Opportunity costs

Step 1: Read the articles. These articles contain examples of calculating opportunity costs. You will follow these examples to answer one of the questions listed at the bottom of the topic.

1)       1)  The opportunity cost of buying iPhones and Cronuts

 By Ben Walsh, September 2013

http://blogs.reuters.com/ben-walsh/2013/09/20/the-opportunity-cost-of-buying-iphones-and-cronuts/ 

2)  The potential economic costs of Tropical Storm Harvey: Explained

by Nathaniel Meyersohn, August 26, 2017

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/25/news/harvey-costs/index.html

3)  Unpaid internships offer valuable experience, but only for those who can afford it.

http://chicagomaroon.com/2012/04/13/opportunity-cost/ by Dillon Cory – Apr 13, 2012

4)   8 Chores That Aren’t Worth Your Time (So Outsource Them!)

https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2014/06/16/chores-not-worth-your-time-outsource-them/20912544/     by Hank Coleman – June 16, 2014

 5)  Paying for Health care with time

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/paying-for-health-care-with-time/

 6)  It Costs You $43 to Sit Around the Doctor’s Waiting Room

http://time.com/money/4063039/time-money-doctor-visit-healthcare/

7) What is the Value of Exercise? 2,500   by Gretchen Reyholds, Sep 7, 2016.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/well/move/whats-the-value-of-exercise-2500.html

8) Listen Planet-Money:

Episode 386: Cost of Free Doughnuts

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/08/794592539/episode-386-the-cost-of-free-doughnuts

You are expected to make your own contribution in a main topic as well as respond with value-added comments to at least two of your classmates. You are encouraged to respond to other students as well as to your instructor.

Step 2: Please choose one case to answer the question from the list below. 

1. You are standing in line. Think about what you would be doing if you are not in this line. The alternatives are infinite and computing the cost of them all is impossible. However, since you could only be doing one thing (not all of them) if you are not in this line, determining the opportunity cost requires only knowing the one thing you would be doing. Calculate (in $$$) your opportunity costs of standing in line.
2. Think about what you would be doing if you weren’t in class. The alternatives are infinite and computing the cost of them all is impossible. However, since you could only be doing one thing (not all of them) if you were not in class, determining the opportunity cost requires only knowing the one thing you would be doing. Calculate (in $$$) your opportunity costs of sitting in class.
3. The classic example of opportunity cost is the costs of going to college. Illustrate the implicit opportunity cost of foregone income as well as tuition, books, etc. Think about whether room and board should be considered a cost of college. What are your opportunity costs of going to college? Calculate (in $$$) your opportunity costs of going to college.
4. Discuss the opportunity costs of natural disasters. Create your own example of the opportunity costs of natural disaster. Calculate (in $$$) opportunity costs of natural disaster.
5. Discuss the opportunity costs of your visiting the doctor’s office. Calculate (in $$$) your opportunity costs of your visiting the doctor’s office.
6. Read the articles and create your own example of opportunity costs. Your ideas should be supported by calculation (in $$$) of opportunity cost
   Step 3: Reflection – the students also should include a paragraph in the initial response in their own words, using microeconomic terminology, reflecting on specifically what they learned from the assignment and how they think they could apply what they learned in the workplace or in everyday life.