Economics
Economics basics: supply and demand, prices, inflation, GDP and how markets work
Who is an entrepreneur and what is an enterprise?
The eleventh Basics lesson: when Munisa, who sews dresses at home, becomes an entrepreneur, what an enterprise is, and why business money must not get mixed up with family money. With a simple calculation for one month.
Engel's law: if a family's income doubles, does its spending on food double too?
A family with a monthly income of 6 million soum spends half of it on food, while a family with 24 million soum spends only a quarter. The amount spent on food rises, but more slowly than income. This is Engel's law, observed in the 19th century. Its cause, how it is measured, its limitations and a practical conclusion for a neighbourhood shop owner.
Demand and supply: how does the price of strawberries at the Saturday bazaar settle at one point all by itself?
The second lesson of the course: what demand and supply are, the difference between «demand» and «quantity demanded», the equilibrium price, surplus and shortage in a hypothetical table of a strawberry market, and how the price moves to a new point when more farmers come in the middle of the season.
What are ownership and property?
The seventh Basics lesson: which things in a seamstress's home are hers, and which she has only taken to use. We make a list of her property and calculate its value.
From caravan route to the UNESCO list: where does the name "Silk Road" come from, and which of its parts are on the World Heritage List?
The name "Silk Road" for the route caravans travelled for centuries appeared much later, in 19th-century works in German. Today parts of this route stand on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "corridors": the Chang'an–Tianshan Corridor in 2014 and the Zarafshan–Karakum Corridor in 2023. Short theses and a calculation of how prices grow in trade with many intermediaries.
The seller pays the levy, but who bears its burden? Elasticity of demand and the question of who really pays
Suppose a fixed levy of 3 000 soums per box is introduced. For one product the price rises by only 1 000 soums and the seller bears the other 2 000 soums; for another the price goes up by 2 400 soums. Who pays the difference is decided not by what the law says, but by how sensitive buyers and sellers are to price. A calculation using two markets.
Goods and services: what is the difference?
The fourth Basics lesson: the difference between a thing you can hold and take home and work that someone does for you. Shown with a barber, a baker and a cafe.
What is a price and how does it appear?
The third Basics lesson: what is hidden inside the price of one loaf, how a baker works out his price, and why tomatoes get more expensive in winter. With simple examples.
What is a market?
The second Basics lesson: is a market only stalls and counters, who meets there, and why three bakers on one street are good for the buyer. In the simplest words.
What is economics: a first step into the science of choosing between limited money and unlimited wants
The first lesson of the course: what economics is in plain words, why it is called «the science of choice», the meaning of the words «iqtisod» and «ekonomika», and a first economic decision using the example of 50 thousand soum in a student's purse.
Make it ourselves or buy it ready-made: which costs really matter for the decision?
The bread a restaurant bakes itself costs 3 383 soum at full cost, while ready-made bread costs 3 200 soum. So is buying cheaper? No: tandoor depreciation and the share of rent remain whatever the decision. If only the costs that differ are counted, baking it ourselves saves 900 thousand soum a month. But if the freed-up space can earn income, the answer changes again.
François Quesnay and the "Economic Table" (1758): how did a court physician fit the economy into a single diagram?
Before Adam Smith there was a group of scholars in France who studied the economy as a whole system. Their leader was the king's physician François Quesnay. About what his 1758 "Economic Table" showed, the idea of the "net product", and where the physiocrats went wrong.
Break-even point: how many cups a day must a café sell to cover its costs?
If 60 cups of coffee are sold every day, the café makes neither a profit nor a loss. Why, with average sales of 85 cups, is Monday still a loss? Contribution margin, the margin of safety, what happens if rent goes up or milk gets dearer, and operating leverage on the example of one café.
MONIAC: how was the economy explained with water pipes?
In 1949 in London a student demonstrated the economy with a machine made of water, tanks and pipes. Short key points and an example with a simple calculation about this "water computer", which made the flow of money visible to the eye.
Does a discount increase revenue? Calculating the price elasticity of demand and checking profit
A coffee shop offered a 15% discount on coffee. We calculate elasticity in two scenarios, show when revenue rises and when it falls, and check why profit may fall even if revenue rises.
Economies of scale: why does the cost per unit fall when more is produced, and when does it stop?
When more bread is baked, the rent and equipment cost per loaf decreases. But beyond a certain point a new tandoor, and a new cost, is needed. A calculation using a bakery as an example.
Should you regret the money spent on old equipment? Sunk costs and the right decision
"I paid 30 mln for the oven, I can't just throw it away now": a familiar thought? In economics such spending is called a sunk cost, and it should not affect the decision. Using a café as an example, we compare two options.
Trade and honest dealing in the legacy of Imam al-Bukhari
The famous collection of the Bukhara scholar Imam al-Bukhari contains a separate book devoted to buying and selling. We take an impartial look at how its idea of truthfulness and not concealing defects is in harmony with today's market and accounting discipline.
Behavioural economics: why do people make "wrong" choices?
Psychologists entered economics: prospect theory in 1979, the prizes of 2002 and 2017. The newest direction of modern economic thought in short key points.
Keynes and the 20th century: when should the state intervene in the economy?
The General Theory of 1936, the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 and the economics prize first awarded in 1969. The main turning points of 20th-century economic thought compared with today.
Adam Smith and the classical school: how did a book of 1776 turn economics into a science?
The pin factory, the division of labour and the "invisible hand". Why Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and David Ricardo's idea of comparative advantage still stand at the beginning of textbooks.
Ibn Khaldun and the Muqaddimah: the higher the tax, the fuller the treasury?
The Muqaddimah, written in the 14th century, contains a thought about the relationship between the tax rate and state revenue. This idea from the medieval Islamic world and its modern interpretation in short key points.
The roots of the word "economics": what did Xenophon and Aristotle say about the household?
The English word economics comes from an ancient Greek meaning "managing the household". The first steps of economic thought and Aristotle's distinction between "two kinds of wealth-getting" in short key points.