Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Intro to Economics

September 26, 2017

Introduction to price discrimination

Note: This is post #50 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Price discrimination is common, says economist Tyler Cowen. Movie theaters charge seniors less money than they charge young adults and computer software companies sell to businesses and students at different rates, often offering discounts to students. Continue Reading...
September 12, 2017

The monopoly markup

Note: This is post #48 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Ever wonder why pharmaceuticals are so expensive? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Alex Tabarrok shows how low elasticity of demand results in monopoly markups. Continue Reading...
August 29, 2017

The balance of industries and creative destruction

Note: This is post #46 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Why are price signals and market competition so important to a market economy? When prices accurately signal costs and benefits and markets are competitive, the Invisible Hand ensures that costs are minimized and production is maximized, explains Alex Tabarrok. Continue Reading...
August 15, 2017

Entry, exit, and supply curves: Constant costs

Note: This is post #45 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Industries that have a flat supply curve are called “constant cost” industries. An example is domain name registration: to increase the supply of domain names, we must only increase the inputs by a negligible amount. Continue Reading...
August 08, 2017

Entry, exit, and supply curves: Increasing Costs

Note: This is post #44 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. As industry’s output increases, what happens to costs? Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution University look at three options: an increasing cost industry, a constant cost industry, and a decreasing cost industry. Continue Reading...
August 01, 2017

Maximizing profit and the average cost curve

Note: This is post #43 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. For companies, being able to predict expected profits—or expected losses—is a very useful tool. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Alex Tabarrok introduces the third concept you need to maximize profit — average cost. Continue Reading...