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Economic Guide to Everyday Life Decisions Essay

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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 …show more content…

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.

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