"Finding Statistics on the United States
Economy"Introduction
Students have already learned that Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) is a measure of national output and the consumer price
index (CPI) reports on price changes for about 90,000 items
in 364 categories. The most recent GDP and CPI figures along
with other economic statistics can be found in the Economic
Statistics Briefing Room on the Internet. Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Economic Statistics
Briefing Room Web site to find current economic statistics. Previous Knowledge Expected
Students should be familiar with the following terms: consumer price index: index used to measure price changes
for a market basket of frequently used consumer items gross domestic product: dollar value of all final
goods, services, and structures produced within a country's
natural borders during a one-year period Applied Content Standards (from
the Council for Economic Education) Standard 18: A nation's overall levels of income, employment,
and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and
production decisions made by all households, firms, government
agencies, and others in the economy. Standard 19: Unemployment imposes costs on individuals
and nations. Unexpected inflation imposes costs on many people
and benefits some others because it arbitrarily redistributes
purchasing power. Inflation can reduce the rate of growth
of national living standards, because individuals and organizations
use resources to protect themselves against the uncertainty
of future prices. Instructional Objectives
- Students will list the current figure for Gross Domestic
Product.
- Students will list the current unemployment rate.
- Students will list the current figure for per capita income.
- Students will list the current statistic for U.S. International
Trade in Goods and Services.
Student Web Activity Answers
1. The latest quarterly change in real GDP will be shown in
Table 1. If the quarterly changes are positive, the economy is expanding; if real GDP contracts for two consecutive quarters,
the economy is in recession.
2-4: Current figures should be obtained from the Web site. Extending the Lesson
Encourage students to read other information provided on the
Economic Statistics Briefing Room site. Have students graph
information they download.
Have each student select a different statistic that is listed
on the site. Have students present the current figure and
the importance of that figure to the class.
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