MATHEMATICS - Saginaw Valley State · Web viewMost had little money and little capacity, therefore, to pay the costs involved in relocation. In the absence of information about alternatives

Social StudiesActivity Worksheet

GRADE LEVEL: High School

Course Title: Economics

Strand: I. History

Topic: Time and Chronology

Grade Level Standard: E-1 Examine time and chronology of economic events.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Construct and interpret timelines of people and events.

(I.1.HS.1)

Learning Activity(s)/Facts/Information Resources

New Vocabulary:

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Strand: I. History

Topic: Time and Chronology

Grade Level Standard: E-1 Examine time and chronology of economic events.

Grade Level Benchmark: 2. Identify some of the major economic eras in history and

describe their defining characteristics. (I.1.HS.3)


New Vocabulary:

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Strand: I. History

Topic: Comprehending the Past

Grade Level Standard: E-2 Evaluate events and individuals who have influenced

economics.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Select events and individuals from the past that have

had global impact on the modern world and describe their impact. (I.2.HS.3)

Learning Activity(s)/Facts/Information

1. After doing “The Economics of Racial Segregation: What Does a Freed Slave Do?” discuss whether or not times have changed. Look at census data on demographics, socio-economic status, education level, median income, etc. What was the influence of racial segregation on present day economics? (activity attached)

2. Economic Growth After World War II (activity attached)

3. Why Live in “Sin City” If You Are Not a Sinner? (activity attached)

4. Entrepreneurship Case Study: Chuck Berry (activity attached)

Resources

United States History: Eyes On the Economy Volume 2: Through the 20th Century National Council on Economic EducationISBN: 1-56183-481-5(pp. 97-103)(pp. 189-194)(pp. 195-200)(pp. 201-205)

New Vocabulary:

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THE ECONOMICS OF RACIAL SEGREGATION:WHAT DOES A FREED SLAVE DO?

During the late 1880s and early 1900s, government rules (mostly state statutes and local ordinances) to enforce racial segregation became widespread throughout the South. This unit offers an economic analysis of issues related to legally sanctioned segregation. Students learn how segregation limited alternatives for African Americas. They also learn why some racial barriers have been eroded more recently.

Lesson 1 poses an economic mystery regarding why freed African American slaves remained in the South after the Civil War. The lesson demonstrates the importance of knowledge regarding alternatives. In cases where knowledge of alternatives is suppressed, people’s capacity to choose is restricted.

Lesson 2 invites students to examine why African Americans began to succeed in their efforts to reduce legally sanctioned racial segregation in 1955 after having been unable to accomplish this goal in 1892. The lesson shows how changes in the average income of African Americans during these years made it increasingly costly for society to enforce segregation.

IntroductionHistory – Most emancipated African Americans did not leave the South after the Civil War. Some migrated North and West, but most remained near their homes, working as sharecroppers.

Mystery – Before the end of the Civil War, African Americans stayed in the South because they were held there involuntarily as slaves. When they were freed, why did more African Americans not leave the South, to get away from the place where slavery had been practiced?

Economic History – Economic reasoning stresses the importance of the choices people make. To choose, however, one must know what the alternatives are, and one must be prepared to bear the costs that every choice entails. Most newly emancipated slaves had little information about places to live outside the South. Most had little money and little capacity, therefore, to pay the costs involved in relocation. In the absence of information about alternatives and with limited ability to pay the costs involved in moving, African Americans in large numbers remained as sharecroppers in the South.

CONCEPTSChoiceAlternatives

OBJECTIVES Identify alternatives available to freed African Americans after the Civil War. Develop a hypothesis to explain why most slaves remained in the South after the Civil

War.

LESSON DESCRIPTIONThis lesson requires students to use economic reasoning to develop an explanation for the behavior of former slaves after the Civil War. It begins with a class discussion, involves students

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in small groups to read clues and develop a hypothesis, and concludes with a class discussion to examine and defend the hypothesis formulated.

TIME REQUIRED One class period

MATERIALSOne transparency of Visual 1. One copy for each student of Activities 1 and 2.

PROCEDURE1. Explain to the class that the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended

slavery in the United States. However, the economic future of the newly freed African Americans was unclear. Display Visual 1 to the class. Ask students to speculate on why African Americans chose to remain in the South.

2. Explain that the class will use information to develop hypotheses about the choices African Americans might make once they were freed. Distribute Activity 1 and divide the class into small groups.

3. Ask the groups to report on their responses to the questions in Activity 1. Ask:

a. What were the skills African Americans possessed and the circumstances they faced following passage of the 13th Amendment? (African Americans had a narrow range of skills relating to southern agriculture and household tasks. They had little formal education and few opportunities to travel beyond the immediate area.)

b. Describe the opportunities available generally to Americans in the 1860s and 1870s. (Opportunities included homesteading, working with cattle, sharecropping, working in a factory, working as an artisan, or farming in the Northeast or Southeast.)

4. Distribute Activity 2 to the groups. It provides additional information to help them make hypotheses about the choices that African Americans might make. Ask the groups to write their hypotheses on Activity 2.

5. When the groups have written their hypotheses, ask them to present and defend their ideas to the entire class. Encourage use of the logic and information from the handouts.

CLOSURESummarize the lesson by explaining several facts that will help students to assess the hypotheses.

Note that many African Americans chose to remain in the South following the Civil War, many as sharecroppers. This outcome reflected the narrow range of skills possessed by African Americans as a result of slavery, as well as the constraints that racism and segregation continued to place upon their options.

African Americans had few ways to acquire information about other economic opportunities. African Americans did not begin to move from the South in large numbers until early in the 20th century. Economic life in the South changed very slowly when compared to other regions in the nation. (During World War I, however, African Americans began to leave the South for job opportunities in northern factories. This pattern intensified during World War II and continued until the 1970s.)

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VISUAL 1ECONOMIC MYSTERY

WHY NOT LEAVE?

Before the Civil War, African Americans had been slaves in the South for generations. They had to stay where they were held or risk

severe punishment.

After the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, few African Americans left

the South to seek economic opportunities elsewhere.

Why?

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ACTIVITY 1AFTER SLAVERY, WHAT NEXT?

In 1865, the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended slavery in the United States. Between 3 and 4 million African Americans were freed. What next? The following paragraph describes the skill levels and life circumstances that were common for most of the freed African Americans. That description is followed by a list of the opportunities available for Americans generally in the late 1860s and 1870s. After reading the description and the list of opportunities, form a hypothesis to explain the choice that most newly freed African Americans would make. Be prepared to defend your hypothesis.

A FREED AFRICAN AMERICAN (1865-1880)Imagine that you are a newly freed African American living somewhere in the old Confederacy in the period just after the Civil War. What skills are you likely to possess? Male or female, you probably know a lot about growing and harvesting cotton, tobacco, sugar, or rice. You probably know about growing food crops, for example, squash or corn to feed a family. If you are male, you may know how to ride a horse, build wooden homes or barns, cut timber, or work with iron metal. If you are a female, you probably know how to sew and cook, wash clothing, and care for infants; perhaps you know how to serve as a maid. Male or female, if you know how to read and write, you are an exception. Slaves were forbidden to read or write, and whites who taught these skills to slaves could be punished. Male or female, you probably have family members living with you or nearby. You may also have family members who were formerly sold and live now in locations unknown to you. Male or female, you have probably not traveled far from your home, unless you were transported following your sale during slavery to a new owner. You are probably not familiar with cities.

