Knowledge and Comprehension
1. What does GDP (per capita) measure? Does it measure inequality?
GDP means Gross Domestic Product and it is the total value of everything produced (in a
given period), per capita means it’s the average annual income, so you can compare
countries. GDP doesn’t measure inequality, since it’s an average, differences between the
richest and poorest aren’t visible. However, GDP (per capita) can give a view on inequality
between people of different countries.
2. What is economic growth? What does the CORE textbook consider to be the main driver of
economic growth?
Economic growth means the GDP, the amount of produced (and consumed) goods and
services increased. Not only increase in quantity, but also in quality.
CORE focuses on the ‘capitalist’ revolution as the main cause of economic growth in history,
since with the come of capitalism not only the GDP grew, but also the productivity of labour
and the connections between places in the world, which also had led to more growth of the
GDP and by that economic growth.
CORE highlights productivity as the main driver of growth, the causes include (among others)
better technologies, better organisation, better access to resources, human capital from
health & education and specialisation/division of labour.
3. What is capitalism?
Capitalism is an economic system characterized by a particular combination of institutions.
Economic system: a way of organizing the production and distribution of goods and services
in an entire economy.
Institutions: different sets of laws and social customs regulating production and distribution
in different ways to different groups.
4. How is the economy embedded within the environment? What local and global issues occur
at this intersection?
~ start with explaining what is the economy ~
The economy is integrated into the biological and physical spheres and it includes side-effects
of economic activities and policies.
The environment supplies the goods (organic and inorganic natural resources) people need
to live and need to produce other goods. The environment also involves air and water.
Since the world population has grown, the supplies aren’t unlimited anymore and the
environment begins to degrade in quality.
Because of the growing world population, the CO 2 has also raised, which caused rising
temperatures and climate change. Consequences; melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels,
changes in climate and rain patterns.
Emissions are created on a local level, but have (huge) consequences on a global scale, since
a region or country can’t be ruled out, a habit of free-riding is rising. The emission of a
country is not just the problem of that country alone.
5. How would you describe the difference between the CORE – The Economy approach and
Samuelson’s Economics approach? What is ‘the economy’?
Samuelson sees economics as a wide field, combined with (a lot of) other disciplines, while
CORE is more strict and just states:
Economics is the study of how people interact with each other and with their natural
surroundings in producing their livelihoods, and how this changes over time. Therefore it is
about:
1. What does GDP (per capita) measure? Does it measure inequality?
GDP means Gross Domestic Product and it is the total value of everything produced (in a
given period), per capita means it’s the average annual income, so you can compare
countries. GDP doesn’t measure inequality, since it’s an average, differences between the
richest and poorest aren’t visible. However, GDP (per capita) can give a view on inequality
between people of different countries.
2. What is economic growth? What does the CORE textbook consider to be the main driver of
economic growth?
Economic growth means the GDP, the amount of produced (and consumed) goods and
services increased. Not only increase in quantity, but also in quality.
CORE focuses on the ‘capitalist’ revolution as the main cause of economic growth in history,
since with the come of capitalism not only the GDP grew, but also the productivity of labour
and the connections between places in the world, which also had led to more growth of the
GDP and by that economic growth.
CORE highlights productivity as the main driver of growth, the causes include (among others)
better technologies, better organisation, better access to resources, human capital from
health & education and specialisation/division of labour.
3. What is capitalism?
Capitalism is an economic system characterized by a particular combination of institutions.
Economic system: a way of organizing the production and distribution of goods and services
in an entire economy.
Institutions: different sets of laws and social customs regulating production and distribution
in different ways to different groups.
4. How is the economy embedded within the environment? What local and global issues occur
at this intersection?
~ start with explaining what is the economy ~
The economy is integrated into the biological and physical spheres and it includes side-effects
of economic activities and policies.
The environment supplies the goods (organic and inorganic natural resources) people need
to live and need to produce other goods. The environment also involves air and water.
Since the world population has grown, the supplies aren’t unlimited anymore and the
environment begins to degrade in quality.
Because of the growing world population, the CO 2 has also raised, which caused rising
temperatures and climate change. Consequences; melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels,
changes in climate and rain patterns.
Emissions are created on a local level, but have (huge) consequences on a global scale, since
a region or country can’t be ruled out, a habit of free-riding is rising. The emission of a
country is not just the problem of that country alone.
5. How would you describe the difference between the CORE – The Economy approach and
Samuelson’s Economics approach? What is ‘the economy’?
Samuelson sees economics as a wide field, combined with (a lot of) other disciplines, while
CORE is more strict and just states:
Economics is the study of how people interact with each other and with their natural
surroundings in producing their livelihoods, and how this changes over time. Therefore it is
about:
