Supply and Demand
It's all about supply and demand
When a market economy is doing well, there is lots of buying and selling. During a bad economy, buying and selling slows down.
The cycle of ups and downs depends mainly on two things:
Supply and demand are called market forces because they act to make the market function.
Supply and Demand out of Balance
To keep everyone producing, making profits, and buying things, supply and demand must be balanced.
High Demand but Low Supply
On the other hand, too much supply with low demand can also hurt.
Supply and Demand: Crash Course Economics #4
Scarcity and Opportunity Cost
Opportunity cost is the benefit you give up buy choosing to do one thing instead of another. When you are in the process of making a choice, you try to determine which choice has more benefits and take a risk that you might wrong.
Scarcity
If there were unlimited resources, everyone could have everything they want and need, and there would be no need to make choices. But because of scarcity, producers and consumers must make choices that are sometimes very difficult.
Command vs. Market Economy
Economic Systems and Macroeconomics: Crash Course Economics #3