[MUSIC] Welcome. This is Microeconomics Principles. I'm Jose Vazquez and I'm talking to you from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In fact, I'm talking to you from the Foellinger Auditorium. And why did I wanted to start here? Well, I wanted to start here because this is where I teach my class. If you are a student of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and you wanted to take the class with me, you will be taking the class here, along with 900 other students. And what happens during the class with Microeconomics with me? Well, students are talking to each other. I'm walking around the room, people are laughing, upstairs, downstairs. I have the stuff behind me, I bring people to the stage. So, a very dynamic class. Unfortunately, the, the auditorium only fits 1,800 people and there's thousands of you registered for this class. So, we thought about, well, how can we actually take this class outside and take it and, you know, to everyone that cannot be here, and that's why you taking the class with us, right? So, virtually we're going to get to you to you and it should be as if you we're in the auditorium. It could be, you could be sitting down anywhere, you could be sitting over there at the end of the auditorium, or you could be sitting right here in the first seat. And sometimes, you might even be seated right here next to me at my office and I would be talking to you like you were one of my students in my office hour. And the benefit of actually also doing this virtually is that we can also go outside these doors and take the class to where it happens, so where economics takes place which is in the real world and that's what we are going to be doing in this class. Now, the first questions we need to ask our self is, what is Economics? Managing finances, knowing economic theory, knowing how commodities trade and things like that. Supply and demand comes to mind. I think of money, I think of like how the, there's a scarcity of resources and how we have to, to divide them amongst people and like that. I would bring to mind the, the concept of exchange of resources and wealth. Okay. study of money, I guess. [LAUGH] Yeah. No, we're trading anything. to me today it's money but, you know, different culture or at a different time, it may be other than money. So, you heard what people have to say when they are asked the question, what is Economics? Well, usually, people have a very narrow idea of what economics is. I happen to think Economics is a science of everything. It's all around us. And I'm going to try this semester to encourage you to think that way and to help you think that way. So, we're going to deal with questions that you usually, traditionally don't deal, don't think about Economics. For instance, we're going to talk about issues related to love or marriage. Why is the divorce rate so high in so many, so many countries? For instance, in the US, why it's so difficult for successful single women these days to find single men in the city? That's also Economics. we're going to talk about issues related to study. Why is it better for students to study in groups? Research suggest that when students study in groups, they do a lot better in a class than when they're studying on their own. Why is that? We can also apply economics to that. Or, should you be studying for your next exam or should you be playing around, and/or going out with your friends, also an economical decision. And countries also face economic decisions that we can apply economics, right? why do we have so much pollution? Or do we have so much pollution? What is the best way to control population for a country? And we also going to talk about issues that you see in your daily life. For instance, next time you go to an all-you-can-eat buffet, what is the best strategy to eat? Should you eat until you make yourself sick or should you, perhaps, eat the same way you always eat? Well, Economics also has something to say about that. And it has also something to say about next time you go to the mall, and you're looking for a parking spot. You can go around and try to wait until a parking spot open in the beginning, at the front of the store or you can just get the first parking lot really far away? Which one is the best choice? That's also an economic decision. So, we're going to talk about all those things that are around us all the time. And we'll talk about, yes, the traditional thing that people relate to Economics. Price, quantity, money, and so forth. Well perhaps the first question you should be asking yourself if you are a good economist is why are you taking this class, or should you be taking this class in the first place and why is it free? Is it the best way to provide a class like this? So, that's what we're going to tackle this week. So, I hope you enjoy the course, I'm very excited to come to you this way. And hopefully by the end, you will actually realize that, as I do, that Economics is everywhere and you'll be able to use the things you learned here in your daily life. Produced by OCE Atlas Digital Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
