Production is the purposeful activity of people aimed at creating material goods that satisfy various human needs. Level tasks in Human activities aimed at creating wealth

ECONOMICS 11th grade. test work

A1. The concept of “economy” originally meant:

1) rural estate management

2) the art of housekeeping

3) natural exchange

4) money circulation

A2. Are the following statements about the economy correct?

A. Economics is the science of economics, the way people conduct it, relationships between people in the process of production and exchange of goods. B. Economy is an economy used by people to ensure life, satisfy needs by creating the necessary goods, conditions and means of subsistence.

1) only A is correct

2) only B is true

3) A and B are correct

4) both judgments are incorrect

A3. The total value of all final goods and services produced in the country during the year reflects the following economic indicator:

1) national income

2) gross national product

3) labor productivity

4) gross turnover

A4. The behavior of a producer in a market economy, in contrast to a command-administrative economy, is characterized by:

1) economical attitude to resources

2) economic independence

3) respect for work ethics

4) desire to improve skills

A5. The main functions of the state in a market economy include:

1) establishing the required production volumes

2) ensuring the protection of the rights of owners

3) regulation of pricing

4) distribution of resources between producers

A6. Economic relations between producers and consumers based on mutually beneficial exchange are:

1) division of labor

2) competition

3) market

4) specialization

A7. Are the following statements about supply and demand correct?

A. Demand is directly related to the price of the product.

B. Supply is inversely related to the price of the product.

1) only A is correct

2) only B is correct

3) A and B are correct

4) both judgments are incorrect

A8. The increase in consumer spending is influenced by:

1) increase in income tax

2) reduction in social benefits

3) increase in consumer income

4) decrease in labor productivity

A9. Economics is mainly designed to:

1) make the rich even richer

2) provide income to entrepreneurs

3) satisfy social needs

4) increase the number of owners

A10. If demand is higher than supply, then the price of the product:

1) will not change

2) will grow

3) will fall

4) will fluctuate

A11. The market means:

1) place of sale of goods

2) place of production of goods

3) a system of economic relations regarding the purchase and sale of goods

4) competition between manufacturers

A12. The economic development of a country is determined by:

1) her budget

2) GDP

3) expenses for education

4) number of enterprises

A13. Economics as a science studies:

1) the action of objective laws of history

2) methods of production and distribution of material goods

3) a system of characteristics that determines the social structure

4) principles and norms for the exercise of state power

A14. Producers want to sell products at high prices and consumers want to buy them at low prices. In a market economy, this conflict is resolved with the help of:

1) governments

2) associations of entrepreneurs

3) financial authorities

4) competition

A15. By regulating production volumes, the state adopts plans that are mandatory for the manufacturer under the economic system:

1) market

2) traditional

3) team

4) mixed

A16. Are the following judgments about the goals of macroeconomic development in market conditions correct?

A. The goal of macroeconomic development is to maintain full employment of the working population.

B. The goal of macroeconomic development is to change the form of ownership of an individual enterprise.

1) only A is correct

2) only B is correct

3) both judgments are correct

4) both judgments are incorrect

IN 1. Enter the concept that matches the definition:

“Organization of people’s activities aimed at creating goods that can satisfy their needs.”

Answer:

AT 2. Insert the missing word: “The science of economics belongs to the category of... sciences.”

Answer:

VZ. In the list below, check the types of economic systems:

1) Advanced

2) Team

3) Traditional

4) Industrial

5) Industrial

6) Market

7) Technotronic

8) Mixed

Answer:

AT 4. Complete the sentence: “The desire and ability of a consumer to buy a specific product at a specific time and in a specific place is called

Answer:

AT 5. Economy is a set of complex and simple actions performed by people in the sphere of:

1)Production

2) Distributions

3) State administration

4) Maintaining order in society

5) Consumption of labor products

C1. Note the real, rather than declarative, advantages of a market economy:

Constant stimulation of production efficiency.

Identity of personal and public interests.

Efficient (through customized, decentralized solutions)

functioning and adaptation to change.

Meeting needs in order of importance (items first

first necessity, and then - luxury).

Individual economic freedom.

C2. "Competition is the life of trade and the death of traders." (E. Hubbard)

1) How do you understand the words of E. Hubbard?

2) Isn’t the “death of traders” a manifestation of the inhumanity of competition?

3) What are the functions of competition in a market economy?

4) Give two examples of the influence of the market on production.

ANSWERS

1

Answer

Economy

Public

2.3,6,8

Demand

1,2,5

C1.

point 1: as a result of the law of “supply and demand”, there is a constant stimulation of production efficiency, i.e. the manufacturer’s desire to improve product quality and reduce costs to obtain greater profits;

point 2: as a result, the identity of personal and public interests arises, i.e. both the producer and the consumer of the product benefit equally;

point 3: the consequence is effective (through individual, decentralized decisions) functioning and adaptation to changes;

point 5: which ensures economic freedom of the producer and consumer. The answer allows for other justifications that do not contradict the meaning of the judgments.

