"Social Science concerned with the way society chooses to employ its limited resources which have alternative uses to produce goods and services for present and future consumption."

(Social Science)

- "Hard" Sciences vs. "Soft" Sciences (deal with human behavior, based on observation)
- Can economics (or any social science) can be paired with a certain set of values to advance a particular viewpoint?

(concerned with the way society chooses)

- chooses. Economy is not a natural system like the weather. People make choices.
- Which people?

(to employ its limited resources)

- people and labor are also resources

(which have alternative uses)

(to produce goods and services)

- what does it mean to be a so-called service economy? a knowledge economy?

(for present and future)

(consumption)

- Look at what goods/services are being used and how
- What is a consumer? (emphasis on personal needs)

• Based on the elements of this definition what kinds of questions do you think economists might ask?
  
  
• What types of sources do you think economists might use to answer these questions?

How to Measure the Condition of an Economy

Business Indicators

The Stock Market

- 1% of stock owners control 48% of all stock
- 19% of stock owners control about 48% of all stock
- 80% of stock owners control about 4% of all stock

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) "The total market value of all final goods and services produced during a year by resources located within a certain country, regardless of who owns the resources."

GDP per capita: GDP divided by the number of people in a country

Gross National Product (GNP) "The total market value of all final goods and services produced during a year by resources owned within a certain country, regardless of where the resources are located."

(GNP = GDP + net foreign factor income). Note the difference between GDP and GNP for a given country is whether or not the resources are located within the country (GDP) or owned within the country (GNP).

Unemployment Rate: Idaho (July 2002)= 5.4 (labor force = 690,334; unemployed = 37,447)
National Rate (July 2002) = 5.9

- doesn't include jobless people who want a job and have given up and counts part-time and temporary workers as fully employed - even those who would prefer full-time, permanent work.

Inflation Rate: $1 in 2002 = .22 in 1970, .46 in 1980

Labor Indicators

Wages

Benefits: Health Care, Vacation,

Job Security

Opportunity

Quality of Life Indicators

Adult Literacy Rate:

Poverty Rate:
11.3% of population in 2000
1 in 5 children in U.S. defined as poor

Number of Homeless:
By its nature difficult to measure. Some surveys of several metro areas indicate about 3% of the US population is homeless.

Amount of Leisure Time
Avg. American was working 55 more hours per year in 1998, than in 1980.
In France, according to the law employers must give a min. of 5 weeks per year vacation, six in Germany - plus holidays.

Other Quality of life factors : health care, education, diet,

Wealth
1% control 38% of American Wealth
19% control 45% of American Wealth
80% control 17% of American Wealth