Opportunity Cost - Consumers
Source: Council for Economic Education (EconEdLink) | Type: Lesson
When individuals produce goods or services, they normally trade (exchange) most of them to obtain other more desired goods or services. In doing so, individuals are immediately confronted with the problem of scarcity - as consumers they have many different goods or services to choose from, but limited income (from their own production) available to obtain the goods and services. Scarcity dictates that consumers must choose which goods and services they wish to purchase. When consumers purchase one good or service, they are giving up the chance to purchase another. The best single alternative not chosen is their opportunity cost. Since a consumer choice always involves alternatives, every consumer choice has an opportunity cost.
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