Ciara Clancy was thirsty and went into a local shop to buy a drink. She was met with the familiar sight of a stacked fridge full of different brands of soft drinks, energy drinks, bottled water and juices. Each product has different brand names, labels, flavours and prices. Ciara’s questions about the choice and cost of refreshments are at the heart of microeconomics. In this chapter, we explore how prices are set by analysing the behaviour of consumers and businesses.
How do businesses decide on these prices?
Why does one brand cost so much more than another similar product?
