27
ECONOMICS CONCEPTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Economics In Everyday LIfe

  • Upload
    mrred

  • View
    36.732

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ECONOMICS CONCEPTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Page 2: Economics In Everyday LIfe

Use Economic Concepts to explain the following questions.

Page 3: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 1 Why do the keypad buttons on drive-up

machines have Braille dots??

Page 4: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER

ATM producers have to make keypads with Braille dots for their walk-up machines anyway, and so it is cheaper to make all machines the same way

If the Braille dots caused trouble for sighted users, the extra expense might be justified. But they do not.

Page 5: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 2

Why does a light come on when you open the refrigerator but not when you open the freezer?

Page 6: Economics In Everyday LIfe

POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Most people open the fridge more than the freezer, thus placing a greater benefit on opening the refrigerator.

People Benefit More from having a light in the fridge than in the freezer.

Page 7: Economics In Everyday LIfe

Why are gas tanks on the driver’s side of some cars but on the passenger’s side of others?

Question 4

Page 8: Economics In Everyday LIfe
Page 9: Economics In Everyday LIfe

Answer: • Gas lines would be longer.

Page 10: Economics In Everyday LIfe

Why do many fast food restaurants promise a free meal if you are not given a receipt at the time? purchase?

Question 5

Page 11: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER

To make sure cashiers do not steal. Sales are monitored when rung up.

It is cheaper to give a free meal than to hire supervisors to monitor a cashier all day

Page 12: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 6

Why is milk sold in rectangular containers, while soft drinks are sold in round ones?

Page 13: Economics In Everyday LIfe
Page 14: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER

Rectangular containers use shelf space more economically.

Soft drinks are consumed directly by the container, the extra cost is justified because it is easier to hold.

Page 15: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 7

Gold sells for the same price in New York and London.

Why does an ounce of gold not sell for $800 in NY and $900 in London?

Page 16: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 8 Cars in Europe

have much smaller engines, usually no larger than 4 cylinders.

The BMW 5 series in Europe is usually 1.6 liters and 4 cyllinders, while in the US the smallest option availabe is a 3 liter, 6 cylinder engine.

Page 17: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWERGas is much more expensive in Europe due to higher gas taxes. Europe’s gas is up to 2X as expensive as the US

Toyota’s new car

Page 18: Economics In Everyday LIfe
Page 19: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 9

Why are child safety seats required in cars but not in airplanes?

Page 20: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER An extra seat may

cost at least $1000 or more on a flight

As the father of three, I hate to admit it, but those extra seats would be very expensive!

Hold you kids tight on the plane, and hope for the best!

Page 21: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 10

Why does an accident in the northbound lanes of traffic cause a traffic jam in the southbound lanes?

Page 22: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER Here is a simple cost-benefit calculation

The cost of slowing down to look close at the accident scene is that they will be delayed by several seconds.

The Benefit, by doing so, a driver will satisfy their curiosity. The benefit usually exceeds the cost for most drivers.

However, if everyone slows down, there could be a delay as long as 1 HOUR per driver!

Page 23: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 11

Why do airlines charge much more for tickets purchased at the last minute while Broadway theaters follow the opposite practice?

Page 24: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER

To buy at TKTS, you must wait about an hour or more.

Tickets are not often available for the most popular shows.

Many high-income people are unlikely to stand in line for an hour to save a few bucks.

Page 25: Economics In Everyday LIfe

QUESTION 11

Why do female models earn so much more than male models?

Page 26: Economics In Everyday LIfe

Supermodel Giselle made between 15 to 30 million dollars last year. No male model made more than ONE million!

Page 27: Economics In Everyday LIfe

ANSWER

Women spend 2X as much on clothes as men. Women widely read fashion magazines. Could

you even name one Male fashion magazine? Women who can capture the attention of a

reader amongst the 1000’s of pictures are worth their weight in gold.

So it is easy to see why manufactures might be willing to bid a lot more for a model who stands out even slightly from the field.

DID YOU KNOW: The September, 2007 issue of Vouge has 727 pages of Ads!