FrontPage: Find your seat on the paper at the front of the room…

The Last Word: No homework

FrontPage: NNIGN – sit down and relax.

The Last Word: No homework

What do these people want?

For the next few slides, make a short list of what the people depicted in each slide would be thinking about “getting” that day or in the near future.

What kinds of things are in the forefront of their minds?What do they “want”? What do they “need”?

Kenyan villagers

American High School Seniors

Bill Gates, currently the richest man in the world

What did we learn?

What does each “want”?

What do they all share in common?

Key ideas behind EconomicsUnlimited wants – we all want more, even if its just time.

Why can’t we have it all?

“You can’t have it all; where would you put it?”

• Limited resources – the basic problem of economics = “Scarcity”• There just isn’t enough “stuff” for all of us• Additionally, there are many different uses for that

stuff

Scarcity: The Basic Economic ProblemChapter 1, Section 1Wants vs. Needs

wants: desires that can be satisfied by consuming a good or service.needs: things, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter that are necessary for survival.

Scarcity vs. Shortage- scarcity: the permanent situation that exists in which there are never enough resources to meet all human wants.- shortage: a temporary situation in which demand for a particular good or service is greater than the supply.

Competing Uses For ResourcesNot only is there limited “stuff”, but there are different uses for that stuff…What all can you do with the following items? (try to name 2-3 things)

Oil

Water

Cows

Time

The Basic Economic Problem - SCARCITYPrinciple of Scarcity #1: People Have Wants

Wants are unlimited and ever changing.

People must make choices about what they desire and what to do with resources they have.

Scarcity: The Basic Economic ProblemSection 1Principle of Scarcity #2: Scarcity Affects Everyone

Because wants are unlimited and resources are scarce, choices have to be made about how best to use these resourcesScarcity affects which goods or services are produced.

goods: physical objects that can be bought.services: work that one person does for another for payment.

Scarcity affects the choices of both the consumer and producer.

consumer: a person who buys goods and services for personal use.producer: a person who makes goods or provides services.

FrontPage: What is the basic problem in Economics?

The Last Word: No Homework

Trash takes on new meaning in this guy’s hands. Francisco de Pajaro likes to trawl the streets around London's Brick Lane, doing creative things with refuse. His work is ephemeral, since it generally gets cleared away in the morning.

What is Economics?

Economics is the study of how people, groups and societies fulfill their wants and needs by making use of scarce resources that have alternative uses.

Our economic systems are those systems set up to fulfill our wants and needs using these scarce resources…

Capitalism, communism, etc.

Scarcity Activity