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INDEX: A measure of the relative average of a group of items compared to a given base value. Index measures are commonly used in economics to combine and compare diverse measures. One common type of index measure is for prices, such as the Consumer Price Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average of corporate stock prices. Another noted type of index measure is to track macroeconomic activity, especially the index leading economic indicators. Indexes are usually weighted averages rather than simple arithmetic means that are measured relative to a base value or period. The Consumer Price Index, for example, measures the prices of consumer good, weighted by the quantities purchased. The value of a given period is then stated relative to a base year value, which generates a pure, "unitless" number in the range of 100 (give or take).
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                           SATISFACTION: The process of successfully fulfilling wants and needs. This also goes by the technical economic term utility, and is essentially synonymous with more common words, such as fulfillment, well-being, and to some degree prosperity or happiness. A basic fact of life is that people want and need goods and services to stay alive and to make that life more enjoyable. Satisfaction is the economic term that captures this wants-and-needs-fulfilling process. Satisfying wants and needs is the ultimate goal of economic activity, the end result of addressing the fundamental problem of scarcity. The attainment of satisfaction is also fundamental to life itself.A Word or Two on ScarcityThe pursuit of satisfaction, which has guided humanity for as long as humanity has been humanity, is best seen in the context of scarcity. Scarcity exists because wants and needs are unlimited but resources are limited. People want more than they are able to obtain. People are persistently and perpetually motivated to fulfill their unlimited wants and needs. Doing so provides satisfaction, it makes people better off.In prehistoric times, humans produced their own food, by hunting, fishing, or gathering fruits, to satisfy their hunger needs. In modern times, humans work at jobs to earn income that can be used to buy the food that they need. But whether modern or prehistoric, humans seek to satisfy that hunger need. While the modern economy is substantially more complex than that of the cave dwellers, the ultimate wants-and-needs-satisfying goal remains the same. Wants or NeedsSatisfaction is derived from the fulfillment of both wants and needs.- Wants are generally considered psychological desires that provide enjoyment, but are not essential to life. The desire to collect celebrity autographs of movie star Brace Brickhead or baseball superstar Harold "Hair Doo" Dueterman would fall in the wants category.
- Needs are thought of as physiological or biological requirements for continued existence. The requirement of nourishment achieved by eating one of Manny Mustard's Deluxe Club Sandwiches or a Gargantuan Taco (with jalapenos and sour cream) from Waldo's TexMex Taco World offers a prime example of a need.
From an economic perspective, it matters little whether a want or a need is fulfilled. Both generate satisfaction. Both motivate economic activity.
Recommended Citation:SATISFACTION, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2021. [Accessed: March 3, 2021].
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ORANGE REBELOON
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a garage sale trying to buy either several orange mixing bowls or clothing for your pet dog. Be on the lookout for strangers with large satchels of used undergarments.
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A communal society, a prime component of Karl Marx's communist philosophy, was advocated by the Greek philosophy Plato.
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"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." -- Maya Angelou, Poet and Author
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BJE
Bell Journal of Economics
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