Transcript Civics Core 100, Goal 7

Civics Core 100, Goal 7
Goal 7: The learner will investigate
how and why individuals and groups
make economic choices.
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CELL:
 Capital: manufactured goods used to make other goods
and services- sometimes in economics it refers to $
 Machines, buildings, tools
 Entrepreneurship: individual who starts a new business,
introduces a new product, and improves processes
 Land: AKA Natural Resources: actual service land and
water as well as fish, animals, forests, and mineral
deposits
 Labor: human resources; anyone who works to produce
goods and services
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Needs: required for survival
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Food, clothing, shelter
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Wants: things we would like to have
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Entertainment, vacations, items that make life
comfortable and enjoyable
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Occurs whenever we do not have enough resources to
produce all of the things we would like to have (wants)
No country has all of the resources it needs, therefore,
resources are limited
Wants = unlimited, Resources = limited
Because of this, all societies must answer 3 questions:
THE THREE BASIC ECONOMIC QUESTIONS
 WHAT to produce?
 HOW to produce?
 FOR WHOM to produce?
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Alternative you face if you decide to do one
thing rather than another.
Not only about decisions involving money
Example: choosing a Pepsi over a Coke would
be a trade off
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Cost of the next best use of your time or money when
you choose to do one thing rather than another
Cost= more than just money (involves all of the
possible discomforts and inconveniences linked to the
choice)
When you make a trade-off, you lose something
Example: Choosing to go to the movies instead of the
football game. The opportunity cost could be the
excitement of the game, the interaction with friends,
and maybe money.
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Takes place when people, businesses, regions, or
even countries concentrate on goods or
services that they can produce better than
anyone else
Nearly everyone demands on others to produce
things to consume
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PACED
Identify the Problem
List Alternatives
State your Criteria
Evaluate Alternatives
Decision!
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Comparing the marginal benefit against the
marginal costs
If the costs outweigh the benefits, we should
reject the chosen option
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Productivity: Efficient use of resources
Measure of the amount of output produced by a
given level of inputs in a specific period of time
Productivity
more output can be produced
with the same amount of input in the same
amount of time
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Specialization
Division of Labor- assembly lines
Investment in human resources- train your
employees
Investment in capital resources- improve the
equipment used, example: computers.
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The things used in making goods and providing
services
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Tools, people (human resources), wood, soil, and
water (natural resources)
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Breaking down a job into small tasks performed
by different workers
Makes use of differences in skills and abilities
Improves productivity
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French for “let it alone”
Government should not interfere in the
marketplace.
Government’s role is confined to those actions
necessary to ensure free competition