What About in the Long Run? by Aaliyah

Aaliyahof Stockton's entry into Varsity Tutor's September 2017 scholarship contest

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Aaliyah of Stockton, CA
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What About in the Long Run? by Aaliyah - September 2017 Scholarship Essay

Economic principles are prevalent in every decision. Whether it is a painfully mundane question of whether to make a peanut butter sandwich for lunch or not or one that could change your life forever such as choosing to live overseas for a high paying job rather than stay closer to home with an average or low paying job, people often weigh the pros and cons of each choice in order to make their decisions. In economic terms, this is called looking at the “trade-offs and opportunity costs.” Through taking an Economy 1B Micro course over the summer, I was able to become aware of everyone’s—including other people, nations, and my own—decision making process, what factors one should consider, how those decisions ultimately determine the quality of my future.

In addition to learning about trade-offs and opportunity costs, I have also learned how important it is to think about the solutions to the problem at hand in the long run. For example, if a business is not making enough profit to cover their cost of production expenses, the most wise decision to make would be to perhaps look into investing in more efficient technology or something of the like to cut costs in the long run rather than simply laying off workers— especially if the products or services the business if offering is one that is not really a necessity or highly sought after. This is because while laying off workers would cut expenses at face value and in the short run, it turns out that this method will probably result in less efficiency, more wasted time and materials, and therefore more cost. On the other hand, if one chose to invest in perhaps yet high quality and fast machine in order to help with production, it seem like a counter-productive idea to spend a large amount of money on one or some machines in the beginning, but it will most likely save much more over the span of years if that machine is used correctly.

By applying what I have learned in my Econ 1B class in everything I do, I feel that I have become better at planning my future—or at least I should so hope so. One major question dictating my life was: “Is getting a college education worth it?” After much research and lamenting about the idea of increasing college debt rates, I have come to the conclusion that the answer is “yes”—albeit I am determined to try everything in my power to try to lower the costs of pursuing that decision.

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