Standard 4
Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.
Expectation
1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of economic principles, institutions, and processes required to formulate government policy.
Topic
A. Scarcity and Economic Decision-making
Indicator
- 1. The student will utilize the principles of economic costs and benefits and opportunity cost to analyze the effectiveness of government policy in achieving socio-economic goals (4.1.2).
Assessment limits:
- The role of scarcity and opportunity cost in government decision-making.
- Competing socio-economic goals including: economic freedom, growth, stability, equity, security, productivity, national defense, environmental protection, and educational quality.
Objectives
- Explain how scarcity and opportunity cost affect government decision-making
- Explain how governments attempt to prioritize socio-economic goals in response to changing economic, social and political conditions
- Evaluate the role of government in providing public goods, such as national defense and public education (Unit 1)
- Explain examples of trade-offs that occur within competing socio-economic goals during the budget-creation process at the national, state and local levels, such as economic freedom v. economic equity and security (Unit 4)
- Evaluate how the principles of economic costs, benefits, and opportunity cost are used to address public policy issues, such as environmental and healthcare concerns (Unit 6)
Topic
B. Economic Systems and the Role of Government in the Economy
Indicator
- 1. The student will evaluate how governments affect the answers to the basic economic questions of what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce (4.1.1).
Assessment limits:
- Role of government in answering the basic economic questions in traditional, market, command and mixed economies.
Objectives
- Explain how traditional, command and market economies answer the basic economic questions of what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce
- Describe how governments organize their economic system for the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services
- Explain how elements of market, command and tradition have shaped the United States' mixed economic system, such as consumer preferences and tariff policies (Unit 1)
Indicator
- 2. The student will examine regulatory agencies and their social, economic, and political impact on the country, a region, or on/within a state (4.1.3).
Assessment limits:
- How regulatory agencies respond to social issues/concerns, and/or market failures.
- Regulatory agencies that respond to social issues and/or market failures: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- Other national agencies and state and local agencies can be used, but information will be provided in the item.
Objectives
- Describe the role of regulatory agencies in carrying out the policies of the executive on the national and state level (Unit 4)
- Describe the purpose, roles and responsibilities of regulatory agencies: Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Analyze how the actions of regulatory agencies address public issues, market failures and monopolies at the local, state and/or national level
- Examine how other government agencies, such as the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration fulfill the obligations of government and respond to issues in society (Unit 6)
Indicator
- 3. The student will evaluate the effectiveness of current monetary and fiscal policy on promoting full employment, price stability, and economic performance (4.1.4).
Assessment limits:
- Business cycle, monetary policy (Federal Reserve actions) and fiscal policy (Legislative and Executive actions) and their effect on economic performance, full employment, and price stability.
- Tools of monetary policy (Federal Reserve System – FED) include the reserve requirement, interest rates, and open-market operations (buying and selling of government securities).
- Tools of fiscal policy include increasing/decreasing taxes and tariffs and/or spending.
- Measures of economic performance include Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the unemployment rate.
Objectives
- Describe the role of the United States Congress and the Maryland General Assembly in developing fiscal policy and the approval of budgets
- Describe how national, state, and local legislative bodies use taxing and spending to influence the economy
- Evaluate the effectiveness of fiscal policy in achieving economic growth and employment, such as tax incentives and changes in spending (Unit 3)
- Analyze the role of the executive on the national, state and local level in the budgetary process
- Determine how the executive branch influences economic performance by using the tools of fiscal policy including increasing and decreasing taxes and tariffs and/or spending (Unit 4)
- Describe how the Federal Reserve System uses the three tools of monetary policy, including open market operations, changes in the discount (interest) rate and changes in the reserve requirements to influence the economy
- Describe the effectiveness of monetary policy in achieving economic growth, full employment and price stability
- Explain how the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the unemployment rate and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measure economic performance
- Explain how economic instability, including periods of growth and recession, is a part of the free enterprise system
- Explain how inflation reduces buying power and may contribute to a slow down in the economy (Unit 6)
Note: The V.S.C. High School American Government course contains objectives that are compiled and tagged by corresponding unit. The titles of the units are:
Unit 1. PURPOSES, FORMS, AND TYPES OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURES
Unit 2. FOUNDATIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT AND THE CONSTITUTION
Unit 3. LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES (NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL)
Unit 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCHES (NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL)
Unit 5. JUDICIAL BRANCHES (NATIONAL AND STATE)
Unit 6. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICY
Unit 7. PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT
In the language of the objectives, the use of including refers to content that is recommended for instruction. The use of
such as in the language of the objective refers to content that may be used as examples, but is not required.
