Tag: Opportunity Cost
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How Global Conflicts Impact Gas Prices in Canada and the US
Why would a war on the other side of the world raise oil and gas prices in countries, such as Canada and the United States, that are net exporters? The explanation is both simple and has profound implications for behaviour and for government policy.
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Understanding Market Shortages: Oil, Concert Tickets, and College Basketball
Economists often talk about how markets adjust to shocks with relative ease. Recent news offers three prominent examples of markets with excess demand: world oil and gas, reselling concert tickets, and college basketball. These examples are newsworthy for the same reason even if the “solutions” differ. Not everybody is happy with the “solutions” and that…
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The Girl Who Cried Pearls: A Hidden Economic Masterpiece
A previous post noted that many movies contain economic lessons. The purpose of this very short post is to encourage you to watch The Girl who Cried Pearls for many reasons. It won an Oscar for Animated Short Film last night, which adds to the NFB‘s long list of awards. I think that this story…
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Understanding Seasonal Trends in Toy Sales
A lot of toys are bought during December, and the news makes it seem as if Christmas spending plans are important news. Christmas and birthday are likely to be the two biggest reasons to buy toys for a child. “Canadian toy and games sales generated almost $7.3 billion in retail store sales in 2022”. Most…
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Trick or Treat: Lessons in Economics
Halloween is an odd event because it is so silly: people dress up in scary costumes and, for one night in the year, anybody who knocks on the door is given candy. This post notes six lessons involving economics, not including the incentive/threat implied by the phrase “Trick or Treat”.
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The Truth About Investing in Fractional Shares: Marginal Thinking Explained
You may have seen the ads from banks suggesting investors should buy fractions of a share of a company. Normally, I applaud anybody who thinks on the margin. This post applies marginal thinking to this suggestion and argues that, with one exception, buying a fraction of a share displays ignorance or narrowness of thinking.
5 Basic Principles of Economics 