How economics impacts your own life.

Discuss how economics impacts your own life.

After going through chapter 1 and the author’s 10 Principles of Economics, give an example or two of how you might apply these principles to your own life and your own decision making.

Think about:

What are some trade offs you have had to make? What has been the opportunity cost of making those tradeoffs? How have you thought on the margin in the past? What incentives have you responded to?

How has trade made your life better/worse off? How have you experienced the “invisible hand”? Has the actions of government improved your life more than the market?

Full Answer Section
  • Thinking on the margin: Thinking on the margin means making decisions based on the incremental costs and benefits of each option. For example, if I am considering buying a new pair of shoes, I might think on the margin about how much additional satisfaction I would get from the new shoes compared to the shoes that I already own. Or, if I am considering working overtime, I might think on the margin about how much additional money I would earn compared to the extra time that I would have to spend working.

  • Responding to incentives: Incentives are rewards or punishments that motivate people to behave in a certain way. For example, the incentive to get good grades in school is to get a good job and earn a high salary.

I respond to incentives in a number of ways. For example, I am more likely to work hard at my job if I know that I will be rewarded with a promotion or a raise. I am also more likely to save money if I know that I will be able to earn interest on my savings.

  • Trade: Trade is the exchange of goods and services between people and businesses. Trade has made my life better in a number of ways. For example, it has allowed me to access a wider range of goods and services at lower prices. It has also allowed me to specialize in the activities that I am best at and to trade for the goods and services that I need but cannot produce myself.

  • The invisible hand: The invisible hand is the idea that the free market will automatically lead to an optimal allocation of resources without the need for government intervention.

I have experienced the invisible hand in a number of ways. For example, the fact that I can buy a variety of fresh produce at my local grocery store is a result of the invisible hand. The farmers who grow the produce have an incentive to produce it because they know that they can sell it to consumers for a profit. The grocery stores have an incentive to sell the produce because they know that consumers will buy it.

  • Government and the market: Both the government and the market play important roles in my life. The government provides me with a number of essential services, such as education, healthcare, and national defense. The market provides me with the goods and services that I need and want.

Overall, I believe that the government has improved my life more than the market. Without the government, I would not have access to many of the essential services that I rely on. However, the market also plays an important role in my life by providing me with a wide range of goods and services at lower prices.

In addition to the examples above, here are a few other ways that economics impacts my own life:

  • The price of goods and services: The prices of the goods and services that I buy are determined by the laws of supply and demand. When the price of something goes down, I am more likely to buy it. When the price of something goes up, I am less likely to buy it.

  • The value of money: The value of my money is determined by inflation. When inflation is high, the value of my money decreases over time. When inflation is low, the value of my money increases over time.

  • The economy: The overall state of the economy affects my life in a number of ways. For example, if the economy is doing well, I am more likely to have a job and to be able to afford the things that I want. If the economy is doing poorly, I am more likely to be unemployed and to have difficulty making ends meet.

Overall, economics plays a significant role in my life. It influences the choices that I make and the way that I live. By understanding the basic principles of economics, I can make better decisions about my own life and can better understand the world around me.

Sample Answer

Economics impacts my own life in a number of ways. It influences the choices I make about how to spend my money, how to allocate my time, and what career to pursue. It also helps me to understand the world around me and the forces that shape it.

Here are a few examples of how I have applied the principles of economics to my own life:

  • Trade-offs: Every day, I have to make trade-offs between different competing desires and needs. For example, I might have to trade off between going out with friends and saving money for a vacation. Or I might have to trade off between working overtime and spending time with my family.

When making these trade-offs, I try to think carefully about the opportunity cost of each option. The opportunity cost of something is the next best alternative that I give up when I choose something else. For example, if I choose to go out with friends instead of saving money for a vacation, my opportunity cost is the amount of money that I could have saved.