[00:00.00]In this course, we’ll look at the basic problems every economy must face. [00:05.19]We’ll focus on the modern industrial economy, and how it solves the problems of what, how, and for whom goods are produced. [00:15.00]We’ll examine the market mechanism, how the problems of production are solved through a system of markets and prices.
[00:22.98]The market system isn’t perfect. [00:25.76]In fact, it’s far from perfect, but it’s one way to solve the problems of production. [00:31.07]Let me just say one thing before we go on. [00:34.09]No human economy today is purely a market economy. [00:38.56]What we have in most capitalist societies today is known as a mixed economy.
[00:44.84]In a mixed economy, the markets and the government share economic control over the direction of the market. [00:52.31]The government has an important role in regulating business activity. [00:57.29]A pure market system would have no government intervention—just consumers and businesses interacting through markets to determine the answers to the basic questions of economic organization.
[01:11.55]OK. It’s essential to understand how a pure market system works. [01:16.87]Basically, it works like this: consumers are kind of like voters. [01:22.26]They use their money like votes to buy what they want. [01:26.32]My votes compete with your votes over the goods we both want to buy. [01:31.40]The consumers with the most dollar votes have the most influence over what gets produced and to whom goods go. [01:40.47]In economics, the consumer is king.
[01:43.69]The consumer is like a king—or a dictator, really, if we’re talking about a pure market system. [01:51.39]In a pure market, the consumer would dictate the type and quantity and price of the goods that get produced. [01:59.44]Of course, it’s not exactly like that in the real world because real consumers don’t always have complete information about goods, and, of course, real consumers can be influenced by advertising.
[02:13.08]OK. Let’s take a look at how the consumer’s money votes operate in the marketplace. [02:19.34]What I mean is, we’ll examine the theory of the two central economic forces: supply and demand, and how they influence each other and are eventually brought into balance by the price of the good.
[02:33.39]First, let’s consider demand. [02:36.41]In economics, “demand” refers to the amount of a good or service that people are ready to buy. [02:43.29]Generally speaking, the quantity that people will buy depends on the price. [02:48.93]The higher the price of a good, the less of it people will buy. [02:53.25]The lower the price, the more they’ll buy. [02:56.65]So you can see there’s a definite relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded. [03:03.69]The connection between price and quantity is clear. [03:08.17]When the price of a good is raised, consumer demand for it goes down. [03:13.43]But when the price falls, demand increases, as more people will be willing and able to buy it at a lower price.
[03:23.02]OK. That’s demand. [03:25.66]Now, what about supply? [03:27.30]In economics, “supply” means how much of a good producers are willing to supply. [03:33.33]Goods are supplied by businesses. [03:36.29]Businesses—if they’re competitive—they don’t supply goods for fun. [03:41.36]They supply goods for profit. [03:43.66]They’ll supply more of a good when the price is high because it’s more profitable to do so. [03:50.03]But when the price is low, producers will choose to supply some other more profitable good instead.
[03:57.83]I’ve just given you the briefest summary of market economics. [04:02.34]Tomorrow we’ll look at just how supply and demand work in a real-world mixed economy. [04:08.68]We’ll see how the market price of a good is a function of supply and demand ... how the price is a sort of agreement between the people who sell a good and the people who buy it.
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