We are faced with the need to make decisions, both big and small, on a daily basis. The earlier young people learn how to make a good decision, the better their decision-making skills will be. In this short course in our Ella's Adventures series, your students will read and listen to a story about Ella, who has decisions to make. While most of her decisions are easy, she runs across a hard one and employs a decision-making tool to help solve her problem.

In this first episode of The Economic Lowdown, we will introduce three topics in economics: choice, scarcity and opportunity cost.

Paradoxically, while natural disasters clearly destroy wealth, they also seem to create wealth and employment when the damages are repaired. But 19th century French economist Frédéric Bastiat argued that this idea is a fallacy and fails to take opportunity costs into account. In this video, philosophy professor Dan Russell of the University of Arizona defines opportunity costs and explains the importance of Bastiat’s realization on contemporary economics.

In segment 1 of this 3 part series, student will learn about the production possibilities frontier (PPF), scarcity and opportunity cost. This video is 5 minutes long and will aid in the mastery of standard EPF. 1(a).

Students learn about opportunity cost, saving, savings goals and a savings plan by reading The Pickle Patch Bathtub. Students will develop savings plans that lead to their own savings goals.

Through a story and activities, the student book introduces students to economic concepts such as saving, spending, budgeting, wants, goods, services and opportunity cost.

Principles of Macroeconomics 2e covers the scope and sequence of most introductory economics courses. The text includes many current examples, which are handled in a politically equitable way. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of economics concepts. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to increase clarity, update data and current event impacts, and incorporate the feedback from many reviewers and adopters.Changes made in Principles of Macroeconomics 2e are described in the preface and the transition guide to help instructors transition to the second edition.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Calculate and graph budget constraintsExplain opportunity sets and opportunity costsEvaluate the law of diminishing marginal utilityExplain how marginal analysis and utility influence choices

In this Unit, you will learn about:How Individuals Make Choices Based on Their Budget ConstraintThe Production Possibilities Frontier and Social ChoicesConfronting Objections to the Economic Approach

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Differentiate among a floating exchange rate, a soft peg, a hard peg, and a merged currency
Identify the tradeoffs that come with a floating exchange rate, a soft peg, a hard peg, and a merged currency

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Discuss how international trade influences the job market
Analyze the opportunity cost of protectionism
Explain how international trade impacts wages, labor standards, and working conditions

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Define absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and opportunity costs
Explain the gains of trade created when a country specializes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Show the relationship between production costs and comparative advantage
Identify situations of mutually beneficial trade
Identify trade benefits by considering opportunity costs