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Standard 4:  Economics - Commencement

1. The study of economics requires an understanding of major economic concepts and systems, the principles of economic decision making and the interdependence of economics and economic systems throughout the world.

Students:

• analyze the effectiveness of varying ways societies, nations, and regions of the world attempt to satisfy their basic needs and wants by utilizing scarce resources
• define and apply basic economic concepts such as scarcity, supply/demand, opportunity costs, production, resources, money and banking economic growth, markets, costs, competition, and world economic systems
• understand the nature of scarcity and how nation, of the world make choices which involve economic and social costs and benefits
• describe the ideals, principles, structure, practices, accomplishments, and problems related to the United States economic system
• compare and contrast the United States economic system with other national economic systems, focusing on the three fundamental economic questions
• explain how economic decision making has become global as a result of an interdependent world economy
• understand the roles in the economic system of consumers, producers, workers, investors, and voters.

• through the use of market case studies of the U. S.economy and the economies of other countries, investigate how values and incentives influence people's choices, how the economic system affects people's incentives, how people gain from voluntary trade, and how people's choices influence the value of a good or service
• examine current and historical economic data (e.g., workforce composition and participation, natural resource deposits, industrial base, financial institutions, state's gross domestic product) to create an economic profile of the New York State and United States economies; investigate the role of government (state and national) with particular attention to services provided that foster economic activity and regulations designed to protect the environment
• complete a case study of a nation or society, focusing on the fundamental economic questions: What goods and services are produced and in what quantities? How are these goods and services produced? For whom are these goods and services produced?
• investigate one or more current economic issues in the United States, including their historical antecedents; issues may include, but are not limited to: impact of fiscal policy, the role of Federal Reserve and monetary policy corporate downsizing and unemployment, economic growth and the information age, welfare policy, health care policy, the national debt, defense spending, foreign aid, affirmative action; consider policy positions, and the possible conflicting goals of government, such as full employment, price stability, economic justice, economic freedom, and economic security
• recognize why international trade takes place (because of comparative advantage) and the role of exchange rate in fostering or inhibiting trade; become familiar with the basics of the balance of payments and international capital flows; investigate the importance of New York City as a primary world financial center and how the City's financial role is enhanced by technology
• graph textbook or teacher-developed data to display supply/demand schedules. Interpret graphs identifying prices and situations that would cause the demand and supply schedules to change
• describe a list of economic decisions students will make during the coming year, explaining how the concept of scarcity is involved in each decision. For each decision, discuss a possible opportunity cost involved. Research newspapers, periodicals, and computer databases to compile a list of local, State, or federal government economic decisions explaining how the concept of scarcity affected each decision
• interpret and analyze the graphic information included in the annual Economic Report of the President, describing federal and state expenditures
• analyze how traditional, command, market, and mixed economies would address the following issues: health care for individuals with special needs (i.e., elderly people with disabilities), price supports for farmers, aid to education, and environmental controls of industries
• examine the nature and functions of money in an economy; understand the basics of banking, including the role of the Federal Reserve Bank system; investigate how forms of money and the nature of credit have changed over time; recognize how technology increases the flow of financial information and increases the speed of financial transactions

conduct an in-depth investigation and analysis of the economic and historical impact of one of the following: the era of Adam Smith and the emergence of capitalism, the Industrial Revolution, Karl Marx and the emergence of communism, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "opening up" of former communist countries to capitalism, and how economic change has affected families throughout history.
 

Students

• identify, locate, and evaluate economic information from standard reference works, newspapers, periodicals, computer databases, monographs, textbooks, government publications, and other primary and secondary sources
• use economic intention by identifying similarities and differences in trends; inferring relationships between various elements of an economy: organizing and arranging information in charts, tables, and graphs; extrapolating and making conclusions about economic questions, issues, and problems
• apply a problem-solving model to identify economic problems or issues, generate hypotheses, test hypotheses, investigate and analyze selected data, consider alternative solutions or positions, and make decisions about the best solution or position
• present economic information and conclusions in different formats, including graphic representations, computer models, research reports, and oral presentations.

• analyze graphs and charts describing federal, state, and local government expenditures in different categories (e.g., education, police and fire, health care, welfare, transportation) and design a graphic representation or computer model that compares/contrasts these expenditures
• construct a personal budget showing how they would spend a particular income for a period of months. Classify the expenditures and present this information in graphic form
• research the early struggles of organized labor, including topics such as labor conditions in specific industries in the nineteenth century, important pieces of labor legislation, and major labor conflicts. Prepare an oral or research report that summarizes the findings and evaluates the effectiveness of the solutions to these problems, conflicts, or conditions
• list problems which affect the environment and the quality of life in the United States Research federal, state, and local government programs developed to resolve these problems. Evaluate the costs and benefits of each governmental action and propose additional actions
• prepare a series of questions for an interview with a commercial banker focusing on the relationship of that bank with the Federal Reserve System and how and why interest rates change. Graph interest rates for a two-year period and explain how and why they might have changed

research periodicals, computer databases, and government publications to investigate different views on the role of the government in the economy. Take and defend a position on what role government should play in managing the economy.