Economics SS1 Lecture Notes

Chapter 1: Meaning of Economics and Basic Concepts

• What is Economics?
  • Study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable commodities and distribute them among different people.
• Basic Concepts of Economics
  • Scarcity, needs and wants, choices.
• Opportunity Cost and its Relevance
  • The cost of the next best alternative foregone.
• Alternative Uses of Resources
  • Resources can be used for multiple purposes.
• Nature of Economics as a Science
  • Deals with measurable and testable data.
• Nature of Economics as a Social Science
  • Examines human behavior in relationship to resources.
• Why We Study Economics
  • To make informed decisions, understand economic issues, and solve economic problems.

Chapter 2: Basic Tools for Economic Analysis

• Functional Relationships
• Tables, Graphs and Charts
  • Tools to represent economic data visually.
• Measure of Central Tendency
  • Mean, median, and mode as measures of average.

Chapter 3: Concepts of Demand and Supply, and Price Determination

• Demand
  • Consumer's willingness to purchase goods at different prices.
• Demand Schedules and Curves
  • Graphical representation of demand.
• Change in Demand and Quantity Demanded
  • Difference between a shift in demand and movement along the demand curve.
• Supply
  • Quantity of goods that producers are willing to sell.
• Supply Schedules and Curves
  • Graphical representation of supply.
• Change in Quantity Supplied and Change in Supply
  • Difference between a shift in supply and movement along the supply curve.
• Laws of Demand and Supply
  • Law of demand: inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded.
  • Law of supply: direct relationship between price and quantity supplied.
• Determination of Market Prices
  • Interaction of demand and supply.
• Concept of Revenue
  • Total revenue, average revenue, and marginal revenue.

Chapter 4: Theory of Production

• Concept of Production
  • Process of creating goods and services.
• Types of Goods
  • Consumer goods, capital goods, etc.
• Types of Production
  • Primary, secondary, and tertiary production.
• Factors of Production
  • Land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.
• Division of Labour and Specialisation
  • Breaking down of production processes and focusing on specific tasks.
• Scale of Production
  • Large-scale and small-scale production.

Chapter 5: Economic System

• Meaning of Economic System
  • The structure of production, allocation of resources, and distribution of goods and services in a society.
• Basic Economic Problems of Society
  • What to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce.

Chapter 6: Business Organization and Finance

• Meaning of Firms and Industries
• Meaning and Objective of Business Organization
  • Aim to make profit by providing goods and services.
• Types and Basic Features of Business Enterprises
  • Sole proprietorship, partnership, corporations, etc.
• Sources of Fund for Business Enterprises
  • Loans, equity, personal savings, etc.
• Problems of Business Enterprises
  • Financial, managerial, etc.
• Factors that Determine the Size of a Firm
  • Market demand, resources, etc.

Chapter 7: Population

• Determinants and Implications of Size and Growth of Population
• Theories of Population
  • Malthusian theory, demographic transition theory.
• Geographical Distribution of Population
• Age and Sex Distribution of the Population
• Importance and Problems of Census
• Migration

Chapter 8: Labour Market

• Concept of Labour Force
• Concept of Labour Market
• Efficiency and Mobility of Labour
• Factors Affecting the Size of the Labour Force

Chapter 9: The Nigerian Economy and its Potentials

• Overview of the Nigerian Economy and its Potentials
• Nature and Structure of Manufacturing Industries in Nigeria
• Contributions of the Various Sectors of the Economy
• Components of Agriculture
• Importance of Agriculture in West Africa
• Systems of Agriculture in West Africa
• Plantation System of Agriculture
• Other Forms of Farm Units
• Importance of Large-Scale Agriculture
• Importance of Settlement Farming Schemes
• Agriculture in English-Speaking Countries of West Africa

Chapter 10: Financial Institutions

• Meaning of Financial Institutions
• Types of Financial Institutions
  • Commercial banks, merchant banks, etc.
• Commercial Banks
• Merchant Banks
• Development Bank
• Savings Banks
• Problems of Banking in Nigeria
• The Central Bank
• Non-Banking Financial Institutions
• Money and Capital Markets

Chapter 11: Money

• Definition of Money
  • Medium of exchange, measure of value, store of value, and standard of deferred payment.