ABSTRACT
Economics is the study of choice-making and is based on the assumption that “individuals act to make themselves as well off as possible”. Human beings have been making decisions like this since the dawn of time. Optimization and maximization are important economic concepts in the study of higher education, as they serve as a lens through which to consider policies and student enrollment choices. Scarcity is the fundamental economic condition. The resources available to produce goods and services are limited, so most goods themselves are scarce. The word “market” can be used to describe a specific niche of higher education or a broader one. In higher education, for the demand curve to shift there must be a change in the population, which includes the market being served. An increase or decrease in quantity produced is merely movement along the existing supply curve. Determining all of the costs associated with educating an individual student can be a challenge.