OPPORTUNITIES1. In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Homestead Act. It said that settlers who filed claims

on government lands in the West could have up to 160 acres “free” if they would promise to live on the land and work it for five years. Such “homesteads” were available mostly in areas west of the Mississippi River. Homesteads in the Far West were suitable for growing many crops and raising livestock. Homesteads in the eastern Rocky Mountain region and the Great Plains were suitable for growing crops like wheat and corn.

2. In the 1860s, cattle roamed by the hundreds of thousands in areas like Texas. Hired by businesspeople who obtained railroad contracts to ship the cattle to cities in the Midwest and East, cowboys rounded up the cattle and drove them hundreds of miles to railroad stations. Cowboys had to be skillful horsemen and tough enough to survive harsh conditions for months on end. Eventually, cattle drives declined as railroads pushed farther west and cattle ranchers developed and bred animals for sale. A cattle rancher had to obtain use of hundreds of acres of land for grazing in order to be a success.

3. Owners of plantations and farms in the South needed workers to grow and harvest crops like cotton, tobacco, rice, and sugar. They were unwilling to pay much money for such work, in part because little U.S. currency existed in the South after the Civil War. Confederate dollars were no longer useful to buy goods and services. As an alternative, landowners were able to “pay” workers with part of the crop they raised. This was called sharecropping. For example, the owner of a cotton plantation could pay workers one-third of the cotton they grew. This pay would come only at harvest time and could then be traded for other goods or

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sold for cash (if available). If workers needed goods before harvest time, they might trade the potential value of their share of the crop for credit at a store. Workers could live on the land they farmed, growing their own food.

4. Factory jobs were available, mostly in the North and Midwest. Most factories were located in cities. Factory jobs generally paid cash. Working hours usually averaged 10 per day, 6 or 7 days per week. Some factory jobs required special skills; others did not. Competition for such jobs was usually strong, especially as more and more immigrants from Europe arrived in the United States and moved to cities in the North and Midwest. Factory workers could rent housing or buy it if they had enough money. They lived in urban areas, often in very crowded conditions.

5. Skilled workers, called artisans, were needed in the South and North. Special training or experience prepared artisans to work, as blacksmiths, bakers, or tailors. Pay was usually cash. Artisans could work for others or their own shops. They could lease or buy a shop. They would have to keep their own financial records and perhaps correspond in writing with suppliers and merchants.

6. Professional positions in fields like law or medicine were available in all areas of the country, but were more common in urban regions. Pay was usually in cash. Some education and some special training were required.

7. Buying and operating a farm in a developed area of the country was possible, if a buyer had cash. Such farms ranged from cotton plantations in the South to apple orchards in the Northeast to hog farms in Illinois. The buyer might have to put down an initial payment and then arrange to borrow the rest of the farm’s price. A lender might charge interest and demand proof that the potential buy could really earn a profit with the farm.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION1. What were the skills and circumstances facing African Americans following passage of the

13th Amendment?

2. Describe the opportunities available to Americans generally in the 1860s and 1870s.

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ACTIVITY 2ADDITIONAL FACTORS TO CONSIDER AS YOU

DEVELOP YOUR HYPOTHESIS

The information which follows provides additional points to consider as you examine the costs and benefits of options facing African Americans.

1. To choose an opportunity, you must know that it exists. Knowledge about opportunities is available in different forms and amounts. For example, information can be found in books, newspapers, and school lessons; it can also be gained from friends, family, and employers.

2. If you see that a benefit is available, you may pursue the opportunity that will provide that benefit. But if you believe that drawbacks attached to a choice outweigh its benefits, you almost certainly will turn down that opportunity.

3. In the 1860s and 1870s racism was common throughout the United States. In the South some whites used violence and threats to influence the choices of African Americans. Violence and threats were also used in the North, although there were far fewer African Americans living in the North, so less racial conflict occurred there.

4. Although some schools for African Americans developed in the 1860s and 1870s, most were directed by the federal government, not by local authorities. From the 1870s until at least 1900, schools were not widespread or well funded in the South. Literacy rates for African Americans were lower than those for whites in the South.

5. African Americans worked hard after slavery to establish or reunite their families. African Americans could now be legally married. Families separated by slavery could now legally live together.

6. In order to pursue some opportunities, people must be mobile. How close is the opportunity? Can you reach it by foot? On horseback? Will you have to move your home? If you travel long distances, you may need to take a train and pay cash for this ride. If you do not want to move your family and the opportunity is far away, you will have to live apart from your family or decide to move them with you.

QUESTION FOR DISCUSSIONTaking into account the information provided in Activities 1 and 2, form a hypothesis to explain the economic choices you think most African Americans would make after the passage of the 13th amendment.

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ECONOMIC GROWTH AFTER WORLD WAR II

This unit investigates some key economic issues associated with the period after World War II. Topics include the unexpected growth of the economy after World War II, American migration, deficit spending, and the importance of world trade to the U.S. economy. A case study is presented of the music industry as a source of income. Lesson 1 examines the fears of many Americans in 1946 that, once the troops returned home and military spending was curtailed, the economy would return to the depression from which it had emerged in World War II. The lesson explains why the economy returned instead to a path of economic growth.

Lesson 2 focuses on causes of the greater mobility of Americans as a people on the move following World War II. It features a case study of why people who are not sinners would decide to live in “Sin City.”

Lesson 3 addresses rock and roll music as a new source of economic activity after 1955. The students react to a case study on the rock legend, Chuck Berry.

GROWTH AFTER WORLD WAR IIIntroductionHistory – More than 16 million Americans served in the armed forces in World War II. When the war ended, President Harry Truman faced extreme pressure “to bring the boys home.” The sudden return of the veterans and the shift from a wartime to a peacetime economy brought new worries. Mystery – Given the difficulties associated with redirecting the economy toward civilian employment and production, what accounted for the fact that the economy surged forward after the war?

Economic History – A principle of economic reasoning is that people respond to incentives in predictable ways. After World War II, producers responded to increases in consumer spending and the resulting level of aggregate demand was sufficiently high to return the nation to its historic path of economic growth.

CONCEPTAggregate Demand

OBJECTIVES Analyze the role of the federal government in the economy during World War II. Identify factors that might have contributed to a downturn in the U.S. economy

following World War II, reducing aggregate demand. Identify the effects of increased aggregate demand, and of changes in the work

force, on U.S. economic growth after World War II.

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LESSON DESCRIPTIONBy referring to a series of visuals for information about the economy during and immediately after World War II, students seek to explain why the U.S. economy continued to grow after 1945.


MATERIALSOne transparency each of Visuals 1, 2, 3, and 4.

PROCEDURE1. Explain that the purpose of this lesson is to examine how the U.S. economy changed

during and immediately after World War II.

