It's often said that a college degree is the key to future success. Choosing to attend college is a major decision for young people. But why is a degree so important? The December 2015 issue of Page One Economics examines two economic models used to study how education, productivity, and income are related.

In the Comparative Advantage courses, students meet Jack Of All Trades, a most awesome superhero. In all tasks, Jack can do everything better and faster (he has absolute advantage), but does that mean he must do everything while the rest of the people stand around helplessly? Find out if justice is served when a formerly idle citizen, Andy, wades through the depths of opportunity cost and the benefits of comparative advantage.

It is widely accepted within the study of history that cotton played a crucial role in the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This lesson allows students to understand the specific causes and consequences of the dramatic increase of cotton production in southern states and its influence on the emergence of the nation’s first major manufacturing industry—textile production. Students will read both primary and secondary sources detailing the growth of both northern industrialization and southern cotton expansion. Additionally, students will develop data literacy skills using FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and other statistical information to analyze the development of the two regions further. Finally, students complete the lesson by responding to an AP U.S. history exam short-answer, three-part question.

" We will cover fundamentals of ecology, considering Earth as an integrated dynamic system. Topics include coevolution of the biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and oceans; photosynthesis and respiration; the hydrologic, carbon and nitrogen cycles. We will examine the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems; regulation of the distribution and abundance of organisms; structure and function of ecosystems, including evolution and natural selection; metabolic diversity; productivity; trophic dynamics; models of population growth, competition, mutualism and predation. This course is designated as Communication-Intensive; instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided. Biology is a recommended prerequisite."

Most people are interested in seeing workers earn a decent wage. But how does that happen? Is forcing employers to be more generous the key to rising standards of living? To find out how to raise livng standards, this video looks at big differences in wages: from 100 years ago to today; and between poor countries and the US. Through these examples, economists identify productivity and output as the key to increasing living standards.

Have you encountered mobile payment systems like mobile credit card readers? Pretty cool—and this kind of innovation can be good for the economy. From micro to macro, in this episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series, we'll take a look at economic growth—how innovation and technological progress can make things happen for the economy over time by organizing the factors of production to be, well, more productive.

Our standard of living depends on the pace of economic growth. That pace can be enhanced through increased productivity brought about by investment in physical and human capital and advances in technology. In this course, students will learn about these tools to increase productivity and advance our standard of living.

People are passionate about professional sports—they give people pride and a sense of community. And they create economic benefits for the community. But should tax dollars be used to subsidize sports stadiums? The May 2017 issue of Page One Economics describes some pros and cons.

“The Economics of Transportation” is the second video in the Explore Economics animated series. It shows how changes in technology changed the way and speed with which people move goods.

The lump of labor fallacy holds that there is a fixed amount of work to be done, which determines the number of jobs in an economy. If this were true, new jobs could not be generated, just reallocated. This essay provides some clear thinking about the role of labor in an economy.

This Mini Lecture discusses issues of labour productivity, low-wage work and economic growth of emerging markets with direct quotes by Laureates Christopher Pissarides, Peter Diamond, Robert Solow and James Mirrlees.

In Episode 10, young people who are looking for that first job can learn about the basics of the labor market in this country. A brief explanation is given of the roles played by education, supply, demand, productivity and government regulation.

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:

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

Are many products made in the United States anymore? As it turns out, yes. In fact, U.S. manufacturing output is near its highest level ever—and with fewer workers. How is that possible? Productivity growth. The March 2017 issue of Page One Economics describes what affects productivity, why economists are concerned about its recent slowdown, and what can be done about it.

As we shift towards remote learning and working from home, it is important to avoid burnout and stay on task! Remote Study Strategies: The Pomodoro Technique is an interactive presentation that walks students through the Pomodoro Technique, a productivity strategy that is useful for studying. This tutorial gives background on the technique, and provides tips from our team that we find useful to enhance our work process.

Note: Throughout the tutorial, audio clips from WI+RE team members are available to walk you through the slides and provide you with additional information. To play these clips, look for an audio button found in the slides.

In this lesson, students learn about human resources, productivity, human capital, and physical capital. They participate in three rounds of a reasoning activity. From round to round they receive training and tools to help them improve their reasoning ability and thus increase their productivity. Students will then listen to a story about how the Empire State Building was built and identify examples of key concepts mentioned or shown in the book.

In this multidisciplinary lesson, students work in small groups ("work crews") while participating in a production activity. Students learn about competition, division of labor, and incentives. They also demonstrate how division of labor and incentives help lead to greater productivity.