One of the basic categories of economic theory is the concept of gift and economic benefits. Before proceeding to the disclosure of the meaning of these terms, you need to get acquainted with the concept of "good." This word is often found in everyday life, but in the framework of the theory of economics it has a clearer definition.
So, good is called any utility. It can be a product, service, the result of labor, some object or even a phenomenon. Its main task is to satisfy a specific human need. There are many criteria for classifying this concept, but according to the main features, all benefits are divided into tangible and intangible, future and present, short-term and long-term, economic and non-economic (which are called "free"), direct and indirect.
The concept of gift benefits in economic theory
Non-economic benefits are understood as such phenomena and objects that are provided to a person without any efforts. They exist in nature by themselves and do not require outside intervention for the process of their reproduction and receipt. As a rule, the volume and quantity of such goods is unlimited, and they are distributed freely. Therefore, they are called "free", that is, received free of charge.
From the point of view of the economy, the value of such benefits is zero, since society does not have to spend any resources and time to recreate them. In addition, people can spend them in any quantity, and their total volume will not decrease.
Examples of gift (non-economic) benefits
The simplest examples of non-economic benefits include water, air, and sunlight. That is, any phenomenon or object that a person can receive free of charge in any volume, can be considered free.
This category does not include all natural resources. For example, salt or oil will not be examples of gifts, although they are reproduced without human intervention. The main indicator of non-economic benefits will be "gratuitous receipt in any required volume." For the extraction of salt and oil, economic resources will be expended, which will determine their future value. To receive them, a person will need to pay.
Also, wind, sea and oceans, rain, snow in the winter season are related to free gifts. A person will not be able to live without these phenomena, but non-free goods are necessary to satisfy most of his basic needs.
The concept of economic benefits
This term is the opposite of what was mentioned above. An economic good is a phenomenon or object that is the result of the economic activity of an individual or society as a whole, and resources are always expended to create it. The number of such phenomena is limited, and sometimes it can be significantly lower than the demand and need for this type of economic good.
For example, the living space in a new building in the city center can be an example of such a good. Demand from city residents may be higher than the available number of apartments in the house. In addition, to obtain this living space, a person will need to pay, that is, he will not receive it for nothing. Even if a person receives an apartment for free (as a prize in the lottery), it still will not be considered a boon, since the materials, time and efforts of the workers were spent on its reproduction.
In addition, various services and services, public institutions and any other resources that can be considered rare are related to economic benefits.
The difference between gift and economic benefits
So what are the main differences between these two concepts? Firstly, free benefits are provided free of charge, while economic benefits must be paid. As a possible option - a person can get them for free, but at the same time they still have a cost. Secondly, to reproduce gift benefits, you do not need to spend any resources. At the same time, they will always be needed to obtain economic ones. And, thirdly, non-economic benefits are presented in unlimited quantities and their distribution in society is free from any rules, while economic ones, on the contrary, are always limited.
Now that we know what distinguishes gift goods from economic ones, it will be much easier to understand economic theory and all the processes associated with it that occur around us every day.