Opportunity Cost

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Everyone in life has made sacrifices. Historical periods have experienced years of giving up something in exchange for another. It occurs on such a daily basis that we don't even notice we do it. But every choice has a cost, no matter how greatly or how little its extension may reach. Nothing in life is free, and everything comes with a price, be it monetary or not. The phrase for this is opportunity cost, and it's an essential concept for everyday life that will impact an individual by understanding it.
In the economics textbook, McConnell defines opportunity cost as, “sacrifices….to obtain more of one thing, society forgoes the opportunity of getting the next best thing” (McConnell, 2012, pg 4). As implied in the introduction, we make daily …show more content…

We’re giving up one movie for another. Clearly, this decision won’t drastically affect our lives in the future; college, on the other hand, most likely will. One recent, real-life example of a meaningful, life-altering choice deals with Hurricane Harvey. Many celebrities donated thousands, and some millions, of dollars for relief and support in Texas. They also set up funds for people to donate money to. Some even visited Houston and went to work rebuilding and sustaining the population. They could've spent their time and/or money elsewhere, but they chose to put it to use helping others. Opportunity cost is tied into several other economics concepts: the law of increasing opportunity cost and scarcity. It’s such an important part of economics that it ties into other topics, and connects itself in meaningful ways. The law of increasing opportunity cost states that there is a procedural process, and as we produce more of a good, the harder it is to continue producing it (Academia.edu). In other words, the more we have of something the less we're going to want of it. If I have a cell phone, which I know is an expensive good, I'm less likely to purchase another one unless I think it will increase my utility. The second related concept is scarcity. Scarcity is having a lack of something, or a

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