Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Intro to Economics

May 09, 2017

What is comparative advantage?

Note: This is post #32 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What is comparative advantage? And why is it important to trade? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Don Boudreaux guides us through a specific example surrounding Tasmania — an island off the coast of Australia that experienced the miracle of growth in reverse. Continue Reading...
May 02, 2017

The big ideas of trade

Note: This is post #31 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Trade makes people better off, but how? In this video economist Tyler Cowen discuss the importance of specialization and division of knowledge, and how specialization leads to improvements in knowledge, which then lead to improvements in productivity. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2017

Price Controls and Communism

Note: This is post #30 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What happens when price controls are used in communist countries? As Alex Tabarrok explains, all of the effects of price controls become amplified: there are even more shortages or surpluses of goods, lower product quality, longer lines and more search costs, more losses in gains from trade, and more misallocation of resources. Continue Reading...
April 18, 2017

Why do governments enact price controls?

Note: This is post #29 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. If price controls have negative consequences—and they do—then why do governments enact them? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok looks at the example of President Nixon’s wage and price controls in the 1970s. Continue Reading...
April 04, 2017

The minimum wage as a price floor

Note: This is post #27 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Minimum wages are a type of price floor, and as with all prices floors, when prices are kept artificially high they can lead to several consequences that hurt the consumer. Continue Reading...
March 21, 2017

How price controls can hurt the poor

Note: This is post #25 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Suppose there is a mild winter on the West Coast and a harsh winter on the East Coast, says Alex Tabarrok, in this video by Marginal Revolution University. Continue Reading...