2. Display the mystery in Visual 1. Encourage the students to speculate on reasons why the economy grew after World War II. Remind the class that Principle 3 of the Handy Dandy Guide states that people respond to incentives in predictable ways. Somehow, producers must have been responding to a renewal of spending in the economy.

3. Display and discuss the points on Visual 2. Explain that labor, production, and government spending during World War II were totally devoted to the war effort. Ask: What would be the effect of these changes on aggregate demand? (The increase in federal spending increased aggregate demand. The economy operated at full capacity.)

4. Tell the class that many citizens feared that the depression which preceded World War II would return at the end of the war. Display Visual 3 and discuss the fears about the reduced role of government and increased competition in labor markets. Ask: What would be the effect of these changes on aggregate demand, production, and employment? (If these changes took place, there would be a decrease in aggregate demand. Production and employment would decrease.)

5. Display Visual 4 and discuss why the U.S. economy did not collapse. Stress that consumer spending increased while the departure of women from the work force and the effects of the GI bill limited competition for jobs. Ask: What effect did these actions have on aggregate demand? (The explosion of consumer spending combined with government spending on such efforts as the GI bill increased aggregate demand. The economy returned to a path of economic growth.)

CLOSEREmphasize the point that unexpectedly high levels of consumer spending kept the U.S. economy growing after World War II. Ask Students whether they would expect the same experience to be repeated after the Korean War. The Vietnam War? (There was little reason to expect that consumers would spend at comparably high levels following either the Korean War or the Vietnam War. The U.S. economy was running at levels much closer to full employment before and during these wars than it was before World War II, and therefore there was less built-up demand.)

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WHY DID THE U.S. ECONOMY GROW AFTER WORLD WAR II?

Before World War II, the United States had experienced 10 years of

economic depression. Government spending during World War II had ended the economic slump. But people feared that when the war

ended and the troops returned home, the economy would again slacken as it had after nearly every other war in the U.S. history. People wondered

what the winter of 1946 would bring.

The U.S. economy did not collapse. Instead, it returned to its historic path

of economic growth. Why?

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VISUAL 2THE U.S. ECONOMY DURING

WORLD WAR II

LaborIn September 1940, the U.S. Congress passed legislation

authorizing a draft to induct men aged 18-27 into the military. After December 7, 1941, many Americans enlisted voluntarily in the armed forces. Altogether, 15 million Americans and Women served between 1940 and 1946.

Civilians in industries related to the war effort (farmers and copper miners, for example) were deferred from the draft.

Women entered the labor force in record numbers to fill positions vacated by soldiers.

ProductionThe War Production Board earmarked production of steel,

aluminum, copper, and rubber for the armed services. Production of many civilian products (house and cars, for

example) virtually stopped.

Government SpendingFederal defense spending increased by $72 billion. The federal debt went from $49 billion in 1941 to nearly

$259 billion in 1945.

Question: What would be the effect of these changes on aggregate demand?

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VISUAL 3FEARS OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

A bank official in Chicago declared near the end of the war: “We do not care to invest our money… in Southern California… because we are convinced that when the war is over Los Angeles is going to become a ghost town.”

Reduced Role of Government After the WarGovernment orders for goods and services would

drop, reducing aggregate demand. Elimination of government wage and price controls

would permit resumed inflation.

Labor After the WarEight million soldiers would return to the civilian

work force.It would take time to redirect the economy to civilian

production, and jobs in the meanwhile would be hard to find.

Increased competition for jobs would drive wages down.

Question: What would be the effects of these changes on aggregate demand, production, and employment?

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VISUAL 4THE POST WAR ECONOMY

Federal SpendingFederal Spending dropped as predicted.

Consumer SpendingConsumer spending increased at levels that were

not predicted.Returning GIs cashed in savings from war bonds

and spent $18 billion on everything from clothing to cars to homes.

LaborUnemployment rose after the war, but increases in

unemployment were offset by other changes: Millions of women, who previously had taken

jobs vacated by men who went to war, left the labor force.

About 1 million former servicemen used benefits available from the GI bill to get a college education, delaying their entry into the labor market.

About 1 million former servicemen used benefits available from the GI bill to open businesses.

Question: What were the effects of these actions on aggregate demand?

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WHY LIVE IN “SIN CITY” IN YOU ARE NOT A SINNER?

INTRODUCTIONHistory – After World War II, the U.S. population became highly mobile. People from the South moved to the North. People from the East moved to the West. People from rural areas moves into cities. People from the cities moved into new suburban areas.

Mystery – Some people migrated to the new city of Las Vegas, which was growing rapidly in what otherwise was a barren, unpopulated desert. What might prompt thousands of ordinary Americans to move to a remote city known chiefly as a center for gambling and related activity? Was it wanderlust—an irrational itch to move?

Economic History – Migration reflects market forces. Cities and other regions compete to attract and retain residents. Incentives play an important part in the migration of people. By a variety of legislative acts, and by use of technology, the state of Nevada and the city of Las Vegas created incentives that attracted new residents.

CONCEPTSMigrationIncentivesCosts

OBJECTIVE Use the Handy Dandy Guide to evaluate clues and solve the mystery of why Las

Vegas grew.

LESSON DESCRIPTIONStudents discuss their current knowledge of Las Vegas, read a case study, and use the Handy Dandy Guide to evaluate clues about the growth of Las Vegas.


MATERIALSOne transparency each of Visuals 1 and 2. One copy for each student of Activities 1 and 2.

PROCEDURE1. Explain that the purpose of this lesson is to explain why so many Americans

were on the move across the country in the decades after World War II.

2. Display the mystery in Visual 1. Point out that Las Vegas was the fastest- growing city in the United States and its growth came from families and retirees who moved to Las Vegas to become permanent residents.

3. Display the Handy Dandy Guide in Visual 2. Encourage the students to speculate on which principles might help explain this movement of people. Suggest that the

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answer to the mystery lies in principles involving choice, costs, incentives, and the rules of the economic system.

4. Distribute Activity 1 and ask the students to use economic reasoning to identify the changes in incentives and the costs which influenced individuals to choose to migrate to Las Vegas temporarily and permanently. (Streamlined divorce laws and gambling attracted temporary migrants. The warm climate and low rate of crime attracted senior citizens seeking permanent retirement homes. Less crowding, new jobs, and relatively inexpensive housing attracted families.)

5. When students have read Activity 1, distribute Activity 2. Ask the students to use economic reasoning to decide which statements describe incentives which influenced the growth of Las Vegas. Discuss the students’ responses.

ANSWERS FOR ACTIVITY 2:1. D, 2. D, 3. I, 4. I, 5. I, 6. I, 7. I, 8. I, 9. NA, 10. I, 11. I, 12. I, 13. DI, 14. I, 15. I, 16. I.

CLOSUREExplain that, like other migrations in U.S. history, the migration of people to Las Vegas can be understood by using economic reasoning. People move when the combination of benefits and costs is more advantageous to them than remaining in their present locations. When a political and economic system (the rules) allows people to have a large amount of individual freedom (mobility), and the economy changes rapidly, we would expect people to move as they seek better opportunities.

Tell the class that current growth in Las Vegas is beginning to create some problems including increased traffic, longer commuter travel time, air pollution, inadequate mass transit, water shortages, growing crime, and large classes in schools, Might this development set the stage for a new migration out of Las Vegas?

