Goals for the day:
· For you to understand the behavior of different labor markets
· For you to create an economic strategy for your avatar
· For you to reflect on the labor market for young people in Durango
1. Field of Economics - The starter for the day is a visual representation of the “field of economics.” I will pass this out and give you a verbal tour, explaining each section. The hard part of understanding economics is that there are so many sub-topics that don’t conform to easy categories. The line between microeconomics and macroeconomics is a rough one. Once you understand the diagram, I want you to put a star next to the ONE topic that you definitely want to know more about and circle THREE other topics you are interested in.
2. Labor Supply and Demand - With this done, we’ll return to our discussion of labor markets from the perspective of a worker. One question that workers are interested in is why some people get paid more than others. We talked about this a bit in the difference between a doctor and a construction worker.
Within a single business, one person might get paid more because the owner deems them “more productive” than the other workers. They have more of what’s called “human capital,” represented by education, experience, or some special skill.
Between different businesses (construction workers vs. doctors), the answer is both human capital and supply and demand. We’ll play a bit more with supply and demand curves to labor to see how these graphs can predict changing prices. Supply or demand that’s responsive to price changes is said to be "elastic." The supply of construction workers is very responsive to price, very elastic. Why? The supply of doctors is not elastic. Why?
3. Budgeting – Before break we’ll return to our avatars and let you create their monthly budget. Go to this Google Spreadsheet. Save it to your own drive so you can work on it independently. Everyone will be typing numbers into this worksheet so it's important we're not trying to fill in the same cells. Work as a group and fill in the numbers for your avatar. What does your avatar need to do to stay out of debt? After break, you’ll decide on the best economic strategy for your avatar given his income level. What will he do? You’ll present the budget and strategy to the whole group.
4. We’ll end by discussing the labor market for young people in Durango. What are some ways to improve the market so your avatars can have an easier time of it? Workforce development? Livable wage? Other options include time banking, labor unions, and worker-owned cooperatives. (Check the glossary for definition of these terms!) And final option is for your avatar to start his own business.
Homework
Identify two products cost less than $500 that you can buy in Durango that would contribute to your well-being
Bring an example of advertisement to 16-30 year-olds from a local media outlet
· For you to understand the behavior of different labor markets
· For you to create an economic strategy for your avatar
· For you to reflect on the labor market for young people in Durango
1. Field of Economics - The starter for the day is a visual representation of the “field of economics.” I will pass this out and give you a verbal tour, explaining each section. The hard part of understanding economics is that there are so many sub-topics that don’t conform to easy categories. The line between microeconomics and macroeconomics is a rough one. Once you understand the diagram, I want you to put a star next to the ONE topic that you definitely want to know more about and circle THREE other topics you are interested in.
2. Labor Supply and Demand - With this done, we’ll return to our discussion of labor markets from the perspective of a worker. One question that workers are interested in is why some people get paid more than others. We talked about this a bit in the difference between a doctor and a construction worker.
Within a single business, one person might get paid more because the owner deems them “more productive” than the other workers. They have more of what’s called “human capital,” represented by education, experience, or some special skill.
Between different businesses (construction workers vs. doctors), the answer is both human capital and supply and demand. We’ll play a bit more with supply and demand curves to labor to see how these graphs can predict changing prices. Supply or demand that’s responsive to price changes is said to be "elastic." The supply of construction workers is very responsive to price, very elastic. Why? The supply of doctors is not elastic. Why?
3. Budgeting – Before break we’ll return to our avatars and let you create their monthly budget. Go to this Google Spreadsheet. Save it to your own drive so you can work on it independently. Everyone will be typing numbers into this worksheet so it's important we're not trying to fill in the same cells. Work as a group and fill in the numbers for your avatar. What does your avatar need to do to stay out of debt? After break, you’ll decide on the best economic strategy for your avatar given his income level. What will he do? You’ll present the budget and strategy to the whole group.
4. We’ll end by discussing the labor market for young people in Durango. What are some ways to improve the market so your avatars can have an easier time of it? Workforce development? Livable wage? Other options include time banking, labor unions, and worker-owned cooperatives. (Check the glossary for definition of these terms!) And final option is for your avatar to start his own business.
Homework
Identify two products cost less than $500 that you can buy in Durango that would contribute to your well-being
- Examples might include "coffee," "skis," "tuition," "health care."
- The whole product must cost less than $500; you can't make a partial payment on something else.
- Think about the quality of what you buy. You can get a used bike and have lots left over or you can get a pretty good bike by using the whole amount.
Bring an example of advertisement to 16-30 year-olds from a local media outlet