Economics Basic foundations to help us understand the economic impact of historical events on society

What is economics?  Economics is all about people trying to get what they want.  A person is part of an economy when he or she runs a business or works at a job.  A person is part of an economy when he or she decides how to spend and save his or her money.  You are a part of the economy when you 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.

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.

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  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 about what you are going to buy!

What is a consumer?  A consumer is a person who uses goods and/or services.

Allocation  Allocation is how we distribute our goods.  This is how we pass out the goods.

Marketplace  A marketplace is a location where goods and services are exchanged.  What are some examples of marketplaces that we go to today?

Economic impact  Events in history have had economic impact on society.  Jobs could be created, jobs could be lost.  Demand for goods could be created, demand for goods could decrease.  Certain services may be required, and other services may not be needed.  The list of economic impact possibilities is infinite.