Reflections on reading economics 1

This book mainly uses the principles of economics, gives many small examples and discusses interesting problems in our personal observation or behavior patterns. The opportunity cost of engaging in an activity refers to the value of other things you give up in order to engage in this activity. One of the best ways to learn is to describe it. Because our species has become good at telling stories in the process of evolution, almost everyone can easily absorb greetings expressed in narrative form. Finally, the principle of cost-effectiveness is introduced. Cost-effectiveness is the source of all economic concepts. It suggests that you should only do this if the extra benefits brought by the action exceed the extra costs.

Open this book with these simple knowledge.

1. Product design should not only include the functions that best meet the wishes of consumers, but also meet the needs of sellers to keep the price low and facilitate competition. In other words, product design must strike a balance between the two. The function of product design should also conform to the principle of cost performance. For example, if you open the refrigerator, the freezer will light up, but the freezer will not.

2. Supply and demand. The greatest value of an e-commerce company lies not in the extent to which it may improve productivity, but in how much profit it has created. In the long run, the cost saved by new technology will not bring higher profits to producers, but reduce the price of products and benefit consumers. The demand for a particular product is a measure of how many people are willing to buy it. The supply of a particular product is a concise measure of how many producers are willing to provide the product for sale. For example, why do many computer manufacturers offer free soft armor whose market price exceeds the computer itself?

3. The basic principle of competitive labor market is that above the break-even point, employees' wages are roughly proportional to the value they create for their employers.

In practical products, especially in the market of expensive products, the possibility of arbitrage limits the ability of monopolists to charge high prices to special buyers. The seller allows the customer to buy at a discount price, but only if the customer has to skip a certain threshold first.

5. The market's pursuit of personal interests often benefits everyone. Pursuing personal interests can often enable him to promote social interests more effectively under the true intention. When personal benefits exceed personal costs, individuals will take action.

6. Adam Smith's invisible hand, based on the following implicit premise, personal return depends only on absolute performance. But in fact, most things in life are determined by relative position.

There are two kinds of buyers in the market, one is people who don't know what they are doing, and the other is people who don't know what they are doing. The first kind of buyers, because of lack of knowledge, don't understand what the visible connection between price and quality means, and sometimes they can limit their losses.

8. Per capita income is the biggest difference among countries. People with different incomes, regardless of their cultural background, mostly make different choices.

Reflections on reading economics II

Recently, I read the preface of Critique of Political Economy, which was introduced by the teacher. After reading it, I still seem to be puzzled by this article, and the taste is beyond words. It can be roughly summarized as follows: The preface of Critique of Political Economy is a "general statement" written by Marx for Critique of Political Economy, a planned economy work from the end of August to the middle of September 1857. This paper expounds the method of Marxist political economy, that is, the scientific method from abstract to concrete, and expounds the important methodological problems of the relationship between historical investigation and logical analysis in the process of cognition. This is an extremely important Marxist classic document. Engels once spoke highly: "This principle is a revolutionary discovery not only for economics, but also for all historical sciences". There are seven natural paragraphs in the preface of Critique of Political Economy. The first paragraph talks about the writing of Critique of Political Economy. The second paragraph explains why the preface was written. The third, fifth and sixth paragraphs focus on the motivation and process of studying political economy; The fourth paragraph mainly talks about the conclusions drawn through research; The seventh paragraph expresses Marx's attitude towards political economy. The key issue is the motivation, process and conclusion of Marx's study of political economy. In order to form the theory of proletarian revolution, Marx began to systematically study political economy as early as the early 1940s. Because he found that to understand the laws of the capitalist movement, it is necessary to study the development laws of the mode of production.

In this paper, Marx expressed his research results in this way: "People have a certain and inevitable relationship in the social production that does not depend on the will of others, that is, the production relationship that adapts to a certain development stage of their own material productivity. The sum of these relations of production constitutes a social and economic structure, that is, a legal and political superstructure stands on it, and a certain form of social consciousness adapts to it. " This is the conclusion drawn by Marx through studying the principle of political economy-historical materialism, and it is also the basic principle of his study of political economy. The basic point of this conclusion is:

1, the mode of production of material life restricts the whole social life, political life and spiritual life.

