Friday, September 8, 2023

How markets create value (based on a quote from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren)


Markets create wealth.

Supposing I take my watch off and I sell it to someone in class. We agree on a price, say, $20.

What did the buyer value the watch at?















Much of the class will say $20.










That’s not the right answer. Why?











"All we know is that the person would rather have the watch than have the $20 bill. What did you know about the value I placed on it?

Exactly the inverseI’d rather have the $20 bill than have the watch. 










Now, most people think the benefit of markets is: I walked away with a $20 bill, great, which I valued more highly than the watch, and you walked away with the watch that you valued more highly than the $20...













 but...










look at all the excess value there. 

- What is "excess value"?









Excess value:
Maybe you wanted that watch because it completed your fabulous watch collection or you desperately needed a watch or it was so attractive to you that the value you placed on it would be in the hundreds of dollars. You got all that surplus value, and me, I really needed that $20. I had an investment opportunity over here for that $20 that has yielded a manifold return for me.










That’s how markets create additional value.










A long as the system is genuinely fair and open.








- U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren

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