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Basic economic concepts

Basic economic concepts . Scarcity and Choice Opportunity cost. Human wants. Unlimited wants. Resources. used to produce goods / services to satisfy human wants limited in supply scarce: i.e. their quantities are insufficient to satisfy all human wants . Types of resources.

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Basic economic concepts

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  1. Basic economic concepts • Scarcity and Choice • Opportunity cost

  2. Human wants • Unlimited wants

  3. Resources • used to produce goods / services to satisfy human wants • limited in supply • scarce: i.e. their quantities are insufficient to satisfy all human wants

  4. Types of resources • Natural resources: e.g. sunshine, rain, crude oil • Human resources: labour service • Man made resources: e.g. machines, equipments

  5. Scarcity • Meaning: Resources are insufficient to satisfy ALL human wants • A relative concept: we want more than we have • Basic economic problem in human societies

  6. Do they face scarcity problem? • United States • Hong Kong • North Korea • Africa

  7. Is sea water scarce? • Is it fixed in supply? • Do we want more sea water than we have? • Sea water is not scarce

  8. Are they scarce? • Sunshine in Thailand • A free sample of candies given at a shopping centre • Fresh air in a café with many smokers • Sand in the desert

  9. Are they scarce? • Sunshine in Thailand  • A free sample of candies given at a shopping centre  • Fresh air in a café with many smokers  • Sand in the desert 

  10. Competition • We compete for the use of limited resources • 2 ways of competition • Price competition • Non price competition e.g. waiting, examination, lucky draw, violence…

  11. Making choices • Which restaurant will you go for lunch? • What would you like to study at university? • What will you buy with $100? CD or dress ? • Which girl (boy) will you marry?

  12. What is economics? • It studies how we allocate the limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants

  13. Opportunity cost • Opportunity cost is the highest-valued option forgone

  14. Choice among options • Rank options according to a person’s preference order • Option 1 going to cinema • Option 2 going to sing karaoke • Option 3 sleeping at home

  15. What is the cost of going to the cinema? • Going to sing karaoke (highest-valued option forgone) • We cannot choose option 2 and option 3 at the same time, we only forgo option 2 when we select option 1

  16. Choosing a career / job • Option 1 being an actress ( $10 Mn. p.a.) • Option 2 being a nurse ( $ 0.5 Mn. p.a.) • . • Income forgone being an actress < income forgone being a nurse • Cost being an actress < cost being a nurse • Choose the job with the lowest opportunity cost

  17. More elderly found in queues • Before festivals, wait for gifts (rice, mooncakes, red envelopes etc) • In public clinics • Income forgone by elderly < income forgone by working persons • Cost of waiting by elderly < cost of waiting by working persons

  18. Full cost • Option 1 going to a 1 hour concert and pays $200 for a ticket • Option 2 working in Park’n as a salesman earning $30 per hour • Option 3 working as a tutor earning $100 per hour • Full cost of attending the concert = price of ticket + income forgone (highest-valued option forgone) • Full cost of attending the concert = $200 + $100 = $300

  19. Complimentary tickets • Going to Hong Kong Disneyland • Ticket : Free of charge • Money spent on food, transport..=$200 • Income forgone = $500 • Full cost of going for Disneyland (HK) =$700

  20. Is Time a cost? • Price of a mobile phone =$1 800 • Search = one evening • Income forgone while searching = $200 • Opportunity cost of buying the mobile phone is $2 000

  21. Uses of a flat • Mrs Lo has the following options for her flat in Shatin : • Option 1 Owner occupied • Option 2 Vacant • Option 3 Lease with a rental income $50 000 per year • Suppose she chooses to live in her flat, what is her cost of living in that flat?

  22. Social Cost • Building a new railway $100 million • Creating pollution nearby (e.g. cutting trees, noises) $5 million • Social cost of building highway • = private cost + external cost • = $105 million

  23. Questions & Answers

  24. Q1 Miss Cheng could spend two hours at a concert or tutoring a student at $70 per hour. She could use the time on painting instead and earn a total of $170. If the price of the concert ticket is $250, what is the opportunity cost of her choice of going to the concert? A. $410 B. $420 C. $430 D $440 Answer : C. $430

  25. Q2 Mary has accumulated 20 Coupons. What is the opportunity cost to her if she uses them to exchange for one camera? A.Cup B. Bag C. Cup and Bag D. Cup or Bag Answer: C. Cup and Bag

  26. Q3 A. Once a choice is made, the problem of scarcity is solved. B. A good is scarce if not everyone has it. Which of the following statements about scarcity is true? C. Scarcity means unlimited human wants. D. Both rich people and poor people face the problem of scarcity. Answer: D

  27. Which of the following are opportunity costs of attending school? (1) Poor examination results (2) Income forgone (3) School fees (4) Expenditure on dinners Q4 A. (1) and (4) only B. (1) and (3) only C. (2) and (3) only Answer: D. (2) and (4) only C. (2) and (3) only

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