Whether material life determines spiritual life or spiritual life determines material life, or whether social existence determines social consciousness or social consciousness determines social existence, different answers to this fundamental question have divided two diametrically opposite historical views: historical materialism and historical idealism. In the preface, Marx expounded the historical materialism principle that the mode of production of material life determines the whole social life in concise language. In other words, in the final analysis, productivity is the most revolutionary factor in social life, and social change always begins with productivity. The development of productive forces promotes the development of human society from the lower stage to the higher stage and promotes historical progress. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has set things right, focusing on modernization and accelerating the development of social productive forces as the basic content of the political line in the new period, which fully conforms to the basic principles of Marxist historical materialism. By studying the preface and clarifying right and wrong from the basic theory, it will help us to further deepen our understanding of the correctness of the line, principles and policies since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee and improve our consciousness of implementing the party's line, principles and policies.

2. Productivity determines relations of production, and economic base determines superstructure.

In the preface, Marx made a scientific analysis of extremely complicated social phenomena from the aspects of productive forces and relations of production, economic base and superstructure, expounded their internal relations, and revealed the universal law that productive forces determine relations of production and economic base determines superstructure, a basic social contradictory movement. Marx pointed out that what kind of productive forces are there, what kind of relations of production are there. This is a basic principle of historical materialism. When Marx wrote the preface, in view of the long-term rule of historical idealism, he emphasized that productivity determines the relations of production and economic base determines the superstructure. However, this does not mean that Marx denies the reaction of the superstructure to the economic base and the reaction of production relations to productivity.

3. The development of material productivity is the ultimate cause of social change.

In the preface, Marx profoundly expounded the roots of social revolution. Social revolution, whether political revolution, ideological revolution or economic revolution, is caused by the development of productive forces. Marx said: "When examining these changes, we must always distinguish between the following two kinds: one is the material change of the economic conditions of production, which can be expressed by the accuracy of natural science, and the other is the legal, political, religious, artistic or philosophical form in which people realize this conflict and strive to overcome it, in short, ideology." Obviously, judging a revolutionary era cannot be based on its consciousness, but can only be explained from the contradiction between productivity and production relations. At the same time, Marx also foresaw the demise of capitalism and the inevitable rise of socialism based on the scientific analysis of the law of social development and bourgeois social contradictions.

A glimpse of the whole leopard shows that Marx's ideological theory really has practical guiding significance. He said: "My opinion, no matter how people comment on it, no matter how it does not conform to the selfish prejudice of the ruling class, is the result of years of honest research. But at the entrance of science, just like at the entrance of hell; All hesitation must be eradicated here, and any cowardice here will not help. " "Now that we have achieved our main goal-figuring out the problem ourselves, we would rather leave the manuscript to the mouse's teeth for criticism." In his preface, he mentioned many times that he should "figure out the problem by himself". Real scholars will deny their research results and then deny them, while people who are eager for quick success are attracted by formalism such as how many papers have been published. Now the society is too impetuous, and Marx's research spirit is worth learning, especially for us college students. It inspires us to explore the truth, learn knowledge and gain knowledge in constant self-denial, and we must be prepared to go through purgatory. We can't be Copernicus and Marx, but we can be real scholars.

Reflections on reading economics III

? The Economics of Milk Coke is a collection of such stories. There are many kinds of problems, but the analysis tool is quite simple-the principle of cost performance. When the benefits of an action outweigh the costs, people will take action. This is the root of most behaviors.

For example, why are best sellers often sold at a discount, but the most popular movies are not?

Because for the cinema, the scarcest resource is not the film itself, but the seats. Popular movies will be full even if they are not discounted For the sake of maximizing revenue, the cinema has reason not to discount the ticket price. But books are different. If you foresee which products are more popular, sellers can often prepare sufficient inventory in advance. For sellers, book discount promotion has more advantages.

Why are tickets sold at higher prices and tickets for performances bought at lower prices?

Because aviation executives found that business people on business trips are more inclined to arrange their trips temporarily, and they are often high-income people, either rich or reimbursed, and are not sensitive to price. Unlike performances, high-income earners generally don't want to buy tickets until the last minute. After all, buying a ticket temporarily has to face uncertain factors such as whether you can buy it or not and what kind of seats you have. Most people who buy tickets at the ticket booth at the last minute are price-sensitive people.

Why does a company reward employees with a luxury car instead of the equivalent cash?

Economists have a very convincing view that the best gift is often what we want but don't want to buy. Being rewarded and waiting for others to help you make a choice, you can enjoy the reward happily without feeling guilty for your extravagant behavior.

Why do many bars sell a glass of water for four dollars, but salted peanuts can be asked at will?

The key to understand this practice is that although the production cost of peanuts is higher than that of water, peanuts and wine complement each other. The more peanuts guests eat, the more wine or drinks they order. Although water has almost no cost, the more water a guest drinks, the less wine he orders. Therefore, even if the cost of water is lower, bars should set a high price for it to discourage customers.

