ECN 104 Lecture 1: ECN104 - Class 1 Notes
Document Summary
The social science that studies how individuals, institutions, and society make optimal choices under conditions of scarcity. Human wants are unlimited, but the means to satisfy the wants are limited. Constraints include income, finite resources, people, etc. Can"t occupy the ever- increasing demand of wants. Many alternatives, choose one, give up the other alternative. I have to choose between subway or mcdonalds for lunch. I choose subway, the opportunity cost is mcdonalds. What matters, is the difference between the two alternatives. One alternative has more to affect your decision. Preferences, economists rely on making decisions that will give them the highest level of satisfaction. Co(cid:374)strai(cid:374)ed to (cid:373)a(cid:454)i(cid:373)ize (cid:449)a(cid:374)ts, (cid:272)a(cid:374)"t (cid:373)ake e(cid:448)er(cid:455)thi(cid:374)g (cid:271)(cid:455) oursel(cid:448)es. We use our resources in the most effective way that we have. We make trade for resources that we are not good at producing (market) Try to maintain equality (distribution of income, wealth, etc. )
