EconEdLink

STANDARDS

Name: Government Failure

Standard: 17

• Students will understand that: Costs of government policies sometimes exceed benefits. This may occur because of incentives facing voters, government officials, and government employees, because of actions by special interest groups that can impose costs on the general public, or because social goals other than economic efficiency are being pursued.
• Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify some public policies that may cost more than the benefits they generate, and assess who enjoys the benefits and who bears the costs. Explain why the policies exist.

Name: Role of Government and Market Failure

Standard: 16

• Students will understand that: There is an economic role for government in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also have direct or indirect effects on people's incomes.
• Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Identify and evaluate the benefits and costs of alternative public policies, and assess who enjoys the benefits and who bears the costs.

Name: Economic Fluctuations

Standard: 18

• Students will understand that: Fluctuations in 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. Recessions occur when overall levels of income and employment decline.
• Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Interpret media reports about current economic conditions and explain how these conditions can influence decisions made by consumers, producers, and government policy makers.

Name: Fiscal and Monetary Policy

Standard: 20

• Students will understand that: Federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy influence the overall levels of employment, output, and prices.
• Students will be able to use this knowledge to: Anticipate the impact of the federal government and the Federal Reserve System macroeconomic policy decisions on themselves and others.