How People Make Decisions: People Face Trade-Offs

How People Make Decisions
People face trade-offs[edit]
There is no thing such as a free lunch. To get one thing that we like, we
usually have to give up another thing that we like. Making decisions requires
trading one goal for another.
Examples include how students spend their time, how a family decides to
spend its income, how the government spends revenue, and how regulations
may protect the environment at a cost to firm owners.
A special example of a trade-off is the trade-off between efficiency and
equity.
Definition of efficiency: the property of society getting the
maximum benefits from its scarce resources.
Definition of equity: the property of distributing economic
prosperity fairly among the members of society.
For example, tax paid by wealthy people and then distributed to
poor may improve equity but lower the incentive for hard work and
therefore reduce the level of output produced by our resources.
This implies that the cost of this increased equality is a reduction
in the efficient use of our resources.
Another Example is guns and butter: The more we spend on national
defense(guns) to protect our borders, the less we can spend on consumer
goods (butter) to raise our standard of living at home.
Recognizing that trade-offs exist does not indicate what decisions should
or will be made.
The cost of something is what you give up to get it[edit]
Because people face trade off, making decisions requires comparing the
costs and benefits of alternative courses of action.
The cost of
going to college for a year is not just the tuition, books, and fees,
but also the foregone wages.
seeing a movie is not just the price of the ticket, but the value of
the time you spend in the theater
This is called opportunity cost of a resource
Definition of opportunity cost: whatever must be given up in order to
obtain some item. or last best alternative forgone
When making any decision, decision makers should consider the
opportunity costs of each possible action.
Rational people think at the margin[edit]
Economists generally assume that people are rational.

Definition of rational: systematically and purposefully doing the
best you can to achieve your objectives.
Consumers want to purchase the bundle of goods and services that
allows them the greatest level of satisfaction given their incomes and the
prices they face.
Firms want to produce the level of output that maximizes the
profits.
Many decisions in life involve incremental decisions: Should I remain in
school this semester? Should I take another course this semester? Should I
study an additional hour for tomorrows exam?
Rational people often make decisions by comparing marginal benefits and
marginal costs.
Example: Suppose that flying a 200-seat plane across the country

costs the airline 1,000,000, which means that the average cost of each
seat is 5000. Suppose that the plane is minutes away from departure
and a passenger is willing to pay 3000 for a seat. Should the airline sell
the seat for 3000? In this case, the marginal cost of an additional
passenger is very small.
Another example: Why is water so cheap while diamonds are
expensive? Because water is plentiful, the marginal benefit of an
additional cup is small. Because diamonds are rare, the marginal benefit
of an extra diamond is high.
People respond to incentives[edit]
People will make decisions based on benefit or detriment.

Anything that brings out a desire to do work.
Incentives may posses a negative or a positive intention. It maybe in a
positve or a negative way.
How People Interact With Each Other
Trade can make everyone better off[edit]
Trade is not like a sports competition, where one side gains and the other
side loses.
Consider trade that takes place inside your home. Your family is likely to
be involved in trade with other families on a daily basis. Most families do not
build their own homes, make their own clothes, or grow their own food.
Countries benefit from trading with one another as well.
Trade allows for specialization in products that benefits countries (or
families)
Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity[edit]

Many countries that once had centrally planned economies have abandoned this
system and are trying to develop market economies.
Definition of market economy: an economy that allocates resources

through the decentralized decisions of many firms and households as they
interact in markets for goods and services.
Market prices reflect both the value of a product to consumers and the
cost of the resources used to produce it.
Centrally planned economies have failed because they did not allow the
market to work.
Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand
Adam Smiths 1776 work suggested that although individuals are

motivated by self-interest, an invisible hand guides this self-interest into
promoting societys economic well-being.
Governments can sometimes improve market outcomes[edit]

There are two broad reasons for the government to interfere with the economy:
the promotion of efficiency and equity.
Government policy can be most useful when there is market failure.
Definition of market failure: a situation in which a market left on

its own fails to allocate resources efficiently.
Examples of Market Failure
Definition of externality: the impact of one persons actions on the
well-being of a bystander. (Ex.: Pollution)
Definition of market power: the ability of a single economic actor
(or small group of actors) to have a substantial influence on market prices.
Because a market economy rewards people for their ability to
produce things that other people are willing to pay for, there will be an
unequal distribution of economic prosperity.
Note that the principle states that the government can improve market
outcomes. This is not saying that the government always does improve
market outcomes.
The Forces and Trends That Affect How The Economy

as a Whole Works
The standard of living depends on a countrys production[edit]
Differences in the standard of living from one country to another are

quite large.
Changes in living standards over time are also quite large.
The explanation for differences in living standards lies in differences in
productivity.
Definition of productivity: the quantity of goods and services produced
from each hour of a workers time.
High productivity implies a high standard of living.
Thus, policymakers must understand the impact of any policy on our
ability to produce goods and services.
To boost living standards the policy makers need to raise productivity by
ensuring that workers are well educated, have the tools needed to produce
goods and services, and have access to the best available technology.
Prices rise when the government prints too much money[edit]
Definition of inflation: an increase in the overall level of prices in the

economy.
When the government creates a large amount of money, the value of
money falls.
Examples: Germany after World War I (in the early 1920s) and the
United States in the 1970s
Society faces a short-run trade off between inflation and

unemployment[edit]
Most economists believe that the short-run effect of a monetary injection

(injecting/adding money into the economy) is lower unemployment and
higher prices.
An increase in the amount of money in the economy stimulates

spending and increases the demand of goods and services in the economy.
Higher demand may over time cause firms to raise their prices but
in the meantime, it also encourages them to increase the quantity of
goods and services they produce and to hire more workers to produce
those goods and services. More hiring means lower unemployment.
Some economists question whether this relationship still exists.

The short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment plays a
key role in analysis of the business cycle.
Definition of business cycle: fluctuations in economic activity, such as
employment and production.
Policymakers can exploit this trade-off by using various policy
instruments, but the extent and desirability of these interventions is a subject
of continuing debate

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How People Make Decisions

People face trade-offs[edit]

The cost of something is what you give up to get it[edit]

Rational people think at the margin[edit]

Economists generally assume that people are rational.

Example: Suppose that flying a 200-seat plane across the country

People respond to incentives[edit]

People will make decisions based on benefit or detriment.

Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity[edit]

Definition of market economy: an economy that allocates resources

Adam Smiths 1776 work suggested that although individuals are

Governments can sometimes improve market outcomes[edit]

Government policy can be most useful when there is market failure.

Definition of market failure: a situation in which a market left on

The Forces and Trends That Affect How The Economy

The standard of living depends on a countrys production[edit]

Differences in the standard of living from one country to another are

Prices rise when the government prints too much money[edit]

Definition of inflation: an increase in the overall level of prices in the

Society faces a short-run trade off between inflation and

Most economists believe that the short-run effect of a monetary injection

An increase in the amount of money in the economy stimulates

Some economists question whether this relationship still exists.

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