Economics

What is economics? Economics is a story of people trying to get all the things they want. People are a part of an economy when they run a business or work at a job. People are part of an economy when they decide how to spend and save their money. You are a part of the economy when decide how to earn and spend your money.

Economy The way a country manages its money and resources (such as workers and land) to produce, buy, and sell goods and services. The United States has a free-market economy. That means people can freely buy and trade goods and services.

Needs Something we must have in order to survive.

Wants Something someone would like to have.

Scarcity Did you ever want to buy several different things, but only have enough money for one? Did you ever want to be in two different places at the same time? If so, you were facing the economic problem of scarcity. Scarcity is not being able to have everything we want.

Choice Did you ever get a gift of money and make a list of the things you wanted to buy? You probably discovered that you could not buy everything you wanted. Scarcity means we can never have everything we want. If you had a long list of wants, you probably had to pick the item on the list that was your favorite. You probably thought about the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. Choice is making the decision of what you are going to buy!

Opportunity Cost When making a choice between two things, the thing you choose to give up in order to get something else.

Goods & Services Goods are products like cars, computers, or even corn. Services are duties performed by one person for another, such as teaching and transportation. The price of each good or service is determined not by the government but by demand. Demand is a measure of how many people want to buy a particular good or service.

What is a consumer? Someone who consumes something! But what does it mean to consume something? A consumer is a person that uses any goods or services.