Kurt Bills Quotes

Since scarcity is the basic economic problem, if it does not exist then there is no reason for my economics course. Devoting time to the study of how people use limited resources to fulfill unlimited wants and needs should help us to discover how to best utilize the resources we have at our disposal.

Economics is a choice between alternatives all the time. Those are the trade-offs.

As an economist, I'm aware that life is full of trade offs.

In economics, one of the most important concepts is 'opportunity cost' - the idea that once you spend your money on something, you can't spend it again on something else.

The tradition of Chicago price theory is a good one, and it is a low-tech methodology that tries to apply simple economic theory to the world.

Neoclassical economics insists that advertising cannot force consumers to buy anything they don't already want to buy.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.

There is a supply for every demand.

A consumer doesn't take anything away: he doesn't actually consume anything. Giving the same thing to a thousand consumers is not really any more expensive than giving it to just one.

Economics is everywhere, and understanding economics can help you make better decisions and lead a happier life.

The dictates of economics, that "dismal science," limit the benefits of medical science

Economics is not about goods and services; it is about human choice and action.

The fundamental problem of society is that demands are infinite and resources are always limited

We make choices every single day of our lives and those choices mean we must give up something in exchange for another. In economics it's called an 'opportunity cost.'

Perhaps the most widespread misunderstanding of economics is that it applies solely to financial transactions. Frequently this leads to statements that "there are noneconomic values" to consider. There are, of course, noneconomic values. Indeed, there are only noneconomic values. Economics is not a value itself but merely a method of trading off one value against another.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Do not get yourself into the illusion that there is something so unique about the question of organ or body parts ... that the general rules of economics do not apply.

When you take the entire system into account, ways of developing more of something in one dimension can actually create scarcities in another. If we say we have to increase production because people need more food, more housing, more meat, or more milk, we can make one thing grow in a certain way. But by doing that we create externalities so that there are scarcities in other related things.

Prices impose the most effective kind of rationing - self-rationing. Why is rationing necessary? Because what everybody wants always adds up to more than there is. . .Resources are limited but desires are not. That is the basic and defining problem of economics.

Economics is a subject that does not greatly respect one's wishes.

Teach a parrot the terms 'supply and demand' and you've got an economist.

Everything we do in public policy prevents us from doing something else. To govern is to choose.

I tell my micro students everything I teach them is important, but the truth is that some things are more useful than others, and opportunity cost is near the top.

Because economics is all about optimising, doing the best you can with what you have - it's usually the first place you should look for answers if you want to maximise your happiness.