Community Action / Community Engagement

Community Action refers to the collective efforts of people directed towards addressing social problems, in order to achieve social well-being. This includes a broad range of activities; it is sometimes described as “social action” or community engagement”

Community is defined as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. It refers to a group of people that can be equated to stakeholders, interest groups or citizen groups. On the other hand, engagement derived from the principle of respect to all members of the community, which are the right to be informed, consulted, involved and empowered.

It can be deduced that community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioral changes that will improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices (CDC, 1997).

Concept of Production

Definition

According to Bates and Parkinson (n.d), production is the organized activity of transforming resources into finished products in the form of goods and services; the objective of production is to satisfy the demand for such transformed resources.
Production in ordinary sense, it means creation of a commodity for the satisfaction of human wants. For instance, a carpenter may shape the wood into a more useful things like a chair or cabinet. Hence, he created additional utility or satisfaction.

Types of Production
Primary Production – refers to extractive industries such as mining and oil extraction. In advanced countries, the primary sector is providing less employment because it uses capital intensive, which means machinery is replacing manpower.
Secondary Production refers to the conversion of raw materials into finished products. For instance, manufacturing motor cars, shirts, and medicine.
Tertiary Production – these are the services that enable the finished goods to be in the hands of the consumers. Examples, distributive traders, banking, and government services.

Factors of Production
Land is the original gift of nature. It refers to a country's natural resources. It includes, what lies under the land like coal and gold, what is over the land like air, and what is around the land seas and oceans. 
Labor is the exertion of physical and mental efforts by an individual. It is owned by individuals who sell it to firms in exchange for wages or salaries. It requires training and education to be more productive. The division of labor is based on the different levels of skills, education, and strength. 
Capital is a finished product that is used to produce other goods. 
Entrepreneur is the organizer and coordinator of land labor and capital. Many of the economists agreed that entrepreneurs are part of factor labor. However, in modern economies, large businesses are seldom owned by one person, like in a corporation.

Theory of Production
The factors of production are known as the inputs of production. Output is the result that has been created by the inputs of labor and capital combined. 
There are two types of output; goods and services. The quality and quantity of labor and capital and all other inputs have a direct impact on the quality and quantity of output. The technology is essential to the firm, it is the process by which inputs are turned into outputs. 
The factors of production are classified into: fixed factors and variable factors. The fixed factor remains constant regardless of the volume of production, while the variable factor changes in accordance with the volume of production. 

Production Function
According to Fajardo (1990) it is the technical relationship between the application of inputs (factors of production and resulting maximum obtainable output). It is a mathematical function that relates the maximum amount of output that can be obtained from a given number of inputs, generally capital and labor (Lumencandela, n.d)

Short-Run and Long-Run
The difference is not based on time but on the production inputs. In the short-run, the use of at least one factor of production cannot be changed, or there are fixed inputs. It is a period of time that is too short to allow an enterprise to change its plant capacity, yet long enough to allow a change in its variable resources. In the Long-run, it is a period of time that is long enough to permit a firm or enterprise to alter all its resources or inputs (both fixed and variable factors) For example, a laundry business can be adjusted in a month or two. However, Toyota Motor Corporation capital adjustment could take several years.

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
The law states that when successive units of a variable input (like farmers) work a fixed input (like one hectare of land), beyond a certain point the additional product (output)  produced by each additional unit of a variable input decreases (Fajardo,1990).

Production with Two Variable Inputs
When more than one input level is free to be altered, a firm faces the question of what is the best input combination to use. 
According to Bajarcharja (2018), An isocost line is a graphical representation of various combinations of two factors (labor and capital) which the firm can afford or purchase with a given amount of money or total outlay. It is an important tool for determining what combination of factor-inputs the firm will choose for production process. 
Example, producer has P200 and he wants to spend his entire outlay on two factors – labor and capital. Further suppose that the price of Labor is P 4 per unit and the price of capital is P 5 per unit. If the firm spends its whole outlay of P 200 on labor only, he can buy 50 units of labor. And, if the firm spends its entire outlay on capital only, then he can buy 40 units of capital. 
An isocost line may shift due to the following reasons: 
(1) Change in total outlay to be made by the firm 
(2) Change in price of a factor-input
Ponnusamy (2016) An isoquant is a firm’s counterpart of the consumer’s indifference curve. An isoquant is a curve that shows all the combinations of inputs that yield the same level of output. ‘Iso’ means equal and ‘quant’ means quantity. Therefore, an isoquant represents a constant quantity of output. The isoquant curve is also known as an “Equal Product Curve” or “Production Indifference Curve” or Iso-Product Curve

Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution
Marginal Rate of Technical substitution (MRTS), is the amount of capita that a producer is willing to give in exchange for labor and still lie on the same isoquant (Gabay B.,Remotin R., & Uy E., (2007, p 127). We can say that MRTS is the slope of isoquant. That is:

MRTS is also equal to the ratio of the marginal product of labor to the marginal product of capital, or

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Introduction of Economics

Economics Defined

Economics is the proper allocation and efficient use of limited resources for the satisfaction of human needs and wants. It is a branch of social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The aforesaid word is derived from the Greek word "okionomia," which means household management.

Bible of Economics

Sometime in 1776, Adam Smith, also known as the "Father of Economics," published The Wealth of the Nation. The book became the bible of economics for a century (Fajardo, 1990). He argued in the book that the human natural tendency toward self-interest (or, in modern terms, looking out for yourself) results in prosperity (Blenman, 2020). For instance, people will act in an economically rational way when faced with behavioral decisions affecting their own personal income and well-being (Kenton, 2020).

