Question

1.1 What Is Economics, and Why Is It Important? Book by Opens a Back Next C Summary Economics is the study of how humans make decisions in the face of scarcity. These can be individual decisions, family decisions, business decisions or societal decisions. If you look around carefully, you will see that scarcity is a fact of life. Scarcity means that human wants for goods, services and resources exceed what is available. Resources, such as labor, tools, land, and raw materials are necessary to produce the goods and services we want but they exist in limited supply. Of course, the ultimate scarce resource is time- everyone, rich or poor, has just 24 expendable hours in the day to earn income to acquire goods and services, for leisure time, or for sleep. At any point in time, there is only a finite amount of resources available. Think about it this way: In 2015 the labor force in the United States contained over 158 million workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total land area was 3,794,101 square miles. While these are certainly large numbers, they are not infinite. Because these resources are limited, so are the numbers of goods and services we produce with them. Combine this with the fact that human wants seem to be virtually Infinite, and you can see why scarcity is a problem. A. Your response: Consider the topics covered in section 1.1 of your text. 1. Using your own life, let us know if you find your time scarce. Why? Why not? What are the things that you do? What activities do you have to choose between? 2. Explain how the division of labor and specialization impacts your life (Hint: consider all the goods and services you consume. Who makes them?).

Answer 1

Yes, I find time scarce because the total time that I have to finish my jobs is not sufficient. It's because of some external factors that put a hindrance in between jobs. I have set my time to finish all my jobs but the external factors put limit on the time that I have.

The things I do are yoga and exercise, reading, teaching, doing some household chores and looking after my family members.

I have to choose between yoga and household chores. Household chores are indispensable, I can't avoid that. If I have to live I have to cook and clean my home, I can't avoid it. But yoga and exercises can be avoidable for a day or two when I am too busy in my work. If I am doing my household chores, then I am partly doing my exercises, there is movement of body parts in performing household stuffs. So I can choose one from exercise and household chores. But I can't choose between other activities which are important and most crucial for me.

2. Yes, division of labor and specialization impacts my life. I consume the goods which are already produced by someone, I need to only cook the finished products. If I have to grow or process the food products which I am consuming then it will be time-consuming. Special thanks to them who produces food for us. I can manage my time if I divide my labor in between me and a maid. She will do cleaning work and I can save time for my reading or my profession. Sometimes I divide my household activities with my family members so that I will get enough time for other activities.

I can specialize in a particular work when I devote most of my time and effort on that work. Output also increases when I specialize in one type of activity. I love reading and teaching, when I devote most of my time and effort in these two activities, I can gain more knowledge and money from my profession. So division of labor and specialization both have special impacts on my life. When I divide my work, I can specialize myself in a particular task.