There are more than 100 such questions in the book, all of which come from daily life experience, involving product design, supply and demand analysis, public products, interpersonal relationships, psychology, professional situation and so on. The author said, "These problems in life are not formulas and concepts, and there is no standard and exact answer. Everyone may give more and more reasonable explanations." This may be the charm of this book. Everyone can analyze the phenomenon of economic life from the perspective of economics. I think, therefore I am, so life is full of fun. As a relative who has never attended an economics class, this kind of book is really enjoyable to read. Don't be careless, the unique observation angle is like a wonderful intellectual adventure, full of interest. No branches, no circles, trying to solve the problem in the simplest way. There is no advanced mathematical model, cost-benefit principle, marginal benefit analysis and opportunity cost analysis ... these are the most basic economic concepts. Just like a master, there is no way to win. There is no need to hide sharp weapons in your hands. You can hurt others. Why must we rely on heavenly sword and dragon slaying?

Reflections on reading economics 4

The book expounds two economic concepts that the author thinks are the most basic and important: opportunity cost and cost-benefit principle. Opportunity cost refers to giving up the value of other things in order to engage in one activity. The principle of cost-effectiveness means that it is worthwhile to do so only when the additional benefits brought by the action are greater than the additional costs, which is the source of all economic concepts.

When talking about these various issues of natural historical economics, the author Professor robert frank's point of view is obviously different from the requirements of the traditional economics class. "Please don't rush to find the answer in the book. These problems in life are not formulas and concepts, and there are no standard and exact answers. Everyone may give more and more reasonable explanations. Although not everyone is an economist, at least, we can think more actively and apply our thinking to our lives. In this way, each of us can become a natural history economist. "

For example, why should milk be packed in boxes, and why should coke be packed in round bottles? In fact, most people will not pay attention to this problem. The economics answer of milk coke:

First, due to product differences, most milk needs to be kept fresh in the freezer. If it is round, it will reduce the utilization rate of the freezer. Coke doesn't need to be kept fresh, so there is no such problem.

Second, round cola is suitable for drinking in the hand, and few people drink it in milk cartons. There are also things like "there is something lying on the roadside that looks like a hundred-dollar bill." Do you want to pick it up "and" Can you not be late for the fine? " When the answer is not published, it is estimated that many people will be afraid to answer, but after seeing the answer, they will feel that the reason is as simple as that. Therefore, a starting point for Professor Frank to write this book is to make readers feel that economics is close to us and runs through every corner of life.

At the moment when economics is widely criticized, the book "Economics of Milk Coke" does not feel dull after reading it. At least it tells us a simple truth: economics is nothing. Now economics is being dug deeper and harder by a group of elites. Without dozens of incomprehensible formulas and piles of terminology innovations, you really can't be an expert. So everyone was too scared to think about it. In fact, taking the principle of minimum cost and maximum output as an example, it is nothing more than that milk packed in square boxes can save some refrigerator space, and round bottles of coke are convenient to hold in your hand, that is, people who have never read books know that things placed in boxes can be placed neatly. Remembered an old saying "Theory comes from life", what a simple truth!

In this book, I saw many examples that coincide with my life, which deepened my understanding of it. From this perspective, a correct principle applies to more than one field and one aspect. Just like this seemingly simple cost-benefit principle, it is not only the basis of scientific decision-making ability in a certain aspect, but also the cornerstone and core of economics. This reminds me of the philosophy that among universality and particularity, particularity cannot be separated from universality.

Reflections on reading economics 5

? Economics in Life tells some economic phenomena worth studying and learning under the American market economy when Mr. Mao was studying in the United States, such as why Americans like to move, the largest casino in the United States, and the way Americans save money. Show us easy-to-understand fragments of life, instill economic thoughts imperceptibly, and let us analyze society and interpret social phenomena from the perspective of economics. This book is divided into three parts, namely microeconomics, macroeconomics and economic system.

In microeconomics, some phenomena in the United States have been cited. According to the statistics released by the American government, about 17% of people in the United States move every year. About 60% of the people who moved around moved in the same place, and the rest moved out of the town. This proportion has not changed much since 1970s. In contrast, the cross-town mobility of China people is much lower than that of Americans. There are various reasons for this, but the author finds that the main reason is job change. The development of new energy, the change of industrial center of gravity and the enhancement of economic strength all promote the change of people's employment. The flexibility of choosing a job makes the American economy adaptable, which is often accompanied by the migration of residence. Therefore, where the economy is prosperous, there are more advertisements for recruitment and more people moving in from other places, so the demand for housing is more active. Moreover, there are no migration restrictions, no hukou restrictions, and no need to report to anyone or institution in the United States. Encouraged by government policies, residents are more willing to buy a house than rent a house. This proves that the elasticity of employment makes the economic structure easy to adjust, but it will inevitably lead to the flow of population. If there is no housing market, the flow of people will be hindered. This paper discusses the difference between renting a house and buying a house, and emphasizes the great difference between market distribution and planned distribution of housing.