C2.

1) In the course of competition, inefficient production is displaced.

2) The market performs a “sanitizing” function, displacing not only inefficient production, but also those that do not meet the needs of consumers.

3) Functions:

price - carried out by “bringing down” prices;

non-price - improvement of technology and production organization, cost reduction, improvement of production quality.

4) Variants of examples must correspond to the disclosure of the essence of the problem.

1.1. In Russian, the term “economy” has two meanings.

1.1.1. Firstly, economics is a way of organizing people’s activities aimed at creating goods necessary for consumption. A synonym for this meaning of the word “economy” is the concept of “economy”.

Economy – 1) is an economic system that ensures the satisfaction of the needs of people and society through the creation and use of necessary life goods; 2) an economic system, including sectors of material production (industry, agriculture, transport, etc.) and the intangible sphere (education, culture, healthcare, etc.), providing society with material and intangible benefits.

1.1.2. Secondly, “economics” means (2) the science that studies how people use the limited resources available to satisfy their unlimited needs for the goods of life. The name of this science was given by Aristotle (384-322 BC) by combining two Greek words: “eikos” - “economy” and “nomos” - “law”, so that “economics” literally means “ economic laws." The word "economics" was first used by the ancient Greek author Xenophon (c. 430-355 or 354 BC) as the title of his work.

Economics – 1) the science of the economy, methods of running and managing it, relationships between people in the process of production and exchange of goods, patterns of economic processes; 2) a science that studies how people, in conditions of limited resources, satisfy ever-increasing needs.

1.2. The main economic problem is the limitation of factors of production and the goods produced with their help relative to the constantly growing needs of people.

The needs of society in connection with the increase in population, the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, the deepening of cultural ties and exchanges are constantly increasing and becoming almost limitless. On the contrary, economic opportunities - those real resources that society can direct to satisfy needs - are always, at every moment, limited. How can you satisfy unlimited needs with limited resources?

What does a successful solution to the main problem of the economy depend on?

From 1) rules, principles of organizing economic activity (the principle of rationality, which allows you to choose decisions based on the desire to obtain the greatest economic results with the minimum possible expenditure of all the resources necessary for this); 2) economic mechanisms, i.e. ways and forms of people combining their efforts in solving life support problems (division of labor and specialization, trade).

The main questions of economics: 1) what to produce and in what quantity (what goods and services should be offered to consumers)?; 2) how to produce (which method of producing goods using the limited available resources should be used)?; 3) how to distribute produced goods and services (who can claim to receive them as their property).

1.3. Economic activity is all types of economic activity of people to meet their needs and ensure material living conditions.

1.3.1. Types of economic activities: 1) production, 2) distribution, 3) exchange and 4) consumption of goods and services. These four spheres, as stages of a single production process, not only follow each other, but also interpenetrate each other.

Production as a whole (P + P + O + P) is the activity of society aimed at satisfying its needs.

1.3.2. The number of types of consumer goods and services more than doubles every ten years. This historical pattern can be called the law of increased needs.

1.3.3. Good.

The means by which needs are satisfied are called goods.

All life goods = free goods (available in a volume greater than the amount of need for them; can be consumed for free) + economic goods (goods and services, the volume of which: is insufficient to fully satisfy people’s needs; can be increased only by spending factors of production ; has to be distributed in one way or another).

Economic goods = goods + services that satisfy a particular human need and are available to society in limited quantities.

Goods – 1) any product of economic activity in material form; 2) a product of labor produced for sale on the market; 3) a material object that is useful to people and therefore valued by them as a benefit.

Service – 1) benefits, usually presented not in the form of things, but in the form of activity; 2) the result of useful activities of enterprises (organizations) and individuals aimed at meeting certain needs of the population and society; 3) an intangible benefit that takes the form of an activity useful to people.

Services cannot be accumulated, stored, or transported. They are targeted (household, communal, transport services, training, treatment, child and elderly care).

1.3.4. The influence of the economic sphere on other spheres of social life: 1) the existence of society is impossible without the constant production of material goods; 2) social production and the existing division of labor and property relations determine the emergence and development of its social structure; 3) economically dominant social groups, as a rule, strive to influence the work of the state apparatus and the activities of political parties; 4) in the production process, the necessary material conditions are created for the development of the spiritual life of society.

1.3.5. What are the main trends in the development of the economic life of society at the turn of two centuries?

1) At the turn of the 1990s. what is today called the knowledge economy or the new economy was born. Its distinctive feature is the development of the intangible sphere and the intangible environment of economic activity. The production, distribution and use of knowledge forms the basis of the new economy. 2) On the basis of these changes, the material and spiritual wealth of humanity has increased sharply.

1.4. Production is the process of creating economic goods, which act as the starting point of economic activity.

1.4.1. There are three main participants in economic life: families (people), firms and the state. They interact with each other, coordinating their activities both directly and through the markets of production factors (resources with which the production of goods can be organized) and consumer goods (goods that are directly consumed by people).

