If the government provides a good free to citizens, then the opportunity cost of the good is zero. If you get the same satisfaction from going to the opera, attending the Super Bowl, and walking in the woods, it makes no difference which of the three you choose. The secondary effects of an economic action are often very important in economic analysis. Both are false. After every fall election, the weather starts to turn cold.
Elections cause cold weather.
These statements confused positive and normative analysis. When economists use the term ceteris paribus , they indicate that the causal relationship between two economic variables cannot be determined. The opportunity cost of an action measures the undesirable aspects of that action. A middleman specializes in preventing trades and promoting direct exchange. Resource owners will tend to abuse resources and use them selfishly.