Economics Micro & Macro (CliffsAP)

scale of production:The overall level of use of all factors of production.

scarcity:The condition that occurs because people’s wants and needs are unlimited, and the resources needed to produce

goods and services to meet these wants and needs are limited,

seasonal unemployment:Unemployment of people who are out of work because of factors that vary with the time of

the year.

set-aside program:A government program that reduces the supply of farm products by keeping land out of production.

share draft account:An account with a credit union from which withdrawals can be easily made using a draft.

shortage:The condition in which demand is greater than supply at a certain price.

short run:Any period during which the usable amount of at least one input is fixed, whereas the usable amount of at

least one other input can change.

slope:The description of a graphical curve; the amount of change (in what is being measured) on the vertical axis

divided by the amount of change on the horizontal axis; “the rise over the run.”

social benefits:The benefits received by a society from a social choice or some other action.

social choice:Decision making by government in the interest of society.

social cost:The cost to a society of a social choice or some other action.

social economy:An economy in which the major economic questions are determined by the government representing

the interest of the entire society.

social goals:The goals of an entire society.

socialism:An economic system in which most of the basic industries are government owned and operated.

social security tax:A tax that provides disability and retirement benefits for most working people.

special interest group:An organized subgroup of society bound together by a common cause.

specialization:In producing goods and services, an economic entity produces only those products, which it can produce

with some advantage.

stock:Shares of ownership in a cooperation.

structural unemployment:Unemployment resulting from skills that do not match what employers require or from

being geographically separated from job opportunities.

subsidy:A payment made by government to encourage some activity.

substitute products:Products whose uses are similar enough that one can replace the other.

substitution effect:The effect of increasing or decreasing relative process on the mix of goods purchased.

supply:The quantities of a product or service that a firm is willing and able to make available for sale at different prices.

supply curve:A graphic representation of the quantities that would be supplied at each price.

supply of labor:The amount of labor that would be available at each wage rate.

supply schedule:A table showing quantities that would be supplied at each price.

surplus:The condition in which supply is greater than demand at a certain price.

Glossary

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