Fascinating Economics of the Middle East

To me this NYTimes article captures so much about what is fascinating about economics:

Some of the fascinating principles it captures:

• Cars contribute negative externalities (congestion, pollution) such that the free market equilibrium is not efficient
• Governing bodies can reduce the impact of the negative externality by taxing or, in this case, reducing the supply of cars
• Trade costs go up when there is policing and border checks
• Profit margins tend to go down with more competition.
• People will take advantage of new arbitrage opportunities

This article reminds me of my fabulous year in Egypt and why what I learned there got me so interested in studying economics