This chapter was very different than chapter 14. Instead of perfectly competitive markets, this chapter dealt with monopolies. The big difference between the two is that monopolies are able to set and control their prices because they are the only ones who make that product, therefore people cannot simply choose to buy from another firm because there is only one.  This is different than in chapter 14 in which there were only price takers.  The perfectly competitive firms could not control their price by themselves, once the price was set by the market, they had no say in changing the price, and if they did, buyers would simply go to another firm selling the exact same product for a different price.  But in chapter 15 we learn about monopolies, and monopolistic power.  In these cases, firms are very special, they are the only ones who produce a certain product, therefore they can charge whatever they want for it.  Buyers cannot simply move to another firm, because there are no other firms.  Monopolies have a lot of power, therefore government officials try to step in to counter this great influence.  They make sure they cannot raise prices to high, or make things to difficult to buy that certain product.  

There are many interesting ideas that are given in chapter 11.  This chapter talked a lot abut Public goods and common resources and how they should be used and dealt with.  One thing that Chapter 11 stressed is the fact that goods differ in whether they are excludable and whether they are rival in consumption.  A good is excludable if it is possible to prevent someone from using it.  This is a very interesting idea, and does happen in the real world.  There are products that are excludable because they are illegal and therefore cannot be used.  We also learned that a good is rival in consumption if one person's use of the good reduces other people's ability to use the same unit of good.  Markets work best for private goods, which can both be either excludable or rival in consumption, therefore a combination of both methods are seen as good and healthy for an economy.  Chapter 11 taught us however that public goods are neither rival in consumption or excludable.  A public good would be characterized by something that is provided to you, usually by the government.  For example, fireworks, national defense, and the creation of fundamental knowledge are all public goods.  Common resources on the other hand are rival in consumption but they are not excludable.

Chapter 10 talks a lot about externalities and how they affect other people.  Externalities exist in both negative and positive aspects.  However no matter if the externality is positive or negative it causes the market to allocate its resources and eventually it becomes inefficient, which is not good for a market.  There is also a debate as to what the Government should do in terms of externalities.  Governments try to step in by imposing taxes and subsidies in order to get rid of these externalities.  There is also the idea that people should step up for themselves and try to solve the problems of externalities without the governments help.  This is called the Coase theorem, it is similar to where people should pay a tip instead of paying a tax in order to get rid of taxes.  There is also the time where private parties can step in by themselves and try to fix the issue.  This is fine if there is a free market where everyone has the ability to benefit.

Chapter 6 talked a lot about how government can intervene and control prices. Consumers are rather ignorant and do not think about the current supply or demand for that good.  Chapter 6 shows us how both price ceilings and floors can affect the market. They can produce a shortage or surplus, depending on which one is applied.  This chapter also talked about taxes and how they are applicable to society.

This article specifically talked about interest rates, especially interest rates given out by the government.  Right now the government is debating whether to raise the interest rates that it gives to Wall street and its companies. After the recession, the government wanted to encourage people to spend money, in order to speed up the economy once again.  However one big problem with this idea is the effectiveness and efficiently, in fact many government officials and economists argue that it has not been efficient, and this program should stop.

I thought that this article was very interesting and proposed a new perspective on Wall street and how they should be handled.  This article specifically talked about interest rates, especially interest rates given out by the government.  Right now the government is debating whether to raise the interest rates that it gives to Wall street and its companies.  These Wall street companies borrow money money from the government to invest in other companies and programs.  These companies then pay the loans back to the government with whatever interest rates they gave them originally.  After the recession, the government wanted to encourage people to spend money, in order to speed up the economy once again.  However one big problem with this idea is the effectiveness and efficiently, in fact many government officials and economists argue that it has not been efficient, and this program should stop.   In this article, the author claims that the Wall street companies are using biased onions in order to continue getting this money from the government, and that zero interest rates are ineffective and in fact bad for the economy.  The author of this article believes that the government should take these interest rates away, especially now that we are no longer in that much of a recession.  I think that if these low interest rates are hurting the economy and others, then it should be stopped.

 Economists use supply and demand to monitor markets and how competitive they are.  We also learned that quantity of a product is dependent on the price of the good.  For example the higher the price, the less of the product, the cheaper the price, the more of the product.  When the price of a good falls, the amount of that certain good will increase in the market.

Chapter 4 was very interesting.  This chapter talked a lot about supply and demand.  Economists use supply and demand to monitor markets and how competitive they are.  There are many buyers and sellers, just like there are many firms and households in the market.  We also learned that quantity of a product is dependent on the price of the good.  For example the higher the price, the less of the product, the cheaper the price, the more of the product.  When the price of a good falls, the amount of that certain good will increase in the market.  Income is also a big determinant in how people will spend their money.  There are also many other factors that effect the demand curve, for example income, price substitute, taste expectations, and the number of buyers.  Unlike the demand curve, the supply curve shapes and slopes upward.  The quantity of a good produced would then depend on the price.  Therefore the demand slope sloes downward, and the supply slope slopes upward.  Other determinants for how much products should be produced include, input prices, technology, expectation, and the number of sellers or people in demand.  The connection of the two graphs will then determine where the market equilibrium is.  Equilibrium is the desired place for supply and demand, to high and there is a surplus of goods, to low and there is a shortage of goods.

Chapter 3 talked about how trade benefits everyone.  First there are production possibilities, in which people can create whatever they want based on demand on the market. Specialization of trade is also very important and maximizes the amount of productivity on the market. Opportunity cost can show if specializing on one product is a smart move.

Chapter 3 was very interesting and very applicable to the modern world.  Chapter 3 talked about how trade benefits everyone.  First there are production possibilities, in which people can create whatever they want based on demand on the market. Specialization of trade is also very important and maximizes the amount of productivity on the market.  Instead of for example, the rancher just focusing on meat, he specializes in meat, but also spends some hours on potatoes.  In the long haul, the productivity and efficiency of the market increases, as the supply of meat on the market increases as well.  Opportunity Cost then plays a large role in this as well.  Opportunity cost can show if specializing on one product is a smart move. For example in the farmers case he makes 1/4 ounce of meat in 15 minutes.  In the long haul by using the farmers opportunity cost, he can find out if it is smart to make the trade, by seeing how much time and products he would get on his own terms.