The second reason to study economics is that it will make you a more astute participant in the economy. Throughout your life, you’ll make many economic decisions. As a student, you decide how many years to remain in school. Once you take a job, you’ll decide how much of your income to spend, how much to save, and how to invest your savings. Someday you may find yourself running a small business or a large corporation, and you will decide how many workers to hire and what prices to charge for your products. Studying economics will give you a new perspective on how best to make these decisions. The insights explored in the coming chapters will not, by themselves, make you rich, but they may help in that endeavor.