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WHY LIVE IN “SIN CITY” IF YOU ARE NOT A SINNER?

Why would large numbers of people who believe in family values choose

to live in a city notorious for its disregard of family values?

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VISUAL 2HANDY DANDY GUIDE (HDG)

1. People choose

2. People’s choices involve costs.

3. People respond to incentives in predictable ways.

4. People create economic systems that influence individual choices and incentives.

5. People gain when they trade voluntarily.

6. People’s choices have consequences that lie in the future.

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ACTIVITY 1FAMILIES AND RETIREES FLOCK TO “SIN CITY”

Americans move from one place to another. Migration has always been an important factor in U.S. history, beginning with the first Americans who crossed from Siberia to Alaska thousands of years ago. In the period after World War II, Americans moved west toward California and south to the “Sunbelt.” People moved from farms to the city and from the city to the suburbs.

Why do people choose to move? Often people move because they have some incentive to do so. Perhaps a better job is available near their new home. Perhaps they think that better schools will be available for their children. Perhaps they think that the new climate will be more comfortable than their current climate. If cities and regions want to attract migrants, they have to figure out which incentives might be most compelling to people who might be thinking about a move. Since these incentives may change over time, the cities, regions, and nations that want to attract new workers and businesses must make important decisions. Perhaps some feature of a place was once an attractive incentive, but is so no longer—should the people seek to change the place in that respect? Doing so may mean making changes in the traditions or customs of the area, or change may affect the environment, traffic density, or general living quality. Failure to change, however, may mean loss of new businesses, less growth, and perhaps even a migration from the area.

TEMPORARY MIGRANTSSuppose people in an area think that they cannot attract migrants who will settle permanently, but they can provide incentives to attract temporary migrants. Would this make sense?

Another word for temporary migrant is “tourist.” In the past century, tourism has grown considerably as a sector of the American economy. If an area can appeal to tourists, it can create jobs and other incentives (because the tourists need food, housing, services, and more) that may attract permanent residents.

So, why do people choose to migrate, temporarily or permanently? How, in a nation of migrants, does a specific city or region develop features that will act as incentives for migrants to choose that place? Answering these questions should help you understand how the economic vitality of certain cities and regions varies throughout history. It should also help you understand how American migrants, bringing their money and skills to a particular city or region, have responded to different incentives over the past century.

LAS VEGASLet’s ask these questions about Las Vegas, Nevada. In some ways, Las Vegas may seem unusual (not many cities have huge neon signs standing dozens of feet above the ground, or slot machines in the supermarkets), but like other American communities,

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Las Vegas has had to face difficult choices and has worked to attract migrants (temporary and permanent) to enhance the growth of its community.

Before you read about incentives that Las Vegas devised to attract migrants, think about the needs of Americans in the 1800s. You have already considered westward migration and the Homestead Act. If you know that Las Vegas sits in a very hot, dry desert, with few sources of water, guess how popular it was as a destination for travelers in the 1800s? If you guessed “not very,” you are right. Travelers camped in the area en route to southern California along the Old Spanish Trail, and then moved immediately on. The area was so unappealing to settlers that Las Vegas did not incorporate as a town until 1911.

DIVORCE MADE EASYIn the early 1900s, Las Vega and most other towns in Nevada were looking for ways to attract migrants. The Nevada legislators decided that loose divorce laws might do so. They passed legislation to cut some of the usual costs of divorce guaranteeing divorces as long as the person obtaining the divorce lived in the state for six months.This relatively short residence requirement was long enough to bring revenues to Nevada, since the divorce-seekers had to live and eat during the six-month wait. Nevada lawyers prospered and began to advertise in newspapers in the Midwest and East. By 1910, 300 people per year sought a “Nevada divorce,” usually by taking up residence in Reno or Las Vegas. Because they believed that other states in the Southwest might try to draw the “divorce migrants” away from Nevada, Nevada legislators in 1927 lowered the residency requirement to three months further decreasing the costs of divorce. Then, when competitor states seemed likely to undercut this requirement (and as the Great Depression stiffened economic conditions around the nation), the legislature dropped the time to six weeks in 1931.But what would a divorce-seeker do with his or her time while waiting? And how could Las Vegas profit from this group of temporary migrants?

The six-week requirement drew more than 5,000 divorce-seekers to Nevada in its first year, but fewer than 500 spent their time in Las Vegas (Reno was more popular). To draw more of the lucrative divorce market and to make money from those people waiting six weeks to qualify for a divorce, Las Vegas turned to gambling.

GAMBLING MADE LEGALIn 1931, as it eased the residency rule, Nevada’s legislature also legalized gambling. The U.S. government was at the same time building a huge dam near Las Vegas, and a group of workers was living in the area for that project. Las Vegas used these factors (and its proximity to Los Angeles and other California population centers) to launch itself as a casino city. Gambling in some form has always occurred throughout the United States, but because it was illegal in most places, gamblers usually were considered immoral. Las Vegas concentrated on making gambling attractive. It imitated the growing popularity of Los Angeles and Hollywood by developing elegant hotels, with swimming pools, and offering plenty of glamorous entertainment. People came to gamble, but they also came to see and hear a famous singer or to play golf. By the mid—1950s, visitors to Las Vegas spent around $20 million on entertainment alone.

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COOL AIR, WATER SUPPLY, CRIMEMuch of this success reflected other developments from the 1930s to the 1950s—technology, for example, helped the casinos and hotels to overcome the heat and dryness that had made Las Vegas so unattractive in the 1800s. With air conditioning in most buildings, visitors could ignore the 110 temperature outside.

The big dam built by the U.S. government provided irrigation and water for the area, so greenbelts could grow. All around the city, the harsh desert still existed, but within Las Vegas waterfalls could tumble, children could wade and swim, and golfers could putt.At about this time, U.S. senior citizens began to build up their savings and retirement incomes, aided by programs like Social Security (created in 1935). They became new migrants, seeking sun and dry weather, away from the wintry climates of New England and the Midwest.

Also, although many criminal elements had come to Las Vegas in the first decades of legalized gambling, pressure for reforms increased in the 1960s. As a result, many casinos were bought by new, cautious owners who tried to sell Las Vegas to families, as a safe and clean place to visit. . . or live.

PERMANENT RESIDENTSBy 1980, Las Vegas had more than 450,000 residents. By 1990, it had grown to almost 740,000. Las Vegas had become a place to live, not merely a place to visit. Why? The very isolation that made Las Vegas unappealing during the 1800s now became an attraction. Many newcomers arrived from crowded areas like Los Angeles, seeking fewer traffic jams and less smog. Land in Las Vegas was available—remember all that desert? Companies seeking western locations could afford to buy a lot of land for expansion. New jobs became available. Homeowners found cheaper houses than the ones they sold when they moved to Las Vegas; and home-builders had open land for new subdivisions. Homes were especially important incentives for families, as were the city’s good, new schools.

