Understanding Economic Equilibrium

Economic agents all over the world are trying to maximize their returns given their efforts, resources, and opportunities. They come together in markets that ultimately allocate goods and services among many competing interests. We can readily see how individual markets behave; it’s more difficult, but exponentially more important, to recognize the general equilibrium across all markets. Disturbances in one market have implications for others.

These interrelationships are particularly important to understand when policy changes are being considered where actions in one market will impose changes on other markets, and not always in obvious or pleasant ways. Understanding Economic Equilibrium reveals how all markets fit together, and how we as individuals fit into that bigger picture.