Land and labour

In economics, 'land' means much more than a plot of ground.

It covers natural resources of every kind: soil, forests, water, air, sunlight, minerals, oil and natural gas.

That links straight back to the chapter on Natural Resources and Their Use. What that chapter called Nature's gifts, this chapter calls the first factor of production.

Businesses either buy the land they need or pay rent to use it for a period of time. Ratna, for example, took her restaurant space on lease (rent for an agreed period).

The second factor is labour: the physical and mental effort used in production.

Both halves matter. Carpenters, farmers, construction workers, teachers and doctors all use different amounts of physical strength, knowledge and skill, and the mix is completely different for a construction worker and a doctor.

The chapter says it plainly: everyone contributes in a different way through their work, helping to create the goods and services society needs.

A police officer keeps law and order; a scientist invents new technologies; a chef creates new recipes. Each needs a special set of knowledge and skills, and, the chapter adds, dedication to the work. A skill is the ability to do an activity or job well, with practice and training. (A teacher cannot do surgery; a surgeon cannot write software.)