Economics 12 - Foundations

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

• analyse factors that affect growth, the creation of wealth, and the distribution of income in an economy
• evaluate the components and assumptions of various economic theories, including the theory of supply and demand, and their effect on the development of modern economic systems
• evaluate the effect of economic activity (including home-based, non-profit, and non-market economies)
• describe the roles of individuals, business, and government in the business cycle and analyse the impact of that cycle on economic decision making
• apply economic principles when making personal and career decisions
• assess the way in which economic principles are applied differently to individuals, businesses, and nations
• evaluate an economic system's performance based on criteria including:
  • freedom
  • environmental impact
  • international standards of ethics
  • efficiency
  • equity
  • security
  • employment
  • stability
  • growth

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Have groups of students explore the impact of supply and demand in a closed system. Ask each group to use computer simulations to create a small business (e.g., a lemonade stand) and to examine the interrelationships, over two business cycles, among the product cost, advertising costs, and unknown variables (e.g., weather patterns).
• Have students in groups examine supply and demand in an open system. Ask each group to research and discuss salaries in a professional sport or in the music, TV, or film industries. Challenge them to account for the differences in salary levels paid to stars in various countries and why they vary by gender and by amateur or professional status. Then encourage students to examine the salary scales in career fields of their choice.
• Ask students to examine two simulated remote communities with the same resources, population, level of technology, and advertising media. Tell them that a council controls one community's develop- ment of products and services and that in the other community, market forces define the mix of products and services that are developed. Ask students to identify areas that should be regulated by the council and to indicate how these same concerns would evolve in a market-driven setting. Challenge students to compare and comment on the development (over 5, 10, and 20 years) of taxes, non-market economic activity, employment, duties, banking, transportation systems, educational institutions, construction, law enforcement, and communications systems, and the overall impact on the economy.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• To check on students' understanding of supply and demand, have them research and analyse the impact of the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise oil prices. Assess the extent to which they:
  • use a variety of relevant, credible, and current resources
  • apply economic terms and concepts accurately
  • explicitly identify their assumptions
  • provide specific data to support their analyses
  • reach logical conclusions
• To assess students' understanding of how economic principles are applied differentially, ask them to compare, analyse, and report on:
  • market incentives and social considerations in the Grameen banks and Mondragon co-operatives
  • men in developing countries as poor loan risks (based on Grameen banks findings) compared with women in Canada who apply for small- business loans Note the extent to which they are able to:
  • use economic terms with precision
  • identify and explain relevant economic principles
  • outline similarities and differences
  • describe the economic decision making involved
  • develop logical conclusions
• Check on students' understanding of how economic concepts apply internationally by asking them to analyse shifts in the world's 20 largest banks. Have them:
  • generalize about geographic distribution
  • research world banking regulations
  • examine the gross national products of the countries involved
  • speculate on why shifts have taken place
  • analyse the implications of shifts in the creation of wealth

• The Canadian Economy
• Economics for Today: Issues and Applications
• The Economics Scrapbook
• Made in Canada: Economics for Canadians, Third Edition
• Working With Economics, Fourth Edition

• Country Canada: Good Grapes
• Real World Economics: Getting the Right Mix
• Venture: $100 Bills
• Venture: Ethicscan
• Venture: Omnibus
• W5: Farmer Buck
• W5: Iceland
• W5: Underground Economy

• The Business Game

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