微观经济学（N. Gregory Mankiw）教学课件ch2.pdfVIP

C H A P T E R 2 Thinking Like An Economist P R I N C I P L E S O F Economics N. Gregory Mankiw bannannan@ © 2009 South- Western, a part of Cengage Learning, all rights reserved Science and Art THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST 1 Thinking like an economist Economics is a science. social science and natural science THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST 2 Thinking like an economist Every field of study has its own terminology. Mathematics Psychology Law Economics supply, demand, opportunity cost, elasticity, consumer surplus, comparative advantage, deadweight loss THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST 3 The economist as a scientist Economists try to address their subject with a scientists objectivity. They devise theories, collect data, and then analyze these data in an attempt to verify or refute their theories. They make use of the scientific method. THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST 4 The scientific method: observation, theory and more observation  Issac Newton developed the theory of gravity. This interplay between theory and observation also occurs in the field of economics. e.g. the theory of inflation THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST 5 The role of assumptions Assumptions used in the science simplify the problem without substantially affecting the answer. Economists make assumptions in order to make the world easier to understand.  e.g. international trade THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST 6 Eco