So Las Vegas boomed. But it could not last for long. Each of the decisions that Las Vegas made along the way brought costs. A bad reputation at times concerning organized crime, is one example. Now Las Vegas faces new problems. How can it continue to supply enough water to keep so many yards and golf courses green? How can it deal with car emissions causing air pollution? How can it provide enough jobs for all the newcomers?

Will Las Vegas succeed in the continuing competition to attract businesses, money, and migrants? Look at its history and make a prediction. What natural assets and drawbacks did it have? How did those change as times changed?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION1. What steps did Nevadans take to attract temporary migrants?

2. How did people in Las Vegas make the city more appealing to permanent residents?

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ACTIVITY 2LAS VEGAS CLUES

Read the following statements. Decide which statement describes circumstances which influenced the growth of Las Vegas as a metropolitan area.

If the statement describes something that served as a positive incentive, place an I (for incentive) in the blank in front of the sentence.

If the statement describes something that served as a negative influence, place a D (for disincentive) in the blank in front of the sentence.

1. Las Vegas has a dry, dusty climate with very hot days during the summer and almost no rainfall.

2. The soil in the Las Vegas area is not very fertile for raising farm crops like wheat, corn, and oats.

3. Homes in Las Vegas cost one-half of what similar homes would cost in Los Angels and San Francisco.

4. Most Americans like to gamble and most make bets on sporting events.

5. Legalized gambling had become more common in the past few years, but gambling still is illegal in most areas of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

6. The air pollution levels in Las Vegas are very low compared to levels in other large U.S. cities.

7. Taxes in Nevada are lower than those in many other states in the United States.

8. Utility costs (water and electricity) are lower in Las Vegas than in most other cities.

9. The mountains which surround Las Vegas are badly eroded and reveal the underlying rock formations.

10. The Las Vegas school district is quickly expanding the number of its schools and teachers to serve the children of the area.

11. Well-maintained highways make it convenient to drive to and around the Las Vegas area.

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12. Hoover Dam provides water and electricity to Las Vegas without using nonrenewable energy sources (coal and oil).

13. Organized crime leaders helped build the large casinos in Las Vegas.

14. Los Angeles has developed a serious are pollution problem and heavy traffic congestion.

15. Many retirees moving to Las Vegas are coming from California to live in the recently built retirement facilities.

16. The cost of air conditioning a home in Las Vegas is less than it would be in most U.S. cities.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY:CHUCK BERRY

LESSON DESCRIPTIONThis lesson features a class discussion of a case study of an entrepreneur.

TIME REQUIRED• One class period

INTRODUCTIONHistory – In the mid-1950s, rock music made its debut in the United States. Chuck Berry (1926- ) and other innovative entertainers taught America to enjoy a new sort of music. It was music written, performed, and bought by young people, and their enthusiasm for it stirred up considerable opposition among their elders. The popularity of rock music has not faded, however, even though its first-generation audience has matured. It continues to be a bulwark of the entertainment industry in the U.S. and abroad.

Mystery – Teachers and parents strive to influence the decisions and behavior of young people sometimes with slight success. But Chuck Berry and other rock musicians have wielded enormous influence on young people, and they made it look easy. What’s the explanation?

Economic History – Successful economies offer a variety of incentives that encourage people to introduce new products and services. When a product or service is what consumers want most, trade flourishes, driven by consumers’ demand. In this light, rock musicians were entrepreneurs whose music tapped a deep reservoir of consumer demand.

CONCEPTSEntrepreneurInnovationIncentive

OBJECTIVES• Identify the contributions of Chuck Berry in the U.S. entertainment industry.• Explain innovations in the entertainment industry illustrated by Chuck Berry’s

music.• Use economic thinking to predict the future of rock and roll.

MATERIALSOne transparency of Visual 1.One copy for each student of Activity 1.

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PROCEDURE1. Display Visual I to the class. Explain that a lyric like “Awopbopaloobop

Alopbamboom” disturbed a lot of parents, ministers, and other community leaders when rock and roll arrived on the scene in the mid—-1950s.

2. Explain to the class that teachers and parents in the 1950s, like teachers and parents today, strive to influence the decisions and behavior of young people. They sometimes have little success. Chuck Berry and other rock musicians wielded enormous influence on young people’s decisions and made it look easy. Why? Invite the class to use economic reasoning to speculate on the possible answers.

3. Explain that Chuck Berry is well known for his contributions to rock and roll and the U.S. music industry. He was a pioneer in the development of a form of music that has influenced people for more than 40 years and is still going strong.

4. Distribute Activity 1 to the class. After the students have completed their reading, ask:

a. Why was the baby boom a factor in the success of rock and roll? (The increased population of young people made them a profitable new market for entertainers who could provide them with music they liked.)

b. How was Chuck Berry an innovator? (Berry’s lyrics and guitar style were among his principal innovations.)

c. What opposition did rock-and-roll artists and fans overcome? (Many parents, members of the clergy, and people in the media were opposed to rock and roll.)

CLOSURERemind the class that rock and roll was an innovation in 1955. Performers continue to make changes in rock music in an effort to seek new audiences and to please old ones. Yet we continue to hear old rock and roll played on golden oldie stations around the country. Using economic reasoning, tell whether you think old rock and roll is here to stay for the next few decades.

(Yes. There is a strong incentive for some radio stations to continue to play this music. Members of the baby boom generation, like previous generations, enjoy listening to the music they grew up with. They will continue to listen to old rock and roll, thus making it profitable for radio stations and other vendors to make the old tunes available.)

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VISUAL 1ON ROCK AND ROLL

The greatest line in rock and roll is“Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom.”

top that if you can!

Wilko Johnson, rock musician

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ACTIVITY 1CHUCK BERRY WEALTH CREATOR

Chuck Berry (1926- ) is a singer, guitarist, and composer who was an early, influential entrepreneur of rock and roll. Along with several other performers, he paved the way for a tradition of rock and roll that has now lasted for more than 40 years.

This new music written, performed, and consumed by the young. Pleasing the young offered the promise of financial success. After World War II, there was a “baby boom.” Veterans returned home to their families. The prosperity of the 1950s was a welcome change from the years of the Great Depression and the economic constraints imposed by World War II. The number of births exploded. During the 1930s, the U.S. population had increased by 9 million. During the 1940s, it increased by 19 million. During the 1950s, the population increased by 28 million.

THE INNOVATORS OF ROCK AND ROLLAn innovator is someone who takes advantage of new techniques or combines old techniques in new ways to develop a new product that people desire. We commonly think of Henry Ford and the Model T, Steven Jobs and the personal computer, or Ray Kroc and McDonald’s as innovators. But innovators can spring up in any business when innovative behavior is rewarded.

In the early I 950s, Les Paul was developing new designs for the electric guitar. Bass, drums, and piano were, of course, familiar instruments. Popular music ranged from jazz to rhythm and blues and country and western. Chuck Berry took elements from these music traditions and recombined them with unexpected lyrics, a new beat, an unmistakable guitar style, and a sizzling performance. Young people loved it.Many believe that Berry’s lyrics were his greatest source of appeal. His phrasing captured in a few, vivid words the images and ideas which young people could see. Here is the first verse from the song entitled “Memphis.” Berry is trying to call his six-year-old daughter, but until the last few words listeners are led to think that Berry is trying to reach his lover.

