National Standards in Economics
Name: Decision Making
Standard: 2
- Students will understand that: Effective decision making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits. Many choices involve doing a little more or a little less of something: few choices "are all or nothing" decisions.
- Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Make effective decisions as consumers, producers, savers, investors, and citizens.
Name: Incentives
Standard: 4
- Students will understand that: People usually respond predictably to positive and negative incentives.
- Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify incentives that affect people's behavior and explain how incentives affect their own behavior.
Name: Scarcity
Standard: 1
- Students will understand that: Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people cannot have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others.
- Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify what they gain and what they give up when they make choices.
Name: Specialization
Standard: 6
- Students will understand that: When individuals, regions, and nations specialize in what they can produce at the lowest cost and then trade with others, both production and consumption increase.
- Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Explain how they can benefit themselves and others by developing special skills and strengths.