Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Economics for Baccalaureate

A) Investigations Regarding the Product

Investigations of this kind are countless, but we can start from the origin of a new product and follow through all stages of development until it reaches the widest possible number of buyers.

• If the company has in perspective launching a new product.
• May investigate the possibility of its acceptance by the public.
• Before starting the production of the product.
• Make a market test.

B) Sales

a) Definition

Action is the scope of someone to put a well or a change or service for consumption, through a fixed value for payment for such product or service.

• It is another of the core activities of marketing.
• It is the function to sell itself.
• It is done according to possibilities, skills, strategic focus, and organizational

Labor Supply and Demand Dynamics

Offer of work (Labor Supply): The work quantity q is provided by the active population (the older population). This represents the number of hours n each person is willing to work for a specific salary. They offer work in exchange for a salary and leave work behind in favor of leisure.

Labor Demand: Companies need workers to develop their activity. This depends on the workers' salary and productivity. If businesses increase wages, they will reduce the demand as it becomes more expensive to hire. The salary equilibrium point is where the curves cross; it is the salary amount where the number of people willing to work matches the amount entrepreneurs are willing to hire.

Labor Market Imperfections

• Unions and Companies:

Unemployment affects those in the active population who satisfy the conditions of age, physical and mental ability to perform paid work, seek employment, and do not find it. In Spain, there are reports from diverse backgrounds on the labor market. In the first place, the Labor Force Survey (EPA), prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) with a rigorous methodology, uses concepts that are homogenized in Europe. It also provides other useful administrative information.

Main Types of Unemployment

• Cyclical unemployment: It takes place when workers, and in general the productive factors, remain idle because the economy during certain periods throughout the cycle is insufficient to provide employment for all resources.
• Seasonal unemployment:

1. The Market Definition

A market is constituted by a set of buyers and sellers of a product. The relationship between the company and the market is essential for its activity, because ultimately what justifies its existence is its ability to provide goods and services.

Evolution of the Business-Market Relationship

The relationship between businesses and the market has evolved through several centered approaches:

• Production-Centered Approach: The company focuses on the production of a standardized product and the creation of a distribution network. (Late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries).
• Product-Centered Approach: As supply increases, firms face more competition, focusing their activities on improving the product. (Appeared from the first

El Paper de l'Aprovisionament

La funció d'aprovisionament consisteix a comprar els materials necessaris per a l'activitat de l'empresa (producció i/o venda) i emmagatzemar-los mentre s'inicien els processos de producció o comercialització. Habitualment, se n'encarrega el departament de compres o d'aprovisionament.

La funció d'aprovisionament consta de tres aspectes fonamentals:

1. Compres
2. Emmagatzematge
3. Gestió d'inventaris

En primer lloc, l'encarregat de fer les compres ha de considerar diversos factors per a una selecció òptima de proveïdors, maximitzant les variables que determinen el rendiment de les compres:

• Preu
• Qualitat
• Termini de lliurament
• Condicions de pagament
• Servei postvenda

En segon lloc, cal disposar de magatzems per emmagatzemar els...

Income Distribution Perspectives

Income distribution can be analyzed from three distinct perspectives: functional, spatial, and personal.

Functional Income Distribution

Functional distribution expresses how income is shared based on the participation of different factors in the production process:

• Employee Compensation: Represents approximately 47% of Spanish GDP.
• Mixed Income: Includes earnings from self-employed professionals and capital income or corporate profits.
• Public Sector Income: Accounts for approximately 11% of GDP in Spain.

Personal Income Distribution

Personal income distribution shows how wealth is allocated among different social groups. This metric is vital as it indicates the level of welfare and social justice within a country.

Measuring

Business Investment Fundamentals

Business Investment signifies acquiring assets (capital) that indirectly satisfy human needs and contribute to future production, as they are used to produce other goods.

Key Implications of Investment

• Demand-Pull: Investment increases when companies acquire assets or investment property from other businesses.
• Capital affects production and employment in the short term.
• It serves to extend the provision of capital by replacing worn-out equipment.
• High Production Capacity Installed in the Country: Achieved through the accumulation of capital goods, promoting long-term economic growth.

Types of Investment

• Investment in Plant and Equipment: Acquiring durable goods that contribute to the development of economic activities

Lack of Competition and Market Power

Lack of competition occurs when a company or group has significant market power, allowing it an advantage in setting prices and controlling production. In Spain, control of competition is managed by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC). The Law on Competition strictly prohibits any act that prevents competition, specifically including:

• Price fixing between companies or setting business conditions.
• The control of production, distribution, technical development, or investments.
• Sharing the market or supply sources.
• Surveillance in trade relations that places firms at a disadvantage compared to others.

The Commission may also punish acts of unfair competition.

Imperfect Information and Consumer

Characteristics of the Second Industrial Revolution

In the final decades of the nineteenth century, a new wave of technical innovations helped to increase production capacity and dramatically improve transportation systems. As a result, trade multiplied, the European population began to shift to other world regions, and new countries were rapidly industrializing.

The greatest improvements were related to new energy sources, which made possible the widespread use of electricity and oil in place of the steam engine and coal. Among the advantages of electricity were its outstanding cleanliness and flexibility to adapt to the needs of production. The use of electricity caused an increase in productivity, and to these benefits was added the rapidly...

Business Concentrations and Market Structures

Vertical and Horizontal Mergers

Business concentrations are classified as vertical when they involve enterprises operating in distinct phases of the production process. Conversely, a horizontal merger brings together companies that are in the same phase of a productive process.

Holding Companies: Structure and Acquisition

The term Holding Company is used to designate business concentrations that arise from the acquisition of most of the shares by a parent company.

Market Failures, Public Goods, and Factor Markets

Understanding Market Failures and Public Goods

Market failures, on the one hand, cause cyclical crises and, on the other, produce unequal distribution. Additionally, certain situations, known...