Why Can’t We Have Everything We Want? | Scarcity & Choice
We live in a world of scarcity. This fact is beyond question. Our time, land, and work are scarce. Producer and consumer goods are scarce as well. Human needs, however, are limitless. Economics studies [...]
Housing bubble and the great recession
Without a question we can all remember the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Perhaps you learned of its effects the hard way. The media told us that greed and excessive risk were responsible. Some economists, [...]
The Great Depression | What Caused It?
The Great Depression of the 1930s is still considered by many to be a failure of the free market and of the laissez-faire capitalism. At a first glance, it may very well seem so. [...]
Is legal the same as moral?
Freedom of the market doesn’t imply the absence of law. To the contrary: free market is impossible without good law. Then what function should the law fulfill? If something is legal, then is it [...]
Exports and Imports – Protectionism, Tariffs and Who Benefits From Them
What do we pay with for the products and services we need? With money, of course. But if we realize that money is merely a medium of exchange, then what do we ultimately pay [...]
Division of Labor and Free Trade – Comparative advantage
How hard would it be for one man to live if he had to do everything by himself? Let me rephrase the question. Imagine if the Econ Clips team would fly you [...]
Where do jobs come from? Employment vs self-employment
Where do jobs come from? Why do all people not just work on their own? Everyone strives to make the most effective use of their resources to meet their needs as [...]
4 Questions to Ask When Debating Inequality
The change in the presidency is not going to reduce the amount of time and energy people will be spending debating the question of rising inequality. In fact, I would expect to see such [...]
Is government spending effective?
Let us start by asserting that the money the government holds is not its own. In general the government does not produce anything, nor create wealth, nor even create jobs. If we are lucky, [...]
Price system: free market vs. government intervention
What is the role of the prices on the market? What happens when the government interferes with the market and sets a maximum or minimum price at a level other than the free market would? [...]