Mele Kalikimaka

Winter Break

---

Econ and HGov: Snow Day

---

 

No school today.

 

Econ and HGov: Snow Day

---

 

 

 

No school today.

 

 

 

HGov APMacro: Production Possibilities Frontier

---

The necessity and consequences of choices can best be understood through a production possibilities model. each point on the production possibilities frontier represents some maximum output of two products. The curve is the frontier because it shows the limit of attainable outputs. To obtain the various combinations of the two products, society must achieve both full employment and productive efficiency. Points lying inside or to the left of the curve are also attainable, but they reflect inefficiency and therefore not as desirable as points on the curve. Points inside the curve imply that the economy could have more of both products if it achieved full employment and productive efficiency. Points lying outside or to the right of the production possibilities curve, would represent a greater output than the output of any point on the curve. Such points are unattainable with the current supplies of resources and technology.

IES: Costume and Table Display

As economic advisors, you and your team can earn points for coming to the summit event in costume. A team costume identifies you as a group and makes it much easier for other economic advisors to find you and your team. A good team costume give your team a competitive advantage at the summit. Take advantage of the opportunity to be creative and earn points for your team.

There are three possible outcomes:
– No  evidence.
– Two elements are evident.
– Three or more elements are evident.

---

Costume Elements

• Costume t-shirt
• Head gear
• Map
• Matching clothing styles
• Name tags’
• Face paint
• Flag
• Matching color scheme

---

Table Display Elements

• Country statistics
• Flag displayed
• Information creatively expressed
• Food or artifacts displayed
• Map(s) of country displayed
• Country music or national anthem
• Photos of country displayed
• Matching color scheme

HGov APMacro: Scarcity

---

Economics is a social science that deals with the fundamental economic problem of scarcity, a condition caused by the combination of seemingly unlimited wants and limited resources. Because of this, people are forced to make choices and decisions about how they will use their resources. There is a significant difference between needs and wants. Individuals have basic essential needs to survive: food, clothing, shelter. Everything else is considered a want, which means not essential to survive. Throughout history, scarcity has prevented people from satisfying all their needs and wants. Scarcity means that people do not and cannot have enough income and time to satisfy their every want; therefore, people are forced to make choices about how they will use their resources. The notion of TINSTAAFL, which stands for There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, is often used to remind us that resources are scarce and that we must make careful economic decisions regarding what, how, and for whom to produce.

Resources are divided into four general categories needed in the production of all goods and services: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. Scarcity means that people do not and cannot have enough income and time to satisfy their every want; therefore, people are forced to make choices about how they will use their resources. By combining trade-offs and opportunity cost is essential in making smart economic decisions. A trade-off is exchanging one thing for another. The cost of a trade-off is what you give up in order to get or do something else. Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative given up for the alternative that was chosen.

IES: World Governance Indicators

Teams will compare the World Governance Indicators score between their country and the United States. The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) capture six key dimensions of governance Voice & Accountability, Political Stability and Lack of Violence, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption. The Worldwide Governance Indicators offer a useful snapshot a country’s quality of governance. These indicators have been used by foreign aid donors such as the United States, who use the indicators to allocate aid packages of hundreds of millions of dollars.  They will also explore the relationship between investment rates and corruption. Is there a connection?

World Governance Indicators p.26 #1-2
Investment Rates and Corruption p.28 #1-5

HGov: Chapter 15 Review

---

 

Chapter 15 Review

 

---

Homework:
Chapter 15 Quiz – tomorrow 12/13

IES: Human Development Index

The United Nations developed what is known as the Human Development Index, The HDI covers three areas: life expectancy, education, and GDP per capita and offers a broader measure of the standard of living than GDP per capita alone. The Human Development Index was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The Human Development Index is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI does not reflect on inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment, etc.

Complete Human Development Index on page 20 #2 & 3

The term investment is often used in a variety of ways. Investment represents actual materials, research and development purchased and used today to produce goods and services in the future. For our purposes here, we are referring to the part of investment that is reflected in GDP, specifically the spending on new equipment, software, and structures that add to a country’s stock or amount of capital. Gross Domestic Product can be separated into four components that include consumer spending, business investment spending, government spending, and net exports. (GDP = C + I + G + X) The “I” represents the amount spent on new equipment and factories, which adds to the total amount of the capital factor of production. Investment is a key factor in growing GDP.

Complete Investment Rates and GDP per Capita pp.21-22

Economic advisor teams will utilize information gathered to determine the current standard of living of the inhabitants of their country and how they intend to improve those conditions.

Complete Standard of Living Analysis page 23 #1-8