Economics Core Knowledge

National Economics Standard

Core Knowledgeâ

McREL Standard

Standard 1-Students will understand that productive resources are limited. Therefore, people can not have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others.

Standard 2-Students will understand that effective decision making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits. Most choices involve doing a little more or a little less of something: few choices are "all or nothing" decisions.

Standard 3-Understands the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy

Standard 3-Students will understand that different methods can be used to allocate goods and services. People acting individually or collectively through government, must choose which methods to use to allocate different kinds of goods and services.

Standard 2-Understands characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic incentives    

Standard 4-Students will understand that people respond predictably to positive and negative incentives.

Standard 2-Understands characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic incentives  

Standard 5-Students will understand that voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. This is true for trade among individuals or organizations within a nation, and usually among individuals or organizations in different nations.

Standard 2-Understands characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic incentives  

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.

Standard 3-Understands the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy

Standard 7-Students will understand that markets exist when buyers and sellers interact. This interaction determines market prices and thereby allocates scarce goods and services.

Standard 1-Understands that scarcity of productive resources requires choices that generate opportunity costs

Standard 3-Understands the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy

Standard 8-Students will understand that prices send signals and provide incentives to buyers and sellers. When supply or demand changes, market prices adjust, affecting incentives.

Standard 3-Understands the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy

Standard 9-Students will understand that competition among sellers lowers costs and prices, and encourages producers to produce more of what consumers are willing and able to buy. Competition among buyers increases prices and allocates goods and services to those people who are willing and able to pay the most for them.

Standard 1-Understands that scarcity of productive resources requires choices that generate opportunity costs

Standard 3-Understands the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy

Standard 4-Understands basic features of market structures and exchanges 

Standard 10-Students will understand that institutions evolve in market economies to help individuals and groups accomplish their goals. Banks, labor unions, corporations, legal systems, and not-for-profit organizations are examples of important institutions. A different kind of institution, clearly defined and enforced property rights, is essential to a market economy.

Standard 2-Understands characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic incentives        

Standard 11-Students will understand that money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services.

Standard 7-Understands savings, investment, and interest rates 

Standard 12-Students will understand that interest rates, adjusted for inflation, rise and fall to balance the amount saved with the amount borrowed, which affects the allocation of scarce resources between present and future uses.

Standard 7-Understands savings, investment, and interest rates 

Standard 13-Students will understand that income for most people is determined by the market value of the productive resources they sell. What workers earn depends, primarily, on the market value of what they produce and how productive they are.

Standard 4-Understands basic features of market structures and exchanges 

Standard 14-Students will understand that entrepreneurs are people who take the risks of organizing productive resources to make goods and services. Profit is an important incentive that leads entrepreneurs to accept the risks of business failure.

Standard 4-Understands basic features of market structures and exchanges 

Standard 15-Students will understand that investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and in the health, education, and training of people can raise future standards of living.

Standard 4-Understands basic features of market structures and exchanges 

Standard 16-Students will understand that there is an economic role for government in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also redistribute income.

Standard 2-Understands characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic incentives 

Standard 6-Understands the roles government plays in the United States economy

Standard 8-Understands basic concepts of United States fiscal policy and monetary policy

Standard 17-Students will understand that Costs of government policies sometimes exceed benefits. This may occur because of incentives facing voters, government officials, and government employees, because of actions by special interest groups that can impose costs on the general public, or because social goals other than economic efficiency are being pursued.

Standard 6-Understands the roles government plays in the United States economy

Standard 18-Students will understand that A nation's overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and production decisions made by all households, firms, government agencies, and others in the economy.

Standard 5-Understands unemployment, income, and income distribution in a market economy 

Standard 6-Understands the roles government plays in the United States economy

Standard 19-Students will understand that Unemployment imposes costs on individuals and nations. Unexpected inflation imposes costs on many people and benefits some others because it arbitrarily redistributes purchasing power. Inflation can reduce the rate of growth of national living standards because individuals and organizations use resources to protect themselves against the uncertainty of future prices.

Standard 5-Understands unemployment, income, and income distribution in a market economy 

Standard 9-Understands how Gross Domestic Product and inflation and deflation provide indications of the state of the economy

Standard 20-Students will understand that Federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy influence the overall levels of employment, output, and prices.

Standard 6-Understands the roles government plays in the United States economy

Standard 8-Understands basic concepts of United States fiscal policy and monetary policy