|
|
PERFECT COMPETITION AND DEMAND: The demand curve for the output produced by a perfectly competitive firm is perfectly elastic at the going market price. The firm can sell all of the output that it wants at this price because it is a relatively small part of the market. As a price taker, the firm has no ability to charge a higher price and no reason to charge a lower one. The market price facing a perfectly competitive firm is also the firm's average revenue and, most importantly, its marginal revenue.
Visit the GLOSS*arama
|
|
|
|
                           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: September 20, 2021].
Check Out These Related Terms... | | | | |
Or For A Little Background... | | | | | | |
And For Further Study... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Search Again?
Back to the WEB*pedia
|
|
|
GRAY SKITTERY
[What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time flipping through mail order catalogs looking to buy either a wall poster commemorating yesterday or pink cotton balls. Be on the lookout for the last item on a shelf.
Your Complete Scope
This isn't me! What am I?
|
|
|
During the American Revolution, the price of corn rose 10,000 percent, the price of wheat 14,000 percent, the price of flour 15,000 percent, and the price of beef 33,000 percent.
|
|
|
"No amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. " -- Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A Inc. founder
|
|
VIR
Variable Interest Rate
|
|
|
Tell us what you think about AmosWEB. Like what you see? Have suggestions for improvements? Let us know. Click the User Feedback link.
User Feedback
|
|
