ECO 1102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Bain Capital, Microeconomics, Invisible Hand

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Economics
• Course: ECO 1102
• Professor: David Gray

Document Summary

Greatest contribution was seeing how markets function. All economic agents are motivated by greed rather than generosity . Due to the forces of competition, everyone"s greed is channeled by the invisible hand" such that it serves the common good: my greed is offset by your greed. Economics is supposed to be a social science. Social in that it deals with human behaviour. Science in that there should be some method involved: draw up a conjecture that aims to explain some economic phenomenon, attempt to find evidence to prove it! Proposition: increases in the minimum wage lead to decreases in employment, all other factors held constant: warning: keep your mind open. If so, there is evidence that the minimum wage kills jobs". Proposition: increases in the minimum wage lead to decreases in employment, all other factors held constant: warning: keep your mind closed.