For economists, a ‘need’ and a ‘want’ are defined as: Need: something you must have, in order to survive Want: something you desire but it is not essential Economics is the study of how we allocate the scarce resources available to us to maximise the opportunity to meet as many of these needs and wants as possible. What makes this even more difficult is that, whilst our needs may have some limit, our ‘wants’ are unlimited and different for each individual. As a consequence, not all wants will be met.

Activity: The next slide shows the findings from a UK survey which asked a group of men and women which items they most wanted (to maximise their happiness). Some of the items belonged to the top 10 list for women, some belonged to the top 10 list for men and some belonged to both lists. Your task is to categorise the items.

Both women and men MEN WOMEN Home Photographs of deceased relatives Wedding ring Car Family photos Smartphone Family pet Laptop MEN WOMEN Engagement ring Jewellery Photo of significant other Computer Childhood pictures

Photographs of deceased relatives Family photos Home Photographs of deceased relatives Family pet Car Wedding ring Smartphone Photo of significant other Engagement ring Jewellery Laptop Childhood pictures Computer MEN WOMEN