The Invisible hand

The invisible hand is the automatic pricing and distribution mechanisms in the economy. This theory was the primary justification for free market ideologies. Smith stated that the means of production and distribution should be privately owned, and if they are not subject to the regulation of society, they will naturally prosper.

 

The elements of prosperity concerning the invisible hand are the following: Firstly, the practice promoted enlightened self-interest, thrift, and hard work. Example: The butcher does not sell meat with good-hearted intentions; it is evident that his attention is to acquire profit. The butcher sells at a reasonable price, so both parties can benefit. Secondly, the responsibilities of the government are limited to the defense of the nation, universal education, public works (infrastructure such as roads and bridges), the enforcement of legal rights (property rights and contracts), and the punishment of crime. Smith argued that large bureaucratic governments exist and stated, "There is no art which one government sooner learns from another, than that of draining money from the pockets of the people." Finally, stable currency is linked to free-market principles. Smith wishes to limit the government's ability to depreciate currency while adhering to free-market principles by keeping taxes low and allowing free cross-border trade by eliminating tariffs (Blenman, 2020). 

Microeconomics

Microeconomics deals with the economic interactions of a particular unit, such as a person, a single entity, or a company. The interactions refer to the buying and selling of goods by consumers and producers, which take place in markets. Hence, it can be deduced that microeconomics is the study of markets. It is well established in economic theory that there are interactions between supply and demand and scarcity of goods.

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is the aggregate unit. It is the study of the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. It is broader than microeconomics; it refers to national, regional, and global scales. The primary purpose of the discipline is to maximize national income and provide national economic growth, which can translate to increased utility or satisfaction for the people.

Economics as related to other social sciences

Sociology. It is the science of the origin and evolution of society, or of the forms, institutions, and functions of human groups (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 1970). It attempts to discover the social patterns or human behavior in a social institution, like a family, church, or government. However, economics is more definite; it attempts to understand the behavior of the consumer and producer.

Political Science. A discipline of social science that deals with systems of governance, and the analysis of political activities, political thoughts, associated constitutions, and political behavior (Oxford English Dictionary). It is related to the planning and creation of a sound policy for the people, like the appropriation and disbursement of the national budget and the production and distribution of income.

History. Is the study of the records of past events. Historia, meaning "inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation. This would provide us with a better understanding of historical events and a solution to our present problem.

Ethics. It is also called "moral philosophy," the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. It is a science of morals. The aims of ethics and economics may be different; the former may promote material welfare while the latter promotes moral welfare. However, economics cannot be separated from ethics; people should consider the welfare of others in all economic or business dealings. If an individual commits some acts contrary to the interests of his fellowmen, he is directly harming himself because he is a member of society (Javier, Costales, & Rivas, 2002).

Evolution of Economic Society

Direct Appropriation Economy. This society is also known as Hunter-gatherer society, which means that humans relied on their environment; they hunted animals, went fishing on rivers, and scavenged plants for food. The society was very primitive; "man lived from hand to mouth."

Pastoral Economy. It existed 7,500 years ago, when humans learned how to domesticate animals and grow their own plants for greater food security. They recognize their ability to tame and breed animals and cultivate their own plants. It is said that the society was nomadic, moving from one location to another to bless their flocks.

Agricultural Economy. Humans settled down and cultivated soil in addition to the domestication of animals. Technology for farming was developed, such as fertilizer and tools for digging. A manorial system existed in which a lord presided over the manor or a self-sufficient landed estate.

Industrial Economy. The radical changes were based on technological invention, changes in the method of production, and the substitution of factory for household manufacturing. Examples of inventions include the spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves in 1764, the power loon invented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785, and the steam engine created by James Watt in 1769.

Economic System

It is a set of economic institutions that dominate a given economy and are intended to solve the three (3) basic economic problems. It regulates the factors of production: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.

Types of Economic System

Traditional Economic System. Production and distribution of resources under this system rely on customs, history, and time-honored beliefs, that were handed down from generation to generation. This system relies on farming, fishing, hunting, gathering, or a combination of these activities.In trade, people often use bartering instead of money. They only produce what they require, so there is no surplus.

Command Economic System.  A centralized authority or government exists to make all economic decisions. The government determines what goods should be produced, how much should be produced, and the price at which the goods are offered for sale (Chappelow, 2020).

Market Economic System. It is based on the concept of the free market. The price of goods and services is grounded on the interactions of consumers and producers. Most goods and services are privately-owned. The enactment of fair trade laws, such as those prohibiting monopolies, limits the government's power.

Mixed Economic System. It combines the characteristics of market, command, and traditional economies. It protects private property, and there is a freedom to use capital. However, it allows for governments to interfere in economic activities in order to achieve social aims.

What are the basic economic problems

According to Samuelson, the economic problems of societies are the following: First, determine what to produce- It is important to determine the wants and needs of the people in order to satisfy them. In economics, this is known as demand; if a manufacturer produces something that is not necessary or for which there is no demand, it will not increase people's utility. If a country allocates its resources for a service that is not needed by the people, it is not efficient. Second, how to produce- is a question of manufacturing methods. People have to decide the best combination of factors of production to create the desired output of goods and services. Lastly, for whom to produce- this is known as problem of distribution in economics. Societies need to decide who will benefit from their economic activity and what quantities they will acquire.

 

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