1.4.2. Production can be simple (produce as much as is consumed) or expanded (produce more than is consumed).

1.4.3. Ways to increase production volume: 1) expanding the use of economic resources (extensive path); 2) increasing the efficiency of their use (intensive path).

1.4.4. An indicator or measure of how effectively available resources are used is productivity. !!! Performance? labor productivity.

Productivity – 1) is the volume of goods and services created per unit of cost; 2) the amount of benefits that can be obtained from the use of a unit of a certain type of resource during a fixed period. Costs can be any resources involved in the production process - land, fuel, equipment costs, etc.

Productivity is directly affected by the quality of labor resources, the technologies used, and the effectiveness of management decisions. The main way to increase the productivity of all resources (factors of production) is specialization.

1.4.5. Humanity has based its economic activity on two important elements: 1) specialization and 2) trade.

Types and levels of specialization: 1) specialization of the labor of individual people; 2) specialization of the activities of economic organizations; 3) specialization of the country’s economy as a whole.

Specialization of human labor is based on the following principles:

1) conscious division of labor between people; 2) training people in new professions and skills; 3) the possibility of cooperation, i.e. cooperation to achieve a common goal (creating a complex product or building a plant).

Cooperation (lat. cooperatio - collaboration) is a form of organization of labor activity in which a large number of people jointly participate in the same labor process or in different but unrelated processes.

Specialization (from Latin specialis - special, special) - 1) concentration of a certain type of activity in the hands of the person or business organization that copes with it better than others; 2) division of labor into individual operations and their elements.

The division of labor in human society is constantly changing, and the pattern of specialization is becoming more and more complex.

Specialization is impossible without cooperation, which at a higher level acts as a process of socialization of production.

Types of division of labor: 1) professional; 2) detailed; 3) nodal; 4) intercompany; 5) in-plant; 6) intersectoral; 7) interregional; 8) international.

Stages of social division of labor.

1. Specialization of labor first appeared only about 12 thousand years ago, when the Neolithic (Great Agrarian) Revolution took place. It was then that the first division of labor occurred: some people specialized only in hunting, others became cattle breeders or farmers. There has been a transition from an appropriating economy to a producing one.

2. Separation of crafts, industry from agriculture (artisans, later industrialists).

3. Separation of trade from agriculture and crafts (merchants).

4. Finance, banking (loan sharks).

5. Governance, management (technocracy).

1.5. Exchange – 1) an economic transaction in which one person transfers an item, a commodity to another, receiving money or another item in return; 2) a process in which people receive money or other goods in exchange for a produced product.

If each participant in economic life specializes in the production of a limited range of products, then he must receive (exchange) all other benefits from outside. In economic life, the exchange of goods usually takes the form of trade between people, firms, regions, and countries.

Trade is the activity of people in carrying out the exchange of goods and the act of buying and selling.

Transactions of buying and selling goods do not create a product. Therefore, trade can be classified as services.

Exchange? trade. Trade (exchange through money) is different from exchange, the typical form of which is barter (the direct exchange of one good for another without the mediation of money).

Barter (from the French barater - exchange) is a natural exchange of goods, in which one thing is exchanged for another without monetary payment, a trade transaction carried out according to the “goods for goods” scheme. Transactions based on the direct exchange of goods are called barter.

Commerce (from the Latin commercium - trade) - trading and trade-intermediary activities, participation in the sale or promotion of the sale of goods and services. In a broad sense, entrepreneurial activity.

1.6. Distribution - 1) compliance with the proportions in which the produced product is divided between participants in production, as well as people not participating in it; 2) division of the produced product, income between those participating in its production.

1.7. Consumption - the use of a manufactured product (durable items) or its destruction (food, etc.).

1.8. Economic theory as a system of knowledge about the management of the state national economy is called “political economy”. This term was introduced into scientific circulation at the beginning of the 17th century. French economist Antoine de Montchretien (1575-1621), who in 1615 wrote the book “Treatise on Political Economy Dedicated to the King and the Crown.”

1.8.1. Economic science does not study objective processes like natural phenomena, but the behavior of people in certain economic situations. It is customary to distinguish: 1) family economics; 2) the economy of the company; 3) the economy of the region; 4) economics of factors of production, goods and services; 5) general economic processes that affect not only the economy of a family, a company, a region or a specific market, but the entire economic life of the country as a whole. The first four branches of economics are usually called the general term microeconomics, while general economic processes belong to macroeconomics.

1) Microeconomics is a part of economic science that studies economic relations between individual economic entities (consumers, workers, firms), their activities and impact on the national economy.

2) Macroeconomics is a branch of economic science that studies the economy as a whole (problems of unemployment, poverty, economic growth, the role of the state in regulating the economy and protecting the interests of society).

3) Economic theory necessarily involves consideration of the problems of the relationship of national economies with the world economy. World (international) economics studies the laws of development of the world economy.

1.8.2. Economic schools.

Economic schools are systems of views of representatives of various directions of economic thought, which have their founders and followers, substantiate their own concept, try to explain the laws of economic development of society and propose the main directions for its further development.

