新编研究生综合英语教程AdvancedEnglishforGraduateStudents GeneralSkills AcademicLiteracy UnitFourEconomy TextAOpportunityCostTextBEconomicOutlook ShouldIgotoworktoday ShouldIgotocollegeafterhighschool Shouldthegovernmentspendmoneyonanewweaponsystem Thesearedecisionsthataremadeeveryday but whatisthecostofourdecisions Whatisthecostofgoingtowork ornotgoingtowork Whatisthecostofcollege ornotgoingtocollege Finallywhatisthecostofbuyingthatweaponsystem orthecostofnotbuyingthatweapon Ineconomicsitiscalledopportunitycost Preface Opportunitycostisthecostwepaywhenwegiveupsomethingtogetsomethingelse Therecanbemanyalternativesthatwegiveuptogetsomethingelse buttheopportunitycostofadecisionisthemostdesirablealternativewegiveuptogetwhatwewant Let slookatourexamplesfromabove Ifyouhaveajob whatdoyougiveuptogotowork Therearemanypossibilities Youcouldsleepin Ifitisaniceday youcouldtakeyourdogtotheparkandplayallday Or youcouldevenspendthedaylookingforabetterjob right Ifyouchoosetogotowork yougiveupallofthesethings Whatyougetfromworkingisagreaterbenefitthanthecostofgivingupthesethings But opportunitycostisthemostdesirablethinggivenup nottheaggregateofthethingswehavegivenup Suchnecessityarisesfromtheinadequacyoftraditionalindividualmentoringinhelpinglearnconventionsofscience Oneaspectofresearchethicsconcernsresearchers professionalspiritinthepursuitofultimatetruth thatistosay goodsciencemustbeconductedthroughrigorous systematicandreplicableprocedure InTextB TheNatureofInquiry theauthorswillelaborateonhowscientificresearchdistinguishesitselffromcommon senseknowing howresearchersapproachrealitydifferently andwhatphilosophicalassumptionsunderpineachapproach BackgroundInformationPre readingQuestionsTextAOpportunityCostVocabularyExercises TextAOpportunityCost BackgroundInformation TextAOpportunityCost Vocabulary CoreVocabularyList 12 Exercises OpportunityCost RobertE Hall MarcLieberman BackgroundInformation 3 Opportunitycostinproduction RobertE Hallwasoneoftheworld smosteminenteconomists Dr HallreceivedhisPh D fromMITandhastaughtthereaswellasattheUniversityofCalifornia Berkeley HewasthepresidentoftheAmericanEconomicAssociationfortheyear2010 HeisalsodirectoroftheresearchprogramonEconomicFluctuationsoftheNationalBureauofEconomicResearch andchairmanoftheBureau sCommitteeonBusinessCycleDating whichmaintainsthechronologyoftheU S businesscycle Background 1 Informationabouttheauthors MarcLiebermanisClinicalProfessorofEconomicsatNewYorkUniversity NYU HereceivedhisPh D fromPrincetonUniversity Dr Liebermanhastaughtgraduateandundergraduatecoursesinmicroeconomics macroeconomics econometrics laboreconomics andinternationaleconomics HehaspresentedhisextremelypopularPrinciplesofEconomicscourseatHarvard Vassar theUniversityofCaliforniaatSantaCruz theUniversityofHawaii andNewYorkUniversity Background 1 Informationabouttheauthors ThetermOPPORTUNITYCOSTwascoinedin1914byAustrianeconomistFriedrichvonWieserinhisbookTheoriedergesellschaftlichenWirtschaft Itwasfirstdescribedin1848byFrenchclassicaleconomistFr d ricBastiatinhisessay WhatIsSeenandWhatIsNotSeen Background 2 Informationaboutopportunitycost Inmicroeconomictheory theopportunitycostofachoiceisthevalueofthebestalternativeforgone inasituationinwhichachoiceneedstobemadeamongseveralmutuallyexclusivealternativesofgivenlimitedresources Theconceptseemsasimpleone usefulwhenappliedtomakingeverydaydecisionsabouthowbesttospendlimitedtimeandmoney However evenprofessionaleconomistshaveforgottenorhaddifficultyinapplyingit Background 2 Informationaboutopportunitycost OpportunitycostsinproductionExplicitcostsExplicitcostsareopportunitycoststhatinvolvedirectmonetarypaymentbyproducers Theexplicitopportunitycostofthefactorsofproductionnotalreadyownedbyaproduceristhepricethattheproducerhastopayforthem Forinstance ifafirmspends 100onelectricalpowerconsumed itsexplicitopportunitycostis 100 Thiscashexpenditurerepresentsalostopportunitytopurchasesomethingelsewiththe 100 3 Opportunitycostinproduction ImplicitcostsImplicitcosts alsocalledimplied imputedornotionalcosts aretheopportunitycostsnotreflectedincashoutflowbutimpliedbythefailureofthefirmtoallocateitsexisting owned resources orfactorsofproductiontothebestalternativeuse Forexample amanufacturerhaspreviouslypurchased1000tonsofsteelandthemachinerytoproduceawidget Theimplicitpartoftheopportunitycostofproducingthewidgetistherevenuelostbynotsellingthesteelandnotrentingoutthemachineryinsteadofusingthemforproduction 3 Opportunitycostinproduction Oneexampleofopportunitycostisintheevaluationof foreign totheUSA buyersandtheirallocationofcashassetsinrealestateorothertypesofinvestmentvehicles Withtherecentdownturn circaJune July2015 oftheChinesestockmarket moreandmoreChineseinvestorsfromHongKongandTaiwanareturningtotheUnitedStatesasanalternativevesselfortheirinvestmentdollars theopportunitycostofleavingtheirmoneyintheChinesestockmarketorChineserealestatemarketistoohighrelativetoyieldsavailableintheUSArealestatemarket Takeanotherexample theopportunitycostingoingtothemoviescouldbebuyingtakeawa