The article demonstrates the usefulness of economics and economic terms in everyday life. Its author discusses some of the domestic problems that tend to occur in families. It utilizes some of the economic principles to resolve those issues (Mankiw, 2021).
The main problem is the fair allocation of chores between the wife and the husband. One of the ways to tackle that is through economic efficiency. Economists define efficiency as a situation where the production of an item requires minimum expenses, efforts, and time (Dolan, 2016). If the woman completes most of the housework, the overall efficiency falls. She becomes exhausted relatively quickly and is unable to perform tasks productively. The couple can increase efficiency by ensuring that the man becomes responsible for other house chores. In this scenario, the man eases the burden on his wife and allows her to receive sufficient rest.
By performing tasks in which he is better than the wife, he uses his comparative advantage to promote overall efficiency. Comparative advantage occurs when a person (organization, country) can produce a higher volume of goods and services due to their lower opportunity cost (Dolan, 2016). The opportunity cost of an item, in turn, is a value expressed through the price of everything that was given up to pursue this item (Dolan, 2016).
The wife had been allocated most of the housework, while the husband had few responsibilities. However, the opportunity cost was high for the wife, and thus, distributing work more evenly allowed to reduce it. The decrease in the opportunity cost (or marginal cost) for the wife improved her efficiency. It also enhanced family efficiency as both members were not exhausting themselves, and tasks were completed responsibly.
The above economic terms are applicable to my own life. For example, I understand their relevance and relatedness to the presentation that I had to prepare with my classmates at school. That was a group project in which we were to combine our knowledge, skills, and experience to produce a high-quality PowerPoint presentation. At that time, I was unaware of the economic language and principles; however, I intuitively comprehended that if all five group members performed those tasks that are suitable for them, then the whole group would benefit from it. If each member exploited his or her comparative advantage, then the overall efficiency would rise.
To illustrate this, I was decent at public speaking, so my main responsibility should have been to narrate the presentation. My friend, in turn, was highly creative; therefore, she should have designed our slides and made them attractive. My other friend agreed to research the topic extensively and summarize the information. Overall, the wise allocation of tasks enabled us to reduce the opportunity cost of preparing this presentation and maximize everyone’s effectiveness.
Another example related to my life is my decision not to work while studying at college. That was a hard choice that I made after establishing the opportunity cost of being employed. Undoubtedly, a job presents multiple benefits for a student, including becoming more mature, less financially dependent on family, earning money, and others. Yet, I figured that the opportunity cost of it is rather high. Firstly, due to my new job, I would have less time to study. Secondly, I would lack the opportunity to visit my family regularly. Moreover, I would not meet my friends when I want and do sports that I enjoy. Therefore, to me, the opportunity cost of finding a job is high.
References
Dolan, E.G. (2016). Introduction to microeconomics. BVT Publishing.
Mankiw, G.N. (2021). Brief principles of macroeconomics. Cengage Learning.