What is Opportunity Cost? Episode 5 | Economics 101
About this episode
Dr. Stephen Davies explains the concept of opportunity cost and its implications in economics.
In this Institute of Economic Affairs Economics 101 explainer, Dr. Stephen Davies breaks down one of the most profound yet misunderstood concepts in economics: opportunity cost. The episode covers why economists are always talking about costs, what scarcity really means, and why absolutely nothing in life is ever truly free. Dr. Davies explains why time is the most radically scarce resource of all, unable to be reused or spent on two things simultaneously, and how this gives rise to the concept of opportunity cost -- the foregone benefit of the next best alternative use of your time and resources. He illustrates this with a concrete example, comparing the choice between a concert and a night at the cinema, and shows how the real cost of any decision is not just what you pay but what you give up. The episode also tackles the subjectivity of value, explaining why the same concert ticket means something completely different to different people, and why Oscar Wilde’s famous quip about economists knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing fundamentally misses the point. Dr. Davies shows how prices in markets are not cold and empty but rich with information about what…
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