Text 6. Economic Resources

Economic resources, often called factors of production, are divided into four general categories. They are land, labour (sometimes referred to as human resources), capital, and entrepreneurship.

Land. Land describes the ground that might be used to build a structure such as a factory, school, home, or church, but it means much more than that. Land is also the term used for the resources that come from the land.

Trees are produced by the land and are used for lumber, firewood, paper, and numerous other products, so they are referred to as land. Minerals that come from the ground, such as oil that is used to make gasoline or to lubricate automobile engines, or gold that is used to make jewellery, or wheat that is grown on the land and is used in the production of bread and other products, or sheep that are raised for the wool they produce that is used to make sweaters are all described as land.

Labour (Human Resources). Labour is the general category of the human effort that is used for the production of goods and services. This includes physical labour, such as harvesting trees for lumber, drilling for oil or mining for gold, growing wheat for bread, or raising the sheep that produce wool for a sweater. In addition to physical labour, there is mental labour, which is necessary for such activities as planning the best ways to harvest trees and making decisions about which trees to harvest. Labour is also involved when a doctor or surgeon analyzes and diagnoses (mental labour) before performing a medical procedure, then performs the procedure (physical labour).

Capital. Capital is input that is often viewed in two ways, much as is labour. Capital might be viewed as human capital— the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that humans possess that allow them to produce. The other type of capital is physical capital, which includes buildings, machinery, tools, and other items that are used to produce goods and service. Traditionally, physical capital has been a prerequisite for human capital; however, because of rapid changes in technology, today human capital is less dependent on physical capital.

Entrepreneurship. One special form of human capital that is important in an economic setting is entrepreneurship (often thought of as the fourth factor of production).

Entrepreneurial abilities are needed to improve what we have and to create new goods and services. An entrepreneur is one who brings together all the resources of land, labour, and capital that are needed to produce a better product or service. In the process of doing this, the entrepreneur is willing to assume the risk of success and failure.

Many people associate entrepreneurship with creating or owning a new business. That is one definition of entrepreneurship but not the only one. An entrepreneur might create a new market for something that already exists or push the use of a natural resource to new limits in order to maximize efficiency and minimize consumption.

 

Exercise 41. Give English equivalents.

Економічні ресурси, фактори виробництва, земля, праця, людські ресурси, капітал, підприємництво, пиломатеріали, дрова, корисні копалини, нафта, бензин, ювелірні вироби, пшениця, вовна, зусилля, виробництво товарів та послуг, фізична праця, розумова праця, приймати рішення, хірург, людський капітал, знання, навички, погляди, фізичний капітал, устаткування, інструмент, швидкі зміни технологій, підприємницькі здібності, оцінювати ризик успіху та невдачі, максимально підвищувати продуктивність, зводити до мінімуму споживання.

 

Exercise 42. Answer the questions on text 6.

1. What are the factors of production? 2. What does land describe? 3. What is labour? 4. What are the two types of labour? 5. What is capital? 5. What are the two types of capital? 6. What is entrepreneurship? 7. Who is an entrepreneur?

 

Exercise 43. Complete the sentences according to text 6.

1. Economic resources, often called … , are divided into four general categories. 2. Land describes … . 3. … are all described as land. 4. Labour is the general category of the human effort that … . 5. . In addition to physical labour, there is … . 6. Capital might be viewed as … . 7. Because of rapid changes in technology … .8. Entrepreneurial abilities are needed to … . 9. An entrepreneur is one who … . 10. An entrepreneur might create … or … .

 

Exercise 44. Complete the text with the words from the box.

entrepreneurship	work	goods	profit
natural resources	inputs	risks	machinery
idea	capital	production	land

 

Factors of ______________ is an economic term to describe the _________ that are used in the production of __________ or services in the attempt to make an economic profit. The factors of production include ________, labour, capital and _______________.

In essence, land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship encompass all of the inputs needed to produce a good or service. Land represents all_________ _________, such as timber and gold, used in the production of a good. Labour is all of the ________ that labourers and workers perform at all levels of an organization, except for the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is the individual who takes an ________ and attempts to make an economic _________ from it by combining all other factors of production. The entrepreneur also takes on all of the ________ and rewards of the business. The __________ is all of the tools and _____________ used to produce a good or service.

 

Exercise 45. Translate into English.

1. Економічні ресурси, які часто називають факторами виробництва, поділяються на 4 категорії. 2. Термін “земля ” описує землю для будівництва, а також ресурси, які добувають із землі. 3. Праця - це загальна категорія людських зусиль, які використовуються для виробництва товарів та послуг. 4. Існує фізична і розумова праця. 5. Людський капітал - це знання, навички та погляди людей, які дають їм змогу виробляти. 6. Фізичний капітал включає будівлі, устаткування, інструменти та інші предмети, які використовуються для виробництва товарів та послуг. 7. Через швидкі зміни технологій людський капітал зараз менше залежить від фізичного капіталу. 8. Підприємницькі здібності необхідні для покращення того, що ми вже маємо, і для створення нових товарів та послуг. 9. Підприємець має бути готовим оцінювати ризик успіху та невдачі.

Exercise 46. Learn the following words and word combinations.

tangible	– відчутний на дотик, матеріальний
nutrient	– поживна речовина
deplete	– виснажувати, вичерпувати
enhance	– поліпшувати, посилювати
intangible	- невідчутний на дотик, нематеріальний
utilize	- використовувати

 

Exercise 47 . Read, translate and give the gist of text 7.

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