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Economics is the study of the '''''transfer''''' of goods and services.  What determines the '''''price''''' and '''''quantity''''' of goods transferred?  How much must a buyer pay for the good (the price), and how many units of the good (the quantity) will the seller be able to sell at that price?

Economics is the study of the '''''transfer''''' of goods and services.  What determines the '''''price''''' and '''''quantity''''' of goods transferred?  How much must a buyer pay for the good (the price), and how many units of the good (the quantity) will the seller be able to sell at that price?

Let's take an example.  Suppose you '''''own''''' a candy store, and you sell chocolate candy bars.  What price should you use to sell those candy bars?  If you sell them for $1 each, many people will buy them.  But if you charge $5 per candy bar, fewer will buy them at that price.  Your quantity of goods sold will be much less.  If, on the other hand, you sell the candy bars for only 10 cents per bar, you'll sell out quickly as people rush to buy the bars at that low price.  It might seem like you'd be happy at selling so many, but you make much less money overall at 10 cents per bar than at $1 per bar.  As the candy store owner you're worse off if you set the price at only 10 cents per bar, because you receive too little for each bar, and you're worse off if you set the price at $5 per bar, because you sell too few bars.  The best price for you to use for the candy bars is probably around $1 per bar.

Let's take an example.  Suppose you '''''own''''' a candy store, and you sell chocolate candy bars.  What price should you use to sell those candy bars?  If you sell them for $1 each, many people will buy them.  But if you charge $5 per candy bar, fewer will buy them at that price.  Your quantity of goods sold will be much less.  If, on the other hand, you sell the candy bars for only 10 cents per bar, you'll sell out quickly as people rush to buy the bars at that low price.  It might seem like you'd be happy at selling so many, but you make much less money overall at 10 cents per bar than at $1 per bar.  As the candy store owner you're worse off if you set the price at only 10 cents per bar, because you receive too little for each bar, and you're worse off if you set the price at $5 per bar, because you sell too few bars.  The price at which you make the most money is probably around $1 per bar.

The above example is the sale of a good (a candy bar).  The same analysis applies to the sale of services (such as a car mechanic repairing cars).  People sell their time as much as they sell what they own.  In this sense, "'''''time is money'''''" because time can be converted into money by spending that time working.  You could convert 8 hours of time into about $60 by working at McDonalds, for example.

The above example is the sale of a good (a candy bar).  The same analysis applies to the sale of services (such as a car mechanic repairing cars).  People sell their time as much as they sell what they own.  In this sense, "'''''time is money'''''" because time can be converted into money by spending that time working.  You could convert 8 hours of time into about $60 by working at McDonalds, for example.

We could spend the remainder of this course on pricing goods and services.  Millions of businesses succeed or fail based on how they price their goods or services.  Price fluctuations, such as the repeated increase in gas prices, can surprise even experts in economics.  But amid all that is not understood, there are some simple truths that can be learned.

Millions of businesses succeed or fail based on how they price their goods or services.  Price fluctuations, such as the repeated increase in gas prices, can surprise even experts in economics.  But amid all that is not understood, there are some simple truths that can be learned.

== Price of Stocks ==

== Price of Stocks ==