1) Mercantilism (from Italian mercante - merchant); representatives: Montchretien, Stafford, Scaruffi, Colbert, Ordin-Nashchokin, Pososhkov, Peter I; ideas: Wealth is, first of all, gold, with which you can buy everything. It comes from trade, mainly foreign. This means that it should be imported and not allowed to be exported, and therefore only the sphere of circulation needs to be examined.

Mercantilism (from the Italian mercante - merchant, merchant) is the first scientific school in political economy, as well as the economic policy of accumulating the country's monetary wealth based on its provisions. Early mercantilism (last third of the 15th – mid-16th centuries) was based on the need to implement policies through legislation. Late mercantilism (17th century) focused on active protectionism, support for the expansion of trading capital, and encouragement of domestic industry.

1.1. Early mercantilism - monetarism; ideas: Silver and gold are the only form of wealth. Ban on taking money out of the country.

1.2. Late mercantilism - protectionism (from Latin protectio - patronage, protection); ideas: Increasing the export of industrial goods, imposing high duties on foreign goods, patronage of the national economy.

2) Physiocrats (from the Greek physis - nature, kratos - power); representatives: Quesne; ideas: the main source of the country's wealth is agriculture, agricultural production.

3) Classical political economy; representatives: Adam Smith (1723-1790), David Ricardo (1772-1823); ideas: the production sector plays a major role in the creation of social wealth.

4) Marxism; representatives: Karl Marx (1818-1883); ideas: labor theory of value + doctrine of surplus value (its production is achieved through the exploitation of the proletariat, and its appropriation by capitalists is a constant source of increasing their wealth).

5) Marginalism (from the French marginalis - marginal); representatives: Menger, Jevons, Walras; ideas: The task of political economy is to find the most effective ways to distribute limited resources and rational management. The price of a product depends on its usefulness and rarity.

6) Keynesianism; John Maynard Keynes (1883 – 1946); ideas: the need for state regulation of the economy based on the analysis of macroeconomic values.

Keynesianism is the theory of government regulation of the economy. Arose in the 2nd half. 30s 20th century, had a significant impact on the economic policy of the United States (“New Deal” by Franklin Roosevelt), Great Britain, etc. Keynesianism explores practical ways to stabilize the economy, quantitative relationships between macroeconomic quantities: national income, capital investment, employment, consumption, etc.

Economic program: 1) every possible increase in state budget expenditures, 2) expansion of public works, 3) absolute or relative increase in the amount of money in circulation, 4) regulation of employment, etc.

7) Institutionalism (from Latin institutum - establishment, institutio - custom) is an economic doctrine that focuses on the role played by social institutions in the field of making and directing economic decisions, their effectiveness and economic activity in general. Originated in the 19th century.

representatives: Thorstein Veblen, Galbraith; ideas: the nature of economic development is determined not by the market itself, but by the entire system of economic institutions: firms, trade unions, the state, laws, customs, skills, traditions.

8) Monetarism (Milton Friedman).

Sections: History and social studies

Goal: to summarize and repeat students’ knowledge on the topic “Economic Sphere of Society.”

During the classes

I. Organizational moment.

Good afternoon, dear students. We have studied one of the important and interesting topics, and today it’s time to repeat it. You will take a test that consists of tasks of two levels: level A is tasks where you need to choose an answer, level B is a task where you need to give a short answer.

Level A.

A 1. What does the word “economy” mean in Greek:

  1. the art of housekeeping;
  2. Production Management;
  3. agricultural management;
  4. natural exchange.

A 2. What is a bank?

  1. a financial institution that pools funds, accepts deposits for a fee, and makes loans;

A 3. Tax means:

  1. funds placed to store income;
  2. established mandatory payment from income received;
  3. a system of economic relations related to the exchange of goods and services;
  4. purchase and sale of goods and services.

A 4. Which of these examples does not apply to entrepreneurial activity?

  1. purchasing vegetables for the family;
  2. sale of household appliances;
  3. guaranteed TV repair;
  4. pizza delivery to your home.

A 5. What is a market?

  1. place of sale of goods;
  2. place of production of goods;
  3. place of storage of funds;
  4. a system of economic relations regarding the purchase and sale of goods.

A 6. What is a family budget?

  1. family income and expenses for a certain period of time;
  2. all family income;
  3. all family expenses;
  4. saving.

A 7. At what age do children have the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities?

  1. from 12 years old;
  2. from 14 years old;
  3. from 15 years old;
  4. from the age of 16.

A 8. Profit is:

  1. revenue minus wages;
  2. income minus expenses;
  3. revenue after taxes;
  4. revenue minus transportation costs.

Level B.

Here you need to either write the word - the answer, or establish a correspondence.

Q 1. Establish a correspondence between concepts and their definitions.

Q 2. Complete the phrase: “The duration of daily work cannot exceed for workers from 16 to 18 years of age -:.”

