Interesting Article from NY TIMES

There's a Giant Contradiction at the Heart of the US Economy

From the NY Times

Test Monday on Economic Indicators: Below is review sheet with page numbers in McConnell

 

Price Index and Inflation (p141-148)
How is a Price index calculated?
What is CPI and the PPI? What is the difference between GDP deflator and CPI?
If prices rose from 150 to 200, the rate of inflation is…
What causes inflation? What’s the difference between cost-push and demand- pull
Explain the differences between nominal interest rates vs real interest rates.
Who is hurt or helped with unanticipated inflation?

 Unemployment (p134-140)

What does unemployment mean? Who is counted and not counted?
Explain he different phases of the business cycle
What are the different types of Unemployment?
Calculate the Unemployment rate
Calculating Okun’s Law
Explain the problems with the unemployment rate.
Define full employment, natural rate on unemployment and non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment

 GDP (p. 112-126)

Y=C+ I + G +(x-m)
Define GDP
What’s included? What’s not?
Explain the difference between nominal GDP vs real GDP. How is real GDP identified?
Explain the GDP Gap and Okun’s Law.
What is potential GDP vs Actual GDP?



Know Formulas For:
Unemployment Rate
CPI and Inflation Rate
real GDP
Okun's Law and impact on potential GDP
real interest rates

Inflation Articles

Create a folder in Google Drive and title it
name_APEconomics. Share the folder with me.


Please read the articles below, as well as, the comments. Open up a google doc in your new folder and write a summary and a reflection for each.


Billionaire thinks the Fed is missing hyperinflation

Why Paul Krugman thinks inflation fears are baloney

From the Economist: The Pursuit of Happiness

One of the limits of GDP is that is tells us very little about the impact of production on the quality of life. Click on the article below from the Economist magazine and find out which country is happiest.

The Pursuit of Happiness

AP History Conference Topics

Below are links from The Economist and  provide interesting articles on food, agriculture and nutrition which might spark an interest in a topic for the AP History Conference.


Healthy Eating
Agriculture
Food





Some other topics

Impact of food subsidies on diet and economy
Economic viability of vegetarianism
Fair trade vs Free trade
Impact of agricultural lobby groups
Economics of diets
Agribusiness
Government food pyramid
Organic food movement
Grow and buy locally movement

Should we raise the minimum wage? Debate Monday

Debate sheet

Quiz tomorrow

15 MC
Supply and Demand
Price Ceilings
Determinants of supply and Demand

Demand Practice Homework - Due Wednesday

Page 57 in McConnell

1. Explain the law of demand. why does a demand curve slope downward? What are the determinants of demand? What happens to the demand cure when each of these determinants changes? Distinguish between a change in demand and change in the quantity demanded, noting the causes (s) of each.

2. Key Question What effect will each of the following have on the demand for Product B?
a. Product B becomes more fashionable.
b. The price of substitute product C falls.
c. Income declines and product B in an inferior good.
d. Consumers anticipate that the price of B will be lower in the near future.
e. The price of complementary product D falls.

What I love about this video is that you will understand everything she is saying by the end of the year.

Production Possibilities Curve 24-33

Please take the time to review these pages over the weekend. There are certain concepts you should understand: Full employment, productive vs. allocative efficiency, law of increasing opportunity cost, shifts in the PPC.
Remember:

• Changes in what to produce results in movement along the curve
• Changes in technology and  quality and quantity of resources results in a shift

Page 27 deals with the Law of Increasing Opportunity Cost and the rationale for it. Please read it tonight.

Unit I: Introduction to Economic Thinking

Please read the first Chapter in your textbook and try to answer the questions and define the terms.

Summary: The first unit sets the stage for the fundamental  lessons of economics and economic thinking. Such questions as "what is economics?'  "how is the concept of scarcity central to understanding economics?" and "what role does opportunity cost decisions play in our daily lives?" will be addressed.

Questions:

1. Explain how scarcity is the fundamental economic problem facing society? What are the three basic questions societies are forced to ask a result of scarcity?
2. Describe the four factors of production.
3. Explain the concept of opportunity cost and how we ultimately come to our decisions.

Chapter Terms (Be able to explain the significance of each term according to the chapter):

 Economics                                          Opportunity Costs                             Utility
 Scarcity                                               Incentives                                             Factors of Production                                          Trade-offs                                       Resources                         TINSTAAFL                                     Needs vs. wants                              
Production Possibilities Curve   
Land, labor, capital and entrepreneur