‘Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee.

Help me find a party that tried to get in touch with me.

She did not leave a number, but I know who placed the call.

‘Cause my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall.’

Berry’s lyrics contrasted sharply with the songs of the late 1940s and early 1950s, which tended to feature sentimental tunes like “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” and “Ring Telephone Ring.” Here’s an example:

‘How much is that doggie in the window? (Bark! Bark!)

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The one with the waggly tail.

How much is that doggie in the window? (Bark! Bark!)

I do hope that doggie’s for sale.’

Similarly, Berry’s guitar style was unique and widely imitated. No rock and roll guitar player, young or old, has ever learned how to play guitar without learning the lead guitar licks in Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”

Berry’s records sold well and his concerts sold out. His first big hit was “Maybellene,” in 1955. The hits kept coming, including “School Days,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Johnny B. Goode,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Carol,” “Too Much Monkey Business,” “Memphis,” “Nadine,” and “No Particular Place to Go.” His style has influenced many musicians, including such rock and roll giants as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Indeed, it is difficult to name a rock and roll artist who was not influenced by Chuck Berry.

PERSISTENCEAn important characteristic of an entrepreneur is persistence in overcoming obstacles. The opposition to rock and roll ran deep. Parents didn’t understand it. Ministers preached against it. Radio stations wouldn’t play it. Television shows didn’t show it—at least not below the waist. But young people loved it. And they were willing to buy the records, listen to the radio stations, go to the dances, watch the television programs, and attend the concerts of those people in the entertainment business who were willing to sell it to them.

While Berry’s contribution was unique, he was not, of course, the only artist who fought for the acceptance of this new music. Other rock and roll innovators included Elvis Presley (“Love Me Tender”), Brenda Lee (“I’m Sorry”), Roy Orbison (“Only the Lonely”), Little Richard (“Good Golly, Miss Molly”), Frankie Lymon (“Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”), and Jerry Lee Lewis (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”). Pioneering groups included the Everly Brothers (“Wake Up Little Susie”), Bill Haley and the Comets (“Rock Around the Clock”), Dion and the Belmonts (“Run Around Sue”), and Buddy Holly and the Crickets (“That’ll Be the Day”).

HERE TO STAY?Rock and roll has undergone many changes. Its ability to change to attract new performers and new audiences is one of its strengths. Yet, in every city you visit, there is a golden oldies radio station still on the air. The recordings of people like Fats Domino (“Blueberry Hill”) are still played. These old recordings seem to stay around forever. Or will they? Use economic reasoning to predict whether old rock and roll tunes will stay around for the next few decades.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION1. Why was the baby boom a factor in the success of rock and roll?2. How was Chuck Berry an innovator?3. What opposition did rock-and-roll artists and fans overcome?

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4. Is old rock and roll here to stay for the next few decades?

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Strand: I. History

Topic: Analyzing and Interpreting the Past

Grade Level Standard: E-3 Analyze economic events from the past.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Use primary and secondary records to analyze

significant events in economics. (I.3.HS.1)


New Vocabulary:

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Strand: I. History

Topic: Judging Decisions from the Past

Grade Level Standard: E-4 Judge economic decisions from the past.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Analyze key economic decisions by drawing appropriate

historical analogies. (I.4.HS.3)


New Vocabulary:

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Strand: II. Geography

Topic: People, Places, and Cultures

Grade Level Standard: E-5 Examine economic characteristics of people, places,

and cultures.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Describe how major world issues and events affect

various people, societies, places, and cultures in different ways. (II.1.HS.1)


1. Solving the Mystery of the Global Economy (activity attached)

2. Why People and Nations Trade (activity attached)

Resources

Capstone: Exemplary Lessons for High School Economics National Council on Economic EducationISBN: 1-56183-516-1(pp. 103-106)(pp. 112-114)

New Vocabulary:

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SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

The mystery in this case has to do with why we seem focused on the global economy when it is a relatively small part of our total economy.

Recall the Guide to Economic Reasoning:1. People choose.2. People’s choices involve costs.3. People respond to incentives in predictable ways.4. People create economic systems that influence individual choices and incentives.5. People gain when they trade voluntarily.6. People’s choices have consequences that lie in the future.

Now, let’s consider the answers to the True/False questions.

A. The global economy is a growing part of the U.S. economy.

The answer is true. The U.S. economy is increasingly linked to the world economy. In 2000, international trade accounted for 26 percent of GDP. In 1975, however, it accounted for only 16 percent. While international trade does not account for most of U.S. GDP, it is clear that international trade is of growing importance.

Why are we going global? Decreasing costs are an important reason. For example, the cost of international telephone service per minute has fallen from $2.23 in 1975 to $0.45 in 2000. As a result, international telephone service has expanded rapidly. The Internet has also reduced communication costs. Similarly, the costs of transportation have fallen. Average freight costs for U.S. imports fell about 50 percent between 1975 and 2000. Faster delivery times, for example, have increased trade in perishable goods including fruit from Mexico, meat from Argentina, and eggs from New Zealand.

B. Some American workers benefit from international trade.

The answer is true. We often notice how American workers are harmed when plants close and jobs are moved to other nations. We are less likely to notice the new jobs for American workers that international trade creates. The global economy offers amarket for goods and services produced by American workers. About 12 million American jobs are based on exports. Americans are heavily involved in exporting high-technology products of many sorts. American farmers also rely on sales to other nations. Exports of U.S. agricultural products were $53 billion in 2000. About 25 percent of cash sales by farms and ranches come from international sales. Exports also boost wages. Exporting businesses tend to pay higher wages than those that do not export. The potential of increased sales and income presents an important incentive to American workers and to American business.

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C. American consumers benefit from international trade.

The answer is true. U.S. consumers are able to obtain goods and services from around the world. Americans do not have to consume only the products that can be produced within our borders. We have access to clothing, coffee, candies, fruit, electronics equipment, and a long list of other products that are expensive or nearly impossible to produce here.

D. Prices in the United States are lower because of international trade.

The answer is true. Trade reduces the prices of some of the goods we consume. When a country is closed to trade, consumers can buy only goods and services produced within the nation’s borders. This decreases competition for domestic businesses. Changing the rules of the economic system to permit trade presents an important incentive to business. Reducing trade barriers forces domestic businesses to compete on the basis of price as well as quality, to keep their customers happy. Increased competition from trade provides incentives for domestic businesses to produce at the lowest possible cost.

E. Trade barriers have been increasing around the world.

The answer is false. International organizations like NAFTA, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization have been leading the way to reducing trade barriers. Average tariffs on industrial goods have decreased steeply. Other barriers to trade including quotas and some regulations have also been reduced.

Why have we been changing the rules of international trade? Clearly, it is because people are better off as a result of increases in voluntary trade. The benefits we see in the United States—in expanded markets for workers, increased competition, and lower prices—are the same benefits that trade confers on our trade partners. For example, there is clear evidence that increasing trade leads to faster economic growth for developing countries. Nations that refuse to allow expanded trade may benefit a few privileged leaders at a cost to the nation’s workers, consumers, and businesses.