B 3. Insert the concept that corresponds to the definition: “The organization of people’s activities aimed at creating goods that can satisfy their needs is:.”

B 4. The smallest amount of subsistence necessary to maintain human health and vital activity is called:

Q 5. Write a definition that corresponds to the definition: “Able-bodied citizens who do not have a job to earn money are registered with the employment service in order to find a suitable job, are looking for work and are ready to start it.”

Q 6. Finish the phrase: “Budget deficit - when family expenses are in the budget: income.

Q 7. Insert the concept that corresponds to the definition: “Any activity for the production and exchange of goods and services carried out by individuals or organizations for the purpose of making a profit is:.”

On the pages of this textbook we will have a conversation about economic problems. Therefore, the first thing we need to do is to find out what this word - “economy” - means. This task is all the more significant because in Russian the term “economy” has two meanings.

Firstly, this is the name for the way of organizing people’s activities aimed at creating the goods they need for consumption, i.e., to satisfy their needs. A synonym for this meaning of the word “economy” is the concept of “economy”.

Need- this is an inherent need or lack of something necessary for a person to maintain the vital functions of his body, ensure safety or obtain pleasure.

Secondly, “economics” refers to the science that studies how people use the limited resources available to satisfy their unlimited needs for the goods of life. The very name of this science came to us from Ancient Greece and literally translated from ancient Greek means “laws of economy” (“eikos” - “economy” and “nomos” - “law”). Since economics studies human behavior, it falls into the category of social sciences, just like history or philosophy.

As we see in Fig. 1-1, there are three main participants in economic life: citizens (families), firms and the state. They interact with each other, coordinating their activities both directly and through markets for factors of production (i.e., resources with which the production of goods can be organized) and consumer goods (goods that are directly consumed by people and which people exchange through market procedures ).

Rice. 1-1. Economic structure

Benefits- everything that is valued by people as a means of satisfying their needs.

Economy- a science that studies the behavior of participants in the process of economic activity.

Factors of production- resources used by people to create life's goods.

It is difficult to overestimate the role that firms and the state play in the economic life of society. And yet, the main character in the economy is the individual, the family, or, as economists prefer to say, the household. The fact is that it is precisely to satisfy the needs of households, their specific needs for goods, that economic activity should be carried out in any country.

Household- this is one or more people living together and independently making decisions about ways to generate income through the use of factors of production that belong to them and spending this income on the purchase of goods and services for personal consumption.

The simplest version of a household is a family consisting of parents and children, living in the same apartment or house and running a common household. Adult members of this family own at least such a factor of production as labor, and provide firms with the opportunity to use it for a fee, receiving income in the form of wages. And then they decide how to spend this income: on buying food, clothing, paying for housing and utilities, organizing a summer vacation, etc.

But in addition to labor, members of households (if they are co-owners of commercial organizations - firms) may also own other factors of production, such as factories, land, etc. Households also receive income from the use of these factors of production. Finally, all households in a country are co-owners of the country's natural resources and other property, which the government manages on their behalf. Therefore, ultimately, everything that a country uses in economic activity, and everything that it creates as a result of it, belongs to households, i.e., citizens of the country, whose behavior in the sphere of economic activity determines everything that happens in the country and how it develops.

So, economics studies how people can behave in certain economic situations and what can ultimately happen. The results of such research help people, firms and the state to better anticipate the consequences of their decisions in the economic sphere and make smarter, more rational decisions.

As you know, all living inhabitants of the Earth receive food from nature, but only people have learned to obtain the goods necessary to satisfy their needs in a volume and range greater than wild nature can provide.

Not all benefits, however, have to be actually obtained. Air, for example, we do not produce, it is given to us by nature, and we can receive this kind of benefit freely. And therefore economic science divides all benefits into two groups:

  1. free (given by nature, free) benefits;
  2. economic benefits.

Free goods are those necessary goods (mostly natural) that are available to people in a volume much greater than the amount of need for them. Therefore, they do not need to be produced, and people can consume them not only freely, but also for free. It is this group of benefits that includes air, sunlight, rain, and oceans.

And yet, the main range of people’s needs is satisfied not by free goods, but by economic goods, that is, goods and services created by man. Their volume:

  • insufficient to meet people's needs fully;
  • can be increased only by spending factors of production, i.e. those elements of the production process without which it is impossible;
  • have to be distributed in one way or another.

    And if people live better now than in ancient times, then this has been achieved thanks to an increase in the volume and improvement of the properties of precisely these economic goods (food, clothing, housing, etc.).

    Man invented the wheel, tamed wild animals, created agriculture and learned to handle fire. And yet, the true source of the current well-being and power of the peoples of the Earth is an extremely developed mechanism for combining efforts to solve common problems. Moreover, the most important of these tasks is the production of an ever-increasing volume of life's goods, that is, the creation of conditions for improving people's lives.

    To produce the goods of life, people use natural resources, their labor and special devices (tools, equipment, production facilities, etc.). All these are called factors of production.

