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Study Skills

Note Making for Economists

Overview

Note taking is a personal thing. There is no right way or wrong way of summarising information.

Selective use of abbreviations can help. For example:

an increase in price leads to a fall in quantity demanded can be captured as

Abbreviation to show an increase in price leads to a fall in quantity demanded

Here is a checklist of useful abbreviations which you can adapt for your own course:

General

Abbreviation for change in change in Abbreviation for leads to leads to
> greater than < less than
Abbreviation for therefore therefore Abbreviation for because because
Abbreviation for decrease decrease Abbreviation for increase increase
% percentage Abbreviation for infinity infinity
Abbreviation for good good x bad

Resources

L Labour Ln Land
K Capital    
r Interest Rate W Wages

Supply and demand

D Demand QD Quantity Demanded
DD Demand Curve Y Income
Ps Price of a substitute Pc Price of a complement
S Supply QS Quantity Supplied
SS Supply Curve U Unforseen circumstance
Js Joint Supply Cs Competitive Supply
P Price EMP Equilibrium Market Price
Ti Indirect tax Su Subsidy
PED Price Elasticity of Demand PES Price Elasticity of Supply
YED Income Elasticity of Demand XED Cross Elasticity of Demand

Theory of the Firm

MPP Marginal Physical Product MRP Marginal Revenue Product
AP Average Product TP TotalProduct
TC Total Cost FC Fixed Cost
VC Variable Cost AC
AFC Average Fixed Cost LAC Long run Average Cost
TR Total Revenue AR Average Revenue
MR Marginal Revenue    
Abbreviation for Abnormal Profit Abnormal Profit Abbreviation for Normal Profit Normal Profit
Abbreviation for Subnormal Profit Subnormal Profit    
EOS Economies of Scale DOS Diseconomies of Scale
tp Time Period tp + 1 Next Time Period

Utility Theories

TU Total Utility MU Marginal Utility
IC Indifference Curve MRS Marginal Rate of Substitution
ICC Income Consumption Curve PCC Price Consumption Curve
CBA Cost Benefit Analysis PDV Present Discounted Value

National Income

NY National Income NQ National Output
NEX National Expenditure AMD Aggregate Monetary Demand
RNY Real National Income MNY Money National Income
GDP Gross Domestic Product GNP Gross National Product
NNP Net National Product  

Macro Model

C Consumption S Saving
I Investment    
G Government T Taxation
X Exports M Imports
J Injections W Withdrawals
b Marginal Propensity to Consume s Marginal Propensity to Save
t Marginal Rate of Taxation w Marginal Propensity to Withdraw
m Marginal Propensity to Import U Unemployment
P Rate of Inflation Pe Inflationary expectations
k Multiplier kT Tax Multiplier
NI Nationalised Industry    
PSBR Public Sector Borrowing Requirement    

Money

Ms Money Supply MD Demand for Money
BOE Bank of England OMO Open Market Operations
Al Liquid Asset Ai Illiquid Asset
Abbreviation for Reserve Asset Ratio Reserve Asset Ratio Abbreviation for Credit Creation Multiplier Credit Creation Multiplier

International

BOP Balance of Payments TOT Terms of Trade
ER Exchange Rate $/£ Sterling exchange rate
FEM Foreign Exchange Market    
DC Developed Country LDC Less Developed Country