity . · 沿一条 PPF 移动以制造更多一种商品有一个机会。
You sacrifice some of the other good — that sacrifice is the opportunity cost. · 你牺牲一些另一种商品——那个牺牲是机会成本。
A common confusion
Opportunity cost is the next best option, not all the options you didn't choose. If you skip a film to study, and your alternatives were a film, a nap and a walk, the opportunity cost is just the single most-valued one — not all three.
一个常见的混淆
机会成本是次优选项,不是你没选的所有选项。 如果你为了学习放弃一部电影,而你的备选是一部电影、一次小睡和一次散步,机会成本只是那个最被看重的单个——不是全部三个。
You've got it
- scarcity: finite resources vs unlimited wants → the economic problem (what/how/for whom)
- opportunity cost = the value of the next best alternative given up
- the PPF shows efficient (on), wasteful (inside) and unattainable (beyond) combinations
你掌握了
- 稀缺性:有限的资源对无限的欲望 → 经济问题(什么/如何/为谁)
- 机会成本 = 放弃的次优选择的价值
- PPF 显示有效率的(在曲线上)、浪费的(里面)和无法实现的(外面)组合