    It is customary to distinguish three main types of factors of production:

    1. work;
    2. land;

    When we talk about labor as a factor of production, we mean the activity of people in the production of goods and services. Moreover, by “purchase of labor” we actually mean the acquisition of the right to receive specific labor services from a person over a certain period.

    Work- the mental and physical abilities of people, their skills and experience, which are used in the form of services necessary for the production of economic goods.

    When we talk about land as a factor of production, we mean all types of natural resources suitable for the production of economic goods.

    When we talk about capital, we mean buildings and structures for production purposes, machines and equipment, etc., that is, everything necessary for the production of goods or services (for more information about capital and its types, see § 8).

    For the convenience of analyzing economic processes, another type of production factor is often distinguished from labor - entrepreneurial abilities. We will use this word to denote the abilities inherent in some people:

    1. correctly assess what new products can be successfully offered to customers or what production technologies for existing products should be introduced to obtain the greatest benefit;
    2. take risks, which means a willingness to take on the risk of losing your savings invested in a new commercial project, and the risk of futility in spending time and effort on its implementation;
    3. successfully coordinate the use of other factors of production to create goods needed by society.

    At first glance, it may seem unclear how entrepreneurial abilities differ from labor, because often the creator of a business - an entrepreneur - works in it side by side with his employees and the difference between their activities is difficult to distinguish. But there is this difference, and it is very significant: the hired worker does what the owner-entrepreneur tells him, and is responsible for what he was told to do now.

    And the entrepreneur, relying on his abilities, makes a decision about what exactly should be produced in the company, in what quantity and how. Moreover, his decisions are focused on the future, which requires the ability to anticipate how much he can sell and at what price. It is this special skill that makes economists talk about entrepreneurial ability as a special factor of production.

    Let us note that a hired leader (manager) cannot be called an entrepreneur: he does not run the business with his own money and if the company fails, he can only lose his position and salary. The owner of the company may lose all the money he invested in its creation.

    In the 20th century Another very specific type of production factors has acquired immeasurably greater importance for economic activity than before: information, i.e., all the knowledge and information that people need for conscious activity in the world of economics. The volume of this resource cannot be accurately measured, although its value is enormous and constantly growing.

    By improving the ways of using economic resources (factors of production), humanity has based its economic activity on two important elements: specialization and the exchange of the fruits of its specialized labor.

    The specialization of labor is based on principles developed by people over many centuries of development of their economy. The most important of them are:

    1. Conscious division of labor between people.
    2. Training people in new professions and skills.
    3. The possibility of cooperation, i.e. collaboration to achieve a common goal (for example, creating a complex product or building a factory).

    Specialization- concentration of a certain type of activity in the hands of the person or business organization that copes with it better than others.

    Archaeologists and historians believe that labor specialization first appeared about 12 thousand years ago. It was then that people first discovered: cultivating crops allows one not to die of hunger and live a sedentary life. This means you can no longer roam in search of food and build YOUR OWN HOME.

    It was then that the social division of labor occurred: some people became hunters, others became cattle breeders, and others became farmers. Nowadays, the list of professions includes many thousands of names. The vast majority of professions require training (sometimes many years) in special skills and techniques.

    What is the value of labor specialization, why has it become the most important stone in the foundation of the economic life of society? There are several main reasons for this.

    Firstly, all people are different by nature, or, more simply put, endowed with different abilities. Therefore, they are unequally adapted to perform certain types of work. Specialization allows each person to find that field of activity, that type of work, that profession, where his abilities will manifest themselves most fully, and the work will be least burdensome.

    Secondly, specialization allows people to achieve greater skill in carrying out their chosen activities. And this makes it possible to produce goods or provide services with an increasingly higher level of quality.

    Thirdly, an increase in skill allows people to spend less and less time on producing goods and avoid wasting time when switching from one type of work to another.

    In other words, specialization turned out to be the main way to increase the productivity of all the resources (factors of production) that people use to produce the economic goods they need, and above all that resource that we call labor.

    When we talk about productivity, we mean by this the useful result that can be obtained from a unit of economic resource over a certain period. For example, labor productivity represents the number of products that one worker produced per unit of time (for example, per day, per month, per year). And the productivity of the land will be measured by the mass of the harvest obtained from 1 hectare of arable land per year.

    How productivity actually increases due to deepening specialization can be seen using the example of the assembly line, which was widely used by the famous American engineer and entrepreneur Henry Ford when establishing mass production.

    It was thanks to the specialization of labor and the growth of its productivity on this basis that people had the opportunity to produce more goods of a certain type than they needed for their own consumption. This means that they had the opportunity to exchange surpluses of such goods, and exchange regularly, and not from time to time. It must be said that the ability to exchange goods is a unique feature of people, distinguishing them from other inhabitants of the Earth no less than walking upright or the ability to think. As the great Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) wittily noted: “No one ever saw a dog deliberately exchange a bone with another dog...”

