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DIAMOND-WATER PARADOX: The perplexing observation that water, which is more useful than diamonds, has a lower price. If price is related to utility, how can this occur? This paradox was first proposed by classical economists in the 19th century and was subsequently used as a stepping stone for developing the notion of marginal utility and the role it plays in the demand price of a good. The paradox is magically cleared up with an understanding of marginal utility and total utility. People are willing to pay a higher price for goods with greater marginal utility. As such, water which is plentiful has enormous total utility, but a low price because of a low marginal utility. Diamonds, however, have less total utility because they are less plentiful, but a high price because of a high marginal utility.
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AVERAGE FACTOR COST AND MARGINAL FACTOR COST A mathematical connection between average factor cost and marginal factor cost stating that the change in the average factor cost depends on a comparison between average factor cost and marginal factor cost. For perfect competition, with no market control, marginal factor cost is equal to average factor cost, and average factor cost does not change. For monopsony and other firms with market control, marginal factor cost is greater than average factor cost, and average factor cost rises.
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The Business About INVESTMENTI had fun that last time we wandered into Shady Valley's very own Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Amusement Park, didn't you? Let's stroll through it again, just to see what adventures we might find. Okay, I admit to an ulterior motive. The Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Amusement Park recently added a new ride -- the Cap'n Space Fright Whirl. If you thought the Monster Loop Death Plunge roller coaster was exciting, then you're in for a real treat with this one. My interest in the Cap'n Space Fright Whirl, however, is NOT from the standpoint of risking a recently eaten meal. On the contrary, I'm going to don my pointy-headed economist disguise and check out this mass of twisted metal and high-flying cages as a prime example of capital. In the process we might be able to gain some insight into the whys and wherefors of the thing we call investment.
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PINK FADFLY [What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a dollar discount store hoping to buy either a how-to book on fine dining or a coffee cup commemorating the first day of winter. Be on the lookout for letters from the Internal Revenue Service. Your Complete Scope
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Parker Brothers, the folks who produce the Monopoly board game, prints more Monopoly money each year than real currency printed by the U.S. government.
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"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative. " -- Cato, Roman orator
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ABA American Bankers Association, Associate in Business Administration
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