Another phenomenon is that American enterprises are generally known for their high efficiency and good service attitude, but postal services are an exception. The reasons are: first, lack of competition; Secondly, without state subsidies, employees will have iron rice bowls, which will easily lead to low efficiency and poor service. In this respect, it is very consistent with the phenomenon in China, but it is China that exposes this trend more clearly. However, there are differences between the two. In China, the mailbox is very narrow, and thicker letters are often put in by mistake. In the United States, the mailbox can hold a small package, reducing the number of residents who go to the post office to post. The United States has set up many private post offices, which were established in the voice of Americans who cherish time like gold. Private post offices are very efficient, and their services are much better than those of government post offices, but the charges are very high, which is about 10 times of ordinary postage. We often have a habit that as long as the enterprise is run by the government, it is no problem to earn more money, because it is taken from the people and used by the people. Therefore, it is natural that private sector monopoly is not allowed, and it is against public welfare to prohibit government enterprises from making money. However, strict economic analysis proves that monopoly will still reduce social and economic benefits even if the money earned is used by the people. Because instead of spending the money earned by inefficient government enterprises on the people, it is better to abolish monopoly and give play to competition so that the people can get more benefits.

People benefit from competition, and the government and private enterprises can develop and grow through small profits but quick turnover. The chapter on macroeconomics tells how Americans save money. Although the United States is rich and the people's wages are high, the savings rate of Americans is actually very low, which is the lowest among the major countries in the world. People save for two reasons. First, in order to prevent old age and accidents, we must also prevent unemployment in the United States; The second is profitability. Although more than 80% of American families keep their money in the bank, the bank is not the only way to save for the elderly, or even the main means. Buying a house is their main means. Most Americans have saved money to buy a house since they got married, and half of them have borrowed money and paid it off in 30 years. Buying a house as a way of saving has its unique advantages. Save money and have a place to live, kill two birds with one stone. Moreover, the house is a real asset, unlike banknotes, stocks and other securities, which are just a dead letter. It is safer to buy real estate. However, buying gold is also a means of saving. In the United States, gold is freely traded, and there are no restrictions on non-commercial entry and exit customs. This freedom of circulation makes gold a flexible, convenient and reliable means of saving. In addition, in order to obtain the benefits of HKU, corporate investment and financial speculation are also good choices. Because of the high risk, people choose these two ways instead of providing for the aged.

From this perspective, there are two purposes of saving, and different ways of saving are different. If you save in the form of investment, the risk and return may be more abundant. Finally, I want to talk about the last part of this book-the economic system. Humans may have a little sense of right and wrong, such as killing and stealing is a bad thing and charity is a good thing. But focusing on some details, such as the concept of right and wrong in the economic system, each nation has its own characteristics. What impressed me in the book is the view that "you don't know when you are looking for money". The author went to Houston for a meeting. Because it was hot, he went to a small grocery store to buy drinks. Suddenly, he saw a five-dollar bill on the ground. According to the custom of China people, the author naturally picked it up and gave it to the shopkeeper. But the owner refused to accept it, and he replied to the author: whoever finds it will belong to it. Once in a classroom of Harvard University, the author saw an exquisite pen on the desk, which must have been forgotten by the students in the last class. The new student sitting in this seat casually put this pen in his shirt pocket, and then suddenly remembered something, took it out to enjoy it and recorded it in his notebook. His self-control never seems to have done something he shouldn't have done, and he needs to hide it from others.

At the same time, a salesman spent 80 yuan money to find a customer in a newspaper because he didn't give the customer 30 yuan money. This kind of behavior will be very popular in China, but it has been criticized by Americans. In their concept, the principle of morality is to take care of the interests of others at the expense of their own interests. If society doesn't benefit in the end, then this behavior will become detrimental to others. This is exactly what is not worthy of moral praise. There are some subtle but extremely important differences between the moral standards of market economy and traditional views. This difference is mainly to highlight the interests of the whole society. Honesty and trustworthiness can bring overall benefits to the market economy. The above examples are just a few, and I still can't understand many examples in the book, so I chose a few interesting and simple ones to express my views. Many policies of the United States are indeed worth learning from. We should learn to accept those policies that are beneficial to China's economic development according to our own specific reality, so as to improve our comprehensive national strength and develop our economy to a greater extent.