    Regular exchange of goods and services underlies the most important sphere of human activity - trade, i.e. the exchange of goods in the form of buying and selling goods and services for money. Trade connects people and firms specializing in the production of certain goods or the provision of various services into a single whole - the economy of the country or the planet as a whole. Without trade, specialization would be impossible, which would make it more difficult for people to increase the amount of economic goods available to them.

    Product- a material item produced for exchange.

    Service- an intangible benefit that has the form of useful activity that people are willing to carry out in exchange for other services or goods.

    Trade- voluntary and mutually beneficial exchange of benefits in the form of purchase and sale of goods and services for money.

    Moreover, only a combination of specialization and trade made it possible to resolve the contradiction between:

    • the desire of people to obtain for their use a huge variety of different goods and
    • the ability of each person to produce a limited range of goods.

    Indeed, even in your room you will find goods created by producers engaged in different types of specialized labor: builder, furniture maker, glass blower, carpenter, electrician, mechanical engineer, etc. No one person is able to master all the many professions necessary to create all the diversity benefits that we enjoy today. In addition, the creation of each good requires a certain time, and if a person created all the goods for himself on his own, then he could, at best, satisfy many of his needs only in his declining days.

    Therefore, over time, people realized: the combination of specialization and regular exchange of the fruits of specialized labor makes it possible to receive benefits in larger volumes, in a larger assortment, and faster.

    If a country skillfully links together the “gears” of specialization and trade, then:

    • specialization leads to increased productivity;
    • growth in labor productivity increases the amount of goods available to people;
    • an increased volume of goods is offered for sale and ensures an increase in the consumption of these goods by people and, accordingly, an increase in the income of sellers (producers);
    • income received as a result of trade is used to develop production and improve the specialization of labor.

    Symbolically, this connection can be represented in the form of a clock that measures the progress of humankind’s economic progress (Fig. 1-2). As long as the dial of this clock is intact and the hands are moving in the right direction, the country is getting richer, and the people in it are living better and better. But if the process of development of specialization in a country is disrupted or productivity falls, if trade is too poorly developed or people do not invest part of their income in developing the production of goods, then economic difficulties arise in this country. And interruptions or stopping the clock of economic progress always lead to Fig. 1-2. same result: people's lives become worse.


    Rice. 1-2. Economic clock

    This rule applies to all countries, even to those whose citizens are seemingly guaranteed a prosperous existence thanks to the natural resources at their disposal. Of course, the presence of such wealth makes the path to high prosperity easier, but the wealth of subsoil, arable land or forests in themselves does not guarantee prosperity.

    • The answer to level B tasks is a word, a sequence of letters or numbers. In matching tasks, you need to write down the letters of your chosen answers in the correct sequence.

    IN 1. Enter the concept that corresponds to the definition: “Organization of people’s activities aimed at creating goods that can satisfy their needs.”

    Answer: _________________

    AT 2. Insert the missing word: “The science of economics belongs to the category of ........ sciences.”

    Answer:_______________

    AT 3. In the list below, check the types of economic systems:

    1) Advanced 2) Team

    3) Traditional 4) Industrial

    5) Industrial 6) Market

    7) Technotronic 8) Mixed

    Answer: _____________

    AT 4. Complete the phrase: “The desire and ability of a consumer to buy a specific product at a specific time and in a specific place is called ........”

    Answer:______________

    AT 5. Establish a correspondence between the concepts characterizing the consumer economy given in the first column and their definitions given in the second column.

    AT 6. Find examples in the list below that characterize capital as a factor of production.

    1) Factory building 2) Skilled workers

    3) Machines 4) Information

    5) Tools 6) Management personnel

    Answer:_________________

    AT 7. Economy is a set of complex and simple actions performed by people in the sphere of:

    1) Production 2) Distribution

    3) State administration 4) Maintaining order in society

    5) Consumption of labor products

    Answer:______________

    AT 8. Finish the sentence: “The main goal of the state in relation to monopolies is……..”

    Answer:________________

    AT 9. Match the forms of ownership given in the first column with the examples given in the second.

    AT 10 O'CLOCK. Insert the concept that corresponds to the definition: “The totality of citizens of working age (from 15 years old to retirement age) who do not suffer from diseases that preclude participation in work is called ………. »

    Answer:____________________

    Level C assignments Give a detailed answer.

    C1. Determine what type of enterprise the following example illustrates, and name the rights of its employees: Employees of the Start enterprise strive to make production more efficient, since they receive part of the enterprise’s income by owning its securities. This right to income remains with them even after dismissal.

    C2. Note the real, rather than declarative, advantages of a market economy:

    · Constantly stimulating production efficiency.

    · Identity of personal and public interests.

    · Efficient (through customized, decentralized solutions)

    · Functioning and adapting to change.

    · Providing for needs in order of importance (essentials first, luxuries second).

    · Individual economic freedom.

    C3. “Competition is the life of trade and the death of traders” (E. Hubbard)

    1) How do you understand the words of E. Hubbard?

    2) Isn’t the “death of traders” a manifestation of the inhumanity of competition?