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

A. Why are we going global? ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

B. How do American workers and businesses benefit from international trade?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

C. How do American consumers benefit from international trade?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

E. How do our trade partners benefit from international trade?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

F. Since international trade is a relatively small part of the American economy, why is there all the fuss about going global?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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WHY PEOPLE AND NATIONS TRADE

At first glance the answer to the question, “Why do people and nations trade?” seems to be “they want something they cannot produce themselves.” For example, a trader might want commodities, such as exotic fruit, spices, precious metals, and other natural resources. However, producers and consumers do not decide to engage in trade merely for goods or services they cannot produce for themselves. The fact is that countries whose citizens engage in international trade could produce much of what they import and, in many instances, have major domestic industries that do produce the same types of products they import. An obvious example of this in the United States is the importation of foreign steel, which competes with American-made steel.

A complete answer to the question, “Why do people trade?” is that international trade, like other voluntary exchanges, exists because both the buyer and the seller gain from it. If both parties did not expect to gain, there would be no trade between them.

If the decisions to buy foreign-produced products (such as cars, stereos, tin, and bananas), and to sell other products abroad (computer software, corn, and jeans), are viewed as opportunities to gain, we develop a more accurate perspective on the trade question. Every act of trade is undertaken because both the buyer and the seller think that they will gain from the trade.

Each trader — exporter and importer alike — responds to the positive incentive of gain. Consumers are not much different: they also respond to positive incentives. For buyers (importers), the positive incentive is to gain something by giving something else up — usually money. The gain comes because, from the exchange, they get something they value more — usually goods or services — than what they give up. Each time a purchase is made it is because the purchaser would rather have the good or service than the money. The same is true for the sellers (exporters) who gain by giving up a good or service to get something they would rather have — again, usually money. If both buyers and sellers, importers and exporters, get something of greater value than what they give up, then trade has made each of them better off.

The key to understanding the incentive to trade is to remember that people trade something they value less in order to gain something they value more. Notice how this incentive works in the trade of U.S. wheat for Honduran bananas.

U.S. farmers could grow bananas in greenhouses, yet the United States prefers to buy imported bananas. Why? The answer is obvious but important. To grow bananas, U.S. farmers would give up valuable land, time, and money to buy the necessary equipment and greenhouses. They gain more if they concentrate on wheat production. Their land and climate are better suited for growing wheat. Must America then go without bananas? Again, the answer is an obvious no. American farmers can sell wheat abroad for dollars and use some of these dollars to buy bananas grown by Hondurans in a climate and geographic setting well suited for growing bananas. In other words, either

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directly (by selling wheat to Honduras and using the dollars earned to buy bananas) or indirectly (by selling wheat to some other country and using the dollars to buy bananas grown in Honduras), Americans trade wheat grown in the United States for bananas grown in Honduras.

Applying the concept of opportunity cost to this trade, we can observe how total production increases when people specialize in the production of less costly goods and trade for products that would require a greater opportunity cost to produce at home (the principle of comparative advantage). Comparative advantage means having a relative cost advantage in the production of one type of good or service as compared to the production of some other good or service. This means that even if Country A can produce both of two different goods more cheaply than Country B can, it will still benefit A to specialize in the good which it can produce most cheaply, compared with another country. Country A will export that good to B and import the other good from B. From B’s point of view, it is exporting the good which it can produce more cheaply and importing the other good. Thus both trading partners can gain if they specialize in the production of those things they produce at the lowest relative cost.

The ability to trade will also help to determine the set of products a nation or region can produce at the lowest cost. In the early 1800s, certain regions of the United States were probably best suited to specialize in grain production. Nevertheless, farmers had to be self- sufficient, and they produced many other products because relatively few opportunities for trade among the various regions existed. Only after the development of the railroads, making it reasonably easy to transport goods throughout the United States, did farmers begin to concentrate on producing the crops most efficiently grown in their region. The ability to trade has improved so much that many of today’s U.S. businesses produce not only for domestic consumption, but for international trade as well. Soybeans in Illinois, lumber in Oregon, airplanes in Washington, and genetic technology in Massachusetts are all produced with the expectation that these products can be sold internationally.

Every time you buy a product that has been produced — even in part — in a foreign country, you send a message to importers in this country and exporters in other countries. The message is that you think you can gain by buying certain types of products produced in other countries. What was your incentive to buy the imported good? Why don’t individuals make all the television sets, cars, shirts, or shoes they use? Or grow their own bananas? The decision of Americans to trade for these products illustrates that the concept of comparative advantage influences their economic choices.

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A. Why do people trade?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

B. Why does the United States import bananas?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

C. What is comparative advantage?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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Topic: Human/Environment Interaction

Grade Level Standard: E-6 Explain economic impact of humans on the

environment.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Assess the relationship between property ownership and

the management of natural resources. (II.2.HS.2)


1. Environmental Case Studies (activity attached)

2. It’s Fine As Long As It’s Mine—All Mine (activity attached)

Resources

Capstone: Exemplary Lesson for High School Economics National Council on Economic EducationISBN: 1-56183-516-1(pp. 112-114)

Economics and the Environment by Curt AndersonNational Council on Economic EducationISBN: 1-56183-482-3(pp. 64-77)

New Vocabulary:

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ACTIVITY 1ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDIES

Many environmental problems are global in scope. They occur in many countries and influence people in different countries. The following reading deals with four problems— ocean fishing, rain forest trees in South America, African elephants, and rice. Your task is to see how these issues differ and what they have in common.

OCEAN FISHINGFish populations are declining in all parts of the world. The Mediterranean Sea no longer supports many fishers. They travel to other parts of the world to fish. The huge populations of Atlantic and Pacific salmon in North America have declined to levels that put them on the Endangered Species List. Shrimp, swordfish, and halibut populations are much lower today than 10 years ago.

What has happened? People now eat more fish. They demand more fish in the marketplace. Fishers try to provide plenty of fish for sale. Fishers use radar, sonar, spotter planes, sea-surface observations from satellites, advanced fishing gear, onboard processing, and refrigeration to gather fish from the sea to sell in the marketplace.

Many immature fish are caught along with mature fish. The fisher retains all for later sale. Fish are not returned to the sea to grow larger. They would just be caught by some other fisher if the first one to catch the fish were to turn them loose.

Fish of all sizes have many uses. They can be used for commercial sale and for sports fishing. They can be conserved and used when they become mature. They can be used for food for chickens, farmed fish, and people.

What does the future look like for wild fish populations? It appears they will continue to decline although most people would prefer to see the fish populations increase.

RAIN FOREST TREESTrees in the South American rain forest are important to everyone who draws a breath of air. People use oxygen to breathe and convert it into carbon dioxide. Plants convert that carbon dioxide back to oxygen, without which we could not survive in this atmosphere. Rain forest trees are the biggest producer of oxygen in the world. They provide an excellent source of carbon conversion. They also provide habitat for a large, diverse number of plants, insects, and animals. The trees are also used for lumber production. Rain forests have become a popular destination for adventure tourists.Yet, each year thousands of acres of forest are burned to provide land to Brazilian ranchers and poor farmers.

