Economics guide everyday life decisions
As my major is economics, I have leant how economics guide everyday life decision. Economics is the study of how people seek to satisfy their needs and wants by making choice. Because we all have limited resources, we have to make decisions daily. For example, gasoline. Are we going to stop at the first stop on the way home or are we going to check the price first and get gas in the morning. When decisions are made, they are usually based on supply and demand
Demand shows us how much of a product consumers are willing to buy. If the price of gas is $3.50, people would like to purchase 70 liters per week. If the gas prices fall, people would get more gas, probably would make a trip
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We consider the cost of something in relation to the benefit of that particular course of action. If the choice were to save the money to send the children to college, the decision had to be made to determine if the benefits of a college education is worth the cost of not spending precious quality time with the family.
The third principle is rational people think at the margin. Rational people are people who systematically and purposefully do the best they can to achieve their objectives. Assuming that most people are rational, considering the margins between benefit and cost is the most rational way to approach effective decision making, and the third of the basic principles we are discussing. Rational people will weigh the marginal benefits against the marginal costs prior to making an important decision.
Lastly we have incentives, people like incentives. This is because an incentive is something that you get for doing or not doing something. For example you bought a car and it came with a lifetime warrantee and roadside assistance. This encourages people to buy from that dealer or that particular car. Which, this type of incentive is also a marginal benefit at a low marginal cost.
Finally, the principles of economics affect decision-making, interaction, and the workings of the economy as a whole because all people make decisions based on what they want and is best for them personally.
Todd G. Buchholz defines economics as the study of choice. Economists examine the consequences of the choices people make. The creation and evolution of economics over centuries came from the ideas of four economists: Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Alfred Marshall and John Maynard Keynes. These well respected economists help the theory of economics grow and become what it is today.
They explained that: “Changes in incentives influence human behavior in predictable ways”. The main point of this concept is that the more attractive an option is the more likely an individual to choose it. Another point that they also focused on was the fact that if a particular product more costly, the more unappealing it will become to the consumer. They used examples such as employees will worker harder if they feel that they will be greatly rewarded or a student will study material that they feel will be on an
People make economic decisions on a daily basis, from choosing to go to the grocery store and cook dinner or going out to eat. While in the general scheme of things this is a relatively small decision to make it still can have impact on the economy. Yet a decision for a family to have a child is more of a major decision and has far more of an impact on the economy then a dinner decision. There are four basic principles to economic decision making and in the following I will list and explain these. I will also provide and an example of a decision that I have made in my personal experiences and what impact that has had or could have had
Economics is the social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services and with the theory and management of economies or economic systems. All economists agree on one thing, the economy is large and it is unpredictable. However, throughout the years economists have developed some simple but widely applicable principles that are useful when trying to understand decisions that are made by everyday people to the workings of highly complex markets. There are Seven Core Principles of Economics. These principles are: Scarcity Principle, Cost-Benefit Principle, Principle of Unequal Costs, Principle of Comparative Advantage, Principle of Increasing Opportunity Cost, Equilibrium Principle, and
Demand refers to the quantity of products people are willing and able to purchase during some specific time period, all other relevant factors being held constant. Price and quantity demanded stand in a negative (inverse) relationship: as price rises, consumers buy fewer units; and as price falls, consumers buy more units (Stone 75).
Society around us is influenced by modern day economies. From trade, to GDP, to supply and demand, international economies are changing every single day. Economies change to balance the societal needs. When regarding economies, economics deals with the distribution, production, and consumption of services and goods. Additionally, economics is based on money in the government. But the amount of money changes every day with factors such as peak, recession, inflation, and deflation. Economics have influenced the world historically, socially, and institutionally throughout time and throughout our globe.
The third principle of individual economic decision-making relates to marginal decision-making. Rational people will think at the marginal level, making small changes or tweaks in their plans to achieve the desired objective. Rational people normally have a certain system or method he/she uses to achieve their objective and they understand that sometimes small changes must be made to accomplish this.
Understanding the fundamental concepts of economics allows us to analyze laws that have a direct bearing on the economy. These laws and theories are essentially the backbone of how economics is used and studied. The law of demand can be expressed by stating that as long as all other factors remain constant, as prices rise, the quantity of demand for that product falls. Conversely, as the price falls, the quantity of demand for that product rises (Colander, 2006, p 91). Price is the tool used that controls how much consumers want based on how much they demand. At any given price a certain quantity of a product is demanded by consumers. As the price decreases, the quantity of the products demanded will increase. This indicates that more individuals demand the good or service as the price is lowered. This can be illustrated using the demand curve. The demand curve is a downward sloping line that illustrates the inversely related relationship of price and quantity demanded.
In this way, the Fed manages price inflation in the economy. So bonds affect the U.S. economy by determining interest rates. This affects the amount of liquidity. This determines how easy or difficult it is to buy things on credit, take out loans for cars, houses or education, and expand businesses. In other words, bonds affect everything in the economy. Treasury bonds impact the economy by providing extra spending money for the government and consumers. This is because Treasury bonds are essentially a loan to the government that is usually purchased by domestic consumers. However, for a variety of reasons, foreign governments have been purchasing a larger percentage of Treasury bonds, in effect providing the U.S. government with a loan. This allows the government to spend more, which stimulates the economy. Treasury bonds also help the consumer. When there is a great demand for bonds, it lowers the interest rate.
Different market decisions determine how an economy is run. There are several different factors that account for how markets make their decisions, which determines how they function. The theory of markets mostly depends on supply and demand. However, it is key to note that there is a difference in demand/supply and quantity demanded/supplied. A demand is how much the buyer plans to purchase at various markets prices and the quantity demanded is what the buyer actually purchases at a particular price. Supply is the producer or the seller’s plan of the amount the seller will make available at different market prices and the quantity supplied is the actual amount that the seller makes available at a particular market price. It is important to
On the other hand, economics degree course provides a range of advantages as well as disadvantages. For example, after pursuing the economic course, I will work either as an accountant or as financial analysts as well as investment analysts and statistician. Economics course will provide me with the opportunity to learn new investment skills, capital management and ability to analyze economic trends and patterns. Despite this, economics is a very complex and demanding course. In addition, economics mostly involves tiresome work
The Economy is the backbone to society. There are many factors that operate in, and govern our society’s economical structure. Factors such as scarcity and choice, opportunity cost, marginal analysis, microeconomics, macroeconomics, factors of production, production possibilities, law of increasing opportunity cost, economic systems, circular flow model, money, and economic costs and profits all contribute to what is known as the economy. These properties as well as a few others, work together to influence the economy. Microeconomics and Macroeconomics are two major components. Both of these are broken down into several different components that dictate societal norms and views.
When I was first given this assignment I was extremely perplexed at how I would even begin to finish it. I had no idea how economics related to my life in anyway. I hadn’t thought about it critically and I struggling terribly. Thanks to some much needed help from a fellow classmate, he allowed me to get an idea of things from his own essay. After reading not one, but two other essays, I was so surprised at how oblivious I had been. I never realized that just about everything that goes on in my daily life is, in fact, economics. I never realized that from the things I buy to the money I earn from working is all economics. The things I miss out of while working or going to school is a complete opportunity cost. Or even
In my job, I also receive the incentive of money for working. Incentives also show up while driving; not getting a speeding ticket is the incentive for driving the speed limit. Tradeoffs and incentives are only two of the ten principles that I come across in my life at home.
The study of an economic world is a complex and unpredictable undertaking, involving people buying, selling, investing, bargaining and persuading. As a result of it being broad and complex, it is divided into many disciplines to make reason from information given by the economy.