NEW214Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Noble Eightfold Path, Buddhist Economics, Consumerism
Document Summary
Economists: try to explain the world using models with appropriate assumptions: go on to advise policy based on their conclusions, models are highly simplified (generalizations of our behaviour) Households: own the factors of production, sell/rent them to firms for income. Firms: buy/hire factors of production, use them to produce goods and services. Supply: represents how much a market can offer. Demand: represents how much of a product or service is desired by buyers. Economics = quantifiable science (no abstract values) An economist may conclude that drinking in a nightclub does more for the economy than listening to a religious talk or volunteering for humanitarian work. The latter does not contribute to the economic cycle. Science shows us only that which concerns the material world. Cannot be a self-contained science (concerns unquantifiable date as well) A country"s economy would fall if it"s citizens rid themselves of desire, i. e, buying.