To poor farmers, the trees are not valuable. There are many trees and very little land available on which they can grow crops to feed their families. The farmers bum the trees

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to clear the land for crops. Ranchers also burn the trees. It allows them to gain more pasture to graze cattle herds that can be sold on the meat market. No one owns the rain forest. But when the trees are gone, people can legally claim the land as theirs if they continue to use it for farming or grazing. In fact, the Brazilian government will help pay the costs of farmers and ranchers who are converting the forest to agricultural land.

AFRICAN ELEPHANTSElephants in Kenya once numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Now their population has declined to less than 20,000. Poachers kill them and sell the ivory in their tusks on the illegal market for more money than the poachers could earn by working for several years at a different job. No one owns the elephants. Most live in or near national parks in Kenya.

Most villagers living near the elephants tend not to care for the beasts. They compare them to huge, gray rats. The elephants eat enormous amounts of food, have a tendency to trample the villagers’ food gardens, destroy village crops, and drink precious water supplies. Villagers tend to ignore the activities of poachers.

Kenyans are not allowed to own elephants, to sell them, or to use them as farm animals. They also are not allowed to guide hunters to hunt the elephants or to take people on tours to observe the herds.

RICERice is a grain that once grew wild in Asia. More than 4,000 years ago, farmers learned how to cultivate rice. It has since become the most important food in Asia. Farmers work hard to keep the plant healthy. They provide fertilizer to help it grow; they prevent weeds from overtaking its growing space. They wait until the rice plant is mature before they harvest it. They always save enough seeds to insure a crop for next year. Rice is rarely over-harvested or harvested when it is immature.

Farmers usually own the land the rice grows on, and they own the rice they grow. They sell it to other people to earn income to buy food and clothing for themselves. Most rice is used for food by humans or animals. It can be eaten fresh from the harvest or stored and used in the future. Today, people eat more rice than at any other time in history, and more rice is grown today than ever before.

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A. In which of these situations do people own the resource before it is harvested?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

B. Which of these resources are scarce? Do people treat these resources as scarce?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

C. Which resources are growing more abundant?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

D. Which resources are growing less abundant?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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ACTIVITY 2ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES

Directions: Read the following suggested policies. Use a check mark to identify the policies that provide the incentives necessary to encourage voluntary stewardship (care) of these resources.

1. Allow villagers near the elephants to sell hunting rights to a small number of elephants each year and to conduct tours for tourists interested in viewing elephants.Encourage voluntary stewardship?__________

2. Require all villagers to report the identity of elephant poachers. Failure to do so would result in a $100 fine.Encourage voluntary stewardship?__________

3. Allow a small number of fishers the right (a license) to harvest a percentage of the fish population each year (50 percent). No other fishers may fish in the waters. If the fish population increases, the licensed fishers are allowed to take more fish if the percent age taken remains the same as before. Encourage voluntary stewardship?__________

4. Require fishers to stop fishing for five years while the fish population increases.Encourage voluntary stewardship?__________

5. Pay farmers and ranchers more money than they currently earn to protect trees from being destroyed in the rain forest. Allow them to own the protected land and to use any native plants for food and medicine if the plants will naturally reproduce themselves each year.Encourage voluntary stewardship?__________

6. Station government armies all along the rain forest to prevent ranchers and farmers from burning the rain forest to create pasture and farm land. Encourage voluntary stewardship? __________

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IT’S FINE AS LONG AS IT’S MINE—ALL MINE!

INTRODUCTIONCapitalism is based on the concept of private property—the ownership and control of resources and products by individuals. If property rights are well defined and markets are competitive, such a system ensures that resources are used in their most valued manner. That is the beauty of capitalism. But the “if” is a big one. What happens when property rights are not well defined? Unfortunately, property rights to many natural resources are poorly defined. In this lesson students learn about property rights and how property rights can affect the way markets allocate resources.

ECONOMIC CONCEPTSPrivate PropertyProperty RightsWell-defined Property RightsSelf-interest MotivesEconomic IncentivesMarketPriceEquilibriumAllocative EfficiencyCommon Property Resource

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTSWater Rights

OBJECTIVES Review how the price and quantity produced of a product are determined by

markets. Define and give examples of property rights. Describe the characteristics of well-defined property rights. Analyze the effect of property rights on the allocation of resources. Explain the government’s role in establishing and protecting property rights.

LESSON DESCRIPTION In determining the price and the quantity of notebooks produced in a hypothetical market, students review how markets work. Property rights are defined. The guide to Ideal Markets is presented and used to identify situations in the notebook market and natural resource markets where markets may lead to results that are not allocatively efficient. A game is used to illustrate how property rights affect economic incentives and resource allocation. Parallels between the game and the plight of whales are drawn. The culminating activity focuses on how property rights to water have been defined. Some economic consequences of this approach to establishing property rights to water are explored.

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TIME REQUIREDTwo class periods:

Day 1: Steps 1-11Day 2: Steps 12-29 plus any Extension Activities

MATERIALSOne copy for each student of Activities 1, 2, 3, and 450 paper clips50 dimesA roll of masking tapeSpace! (an area of the floor at least six feet by six feet needs to be cleared)

PROCEDUREMarkets, Prices, Quantity, and Allocative Efficiency1. Review market basics (as necessary): (1) a market is where buyers and sellers get

together to exchange products or resources; (2) demand shows how much buyers are willing and able to buy at various prices; (3) supply shows how much sellers are willing and able to produce and sell at various prices; (4) the price established by the market is that where the quantity demanded by buyers equals the quantity supplied by sellers.

2. Distribute a copy of Activity 1 and its accompanying worksheets to each student and discuss what the activity shows.

3. Assign students to complete the worksheets (allow 20-30 minutes).

4. Discuss the answers in class, as follows:a. 10; 30; 40b. In deciding whether or not to buy a notebook, students compare the value

they expect to receive from the notebook to its price. It is in their self-interest to buy notebooks whenever the value they receive exceeds the price. As the price rises, fewer students value a notebook enough to buy one.

c. 40; 20; 10d. In deciding whether or not to produce notebooks, producers compare their

own costs (for the resources needed for production) to the price they can charge for the finished product. It is in their self-interest to produce all notebooks for which the price exceeds the cost. As the price rises, producers are able to cover the cost of producing additional notebooks.

e. $10. If the price is above $10, the quantity produced and offered for sale by sellers will exceed the quantity desired by consumers. A surplus then is said to exist. The surplus places downward pressure on the price as sellers reduce their prices to clear unsold notebooks. If the price is below $10, the quantity produced and offered for sale by producers is less than the quantity desired by buyers. In this case a shortage exists. The shortage puts pressure on the price to rise as buyers bid against each other in an attempt to get a notebook before they run out. Thus, the price tends to move towards $10—where the

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desire of the students and the notebook producers are consistent with one another.

f. 30 notebooksg. $20; $15; $10; $7 h. $5; $7; $10; $15 i. 30. For each notebook up through the 30th, the value received (shown by the

demand curve) exceeds the cost (forgone values of using the resources in their best alternative—shown by the supply curve). After the 30th notebook, the opposite is true.

5. Note that maximizing the net value society receives from a product means that society is achieving allocative efficiency. Thus, this exercise demