In: Economics
For each of the following situations, identify the opportunity cost involved:
a. Julia decides to volunteer at Amnesty International while she is searching for a job.
b. Victor decides to invest €1 million in a Hungarian pharmaceutical company called Gedeon Richter PLC.
c. Andrea receives $2,000 as a graduation gift and decides to use it to buy a 20-year-old Toyota Corolla.
d. Karl chooses to walk to work instead of taking the metro.
e. After graduating from high school, José decides to work as a waiter instead of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics.
f. Magdalena decides to plant some fresh flowers in her garden.
g. Marta decides to hire a professional to clean her apartment
(a) From the standpoint of Amnesty International, Julia is free. From Julia’s standpoint, she gives up the time she could have spent searching for a new job as well as other uses of her time, even though she does not give up wages.
(b) The €1million could have been invested in other blue chip pharmaceutical companies or profit-making ventures, or it could have been put in the bank or loaned to someone else with interest.
(c) The other goods and services or investments that Andrea could buy with $2,000.
(d) The other uses of time or the foregone wages he could have earned had Karl chosen to take the metro.
(e) The wages José will forego in a few years’ time because of not having a degree and a better paying job.
(f) The cost of the flowers and pots, as well as the time Magdalena is giving up that could be used for other activities.
(g) The service provider’s wages which Marta is giving up that could have been spent on other goods and services or investments.