    3) What are the functions of competition in a market economy?

    4) Give two examples of the influence of the market on production.

    C4. Two economists were arguing about the topic: “Which is more correct to pay more attention to in such a difficult time that Russia is now going through - economics or culture?” One assured: “Of course, the economy! This is the root of the problem!” The second objected: “Is this correct? Perhaps the truth lies precisely in the reverse logic: if culture and education are abandoned, then any initial successes in the economy will eventually come to naught, since it cannot ultimately achieve great results in a cultureless, spiritually degraded society.”

    · What issue is raised in this dispute?

    · Who do you think is right in this debate? Why?

    · Give two sayings and proverbs that illustrate the relationship between economics and education, economics and culture.

    · Give two examples from modern reality or from history that, in your opinion, confirm that one of the disputants is right.

    C5. Read the text and complete the tasks for it.

    ABOUT THE DIVISION OF LABOR

    The greatest progress in the development of the productive power of labor, and a great deal of the skill, skill, and intelligence with which it is directed and applied, appears to have been the consequence of the division of labor...

    For example, let's take... the production of pins. A worker who is not trained in this production (the division of labor has made the latter a special profession) and who does not know how to handle the machines used in it (the impetus for the invention of the latter was probably also given by this division of labor) can hardly, perhaps, with all his efforts make one pin a day and, in any case, will not make twenty pins. But with the organization that this production now has, it is divided into a number of specialties, each of which, in turn, is a special occupation.

    One worker pulls the wire. another straightens, a third trims... Thus, the complex labor of making pins is divided into approximately eighteen independent operations... I had to see... a manufactory of this kind, where only ten workers were employed and where, consequently, some of them performed two and three different operations... These ten people produced over 48,000 pins per day.

    ...The division of labor in any craft, no matter how large it is introduced, causes a corresponding increase in labor productivity. Apparently, the separation of labor from various professions and occupations was caused by this advantage. At the same time, such a distinction usually goes further in countries that have reached a higher stage of industrial development: what in a wild state of society is the work of one person, in a more developed one... is performed by several.

    ...Each individual worker becomes more experienced and knowledgeable in his particular specialty; in general more work is produced, and a great increase in the production of all kinds of articles leads, in a properly governed society, to that general welfare which extends even to the lowest ranks of the people. A. Smith

    1) What economic problems does the author consider? List two of them.

    C6. List three ways to overcome the employee’s alienation from property, conditions and results of work.

    C7. From the proposed problematic statements, choose one and express your thoughts about the raised problem in the form of an essay based on the use of knowledge from a social science course, facts of social life and personal experience.

    1. “There are no free lunches.” (Barton Crane )

    2. “We need to think not about what can be useful to us, but only about what we cannot do without.” (D. Jerome)

    3. “Money doesn’t smell”, (Vespassian)

    Answers on the topic Economic sphere of society

    LEVEL A

    Job No. Answer Job No. Answer Job No. Answer

    LEVEL B

    Job No. Answer
    Economy
    Public
    2 3 6 8
    Demand
    1G 2A 3B 4B
    1 3 5
    1 2 5
    Support for competition
    1B 2A 3B 4B 5A 6A

    LEVEL C

    C2. point 1: as a result of the law of “supply and demand”, there is a constant stimulation of production efficiency, i.e. the manufacturer’s desire to improve product quality and reduce costs to obtain greater profits; point 2: as a result, the identity of personal and public interests arises, i.e. both the producer and the consumer of the product benefit equally; point 3: the consequence is effective (through individual, decentralized decisions) functioning and adaptation to changes; point 5: which ensures economic freedom of the producer and consumer. The answer allows for other justifications that do not contradict the meaning of the judgments.

    C3. 1) In the course of competition, inefficient production is displaced. 2) The market performs a “sanitizing” function, displacing not only inefficient production, but also those that do not meet the needs of consumers. 3) Functions: price - carried out by “bringing down” prices; non-price - improvement of technology and organization: production, cost reduction, improvement of production quality. 4) Variants of examples must correspond to the disclosure of the essence of the problem.

    C4. Contents of the correct answer: 1) The dispute raised the problem of the relationship between two spheres of social life - economic and spiritual. 2) In this dispute, the second opponent is right, since “if culture is abandoned”; There will be a general degradation of society and there will be no one to produce products for. 3) Various examples are allowed that reveal the essence of the problem. 4) For example, the locomotive of the father and son Cherepanovs was forgotten for a long time in serf-dominated, uneducated Russia. Various examples are allowed that reveal the essence of the problem.

    C5. Contents of correct answers to tasks for the text. 1) The answer may contain problems: society and division of labor; production and division of labor; worker and division of labor. 2) The answer may contain the following items: growth in labor productivity; increase in production volumes; growth in the well-being of citizens; growth of workers' qualifications. 3) Examples can be given: separation of professions and specialties from each other; increasing labor productivity; introduction of new equipment and technologies. 4) The answer may include, for example, the following items: level of qualifications of workers; technical progress; division of labor.