Lesson Plan: The Fundamental Economic Problem Economics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to recognize the reasons pertaining to the existence of the economic problem, the definition of economics, and its main fields.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- understand that the core of the economic problem is the relative scarcity of resources,
- understand that choices are made to allocate resources and maximize benefits,
- understand the relationship between scarcity choice and opportunity cost,
- understand the importance of information for decision making in economics and how the lack of information can lead to information failure,
- define the science of economics,
- understand the definitions and differences between four fields of economics: macroeconomics, microeconomics, welfare economics, and development economics.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- needs and wants,
- economic activity,
- types of resources,
- types of goods.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- market failure,
- positive versus normative economics,
- the basic economic questions about production.