"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

Democracy vs. Capitalism

What are the differences between a political system and an economic system?

Democracy = the political structure of our society. Political system in which the government is by the people, either directly or by representatives.

Capitalism = the economic structure of our society. Economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and the distribution of land, factories, mines, railroads, etc., and their operation for the profit of the owners. (Under predominantly competitive conditions)

Is it possible to have a democracy with something other than a capitalist structuring of the economy? (Sweden/Denmark - Social Democracies)

Is it possible to have capitalism with something other that democracy structuring the political system?
(Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Guatemala, Singapore)

- Examples of dictatorships, where political freedoms are limited yet their markets are largely open to "free trade" and operate a free market economy under capitalist principles.

Summary: Political vs. Economic Democracy

-- What are the connections between a society's political structure and it's economic structure?

- Important to look at how each of these systems exercise power. Political Democracy vs. Economic Democracy. Which of these systems impacts the kind of society you live in more? Which do you have more influence in?

- If the overall economy is not regulated by democratic principles, and if there is a lack of "workplace democracy" in particular, do you think it is possible to maintain a political democracy?

- Important to look at what kinds of people are in position of power in each of these systems. If you discover they are by and large the same people, or from more or less the same group, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that a political system might be put to use of promoting an economic system (or vice versa, an economic system try to reinforce itself in the political system of the day.)

What is the American Dream?

- Is it true that with hard work and/or academic achievement everybody has an equal chance to get ahead?
- Do we have equal opportunity in America?
- Is hard work always rewarded with monetary gain? Is everyone who works hard rewarded? How do we define "hard work"?

Just more questions to keep in mind as we go on thinking about Globalization and how it applies to us.