What do Sri Lanka’s financial meltdown, Japan’s lost semiconductor empire, and the Rust Belt’s decline all have in common? They weren’t sudden collapses—they were slow, inevitable failures caused by miscalculating costs.
In this episode of Ekonified: Enriching Economics in Every Experience, Event, and Existence as inspired by Chapter 8 of Principles of Economics by Case, Fair, & Oster, we expose the unseen forces that drive industries, governments, and individuals to ruin—and why the same mistakes repeat across history, business, and daily life.
🔍 Inside this episode:
§§ The Hidden Costs That Destroy Economies → How Sri Lanka’s financial crisis spiraled out of control.
§§ The Price Control Trap → Why Argentina’s egg crisis and Indonesia’s palm oil ban prove that when governments distort costs, the black market steps in.
§§ The Expansion Mirage → IKEA, E-Mart, and the British East India Company—why bigger isn’t always better.
§§ Industries That Thought They Were Too Big to Fail → The Rust Belt, Canada’s lost tech giants, and Japan’s chip dominance—what really went wrong?
§§ Why We Fall for the Same Illusions → Sunk costs, opportunity costs, and the illusion of “cheap” growth—how these hidden traps shape your financial, career, and life decisions.
💡 Here’s the truth:
Costs aren’t just about money—they’re about what we trade away without realizing it. And the worst collapses? They start long before anyone notices.
🎧 Listen now to uncover how cost miscalculations shape history—and your future.
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