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TOTAL COST AND MARGINAL COST: A mathematical connection between marginal cost and total cost stating that marginal cost IS the slope of the total cost curve. If the total cost curve has a positive slope (that is, is upward sloping), then marginal cost is positive. Moreover, if the total cost curve has a positive and increasingly steeper slope, then the marginal cost is positive and rising. If the total cost curve has a positive and decreasingly steeper slope, then the marginal cost is positive but falling.

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Lesson Contents
Unit 1: What It Is
  • Banking
  • Intermediary
  • Unit 1 Summary
  • Unit 2: Banking Details
  • Types
  • Commercial Banks
  • S&Ls
  • Credit Unions
  • Savings Banks
  • Balance Sheet
  • Unit 2 Summary
  • Unit 3: Reserve Banking
  • Reserves
  • Legal, Required, and Excess Reserves
  • Goldsmith
  • Goldsmith Deposits
  • Goldsmith Loans
  • Goldsmith Reserves
  • Unit 3 Summary
  • Unit 4: Regulating Banks
  • Why?
  • Who?
  • How?
  • Unit 4 Summary
  • Unit 5: The Economy
  • Benefits
  • Problems
  • Unit 5 Summary
  • Course Home
    Banking

    In this lesson, we take a look at the role banking plays in the macroeconomy. Banking is most important to the study of macroeconomics because a substantial fraction of the economy's money supply is under the direct control of commercial banks (as opposed to government). Because government needs to control the money supply to promote business-cycle stability, they need to control banks control of the money supply. As such, we need to take a look at how banks operate, including how they issue the deposits that make up the money supply.

    • The first unit opens this lesson with an overview of banks and the banking system, including their role as financial intermediaries.
    • Moving into the second unit, we take a closer look at the banking system, especially the four basic types of banks (banks, savings and loans, credit unions, and mutual savings banks) and the assorted assets and liabilities of a typical bank.
    • The key banking principle -- fractional-reserve banking -- is then discussed in the third unit with a little story about Fred the Goldsmith.
    • The fourth unit of this lesson discusses the why, how, and who of bank regulation.
    • The fifth and final unit then examines the benefits and problems of fractional-reserve banking for the macroeconomy.

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    BANK LIABILITIES

    What a bank owes, including most notably customer deposits. Bank liabilities are typically listed on the right-hand side of a bank's balance sheet. Bank assets, what a bank owns, are listed on the left-hand side of a bank's balance sheet. Net worth is the difference between assets and liabilities. The most important liability category of most bank is checkable deposits, which is part of the economy's M1 money supply. The largest liability category includes other types of deposits (especially savings deposits, certificates of deposit, and money market deposits) that enter into the M2 and M3 monetary aggregates.

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    APLS

    BLACK DISMALAPOD
    [What's This?]

    Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a dollar discount store seeking to buy either a box of multi-colored, plastic paper clips or several orange mixing bowls. Be on the lookout for broken fingernail clippers.
    Your Complete Scope

    This isn't me! What am I?

    Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, was the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson, an accomplished mathematician and economist.
    "Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work."

    -- Peter Drucker, management consultant

    PIH
    Permanent Income Hypothesis
    A PEDestrian's Guide
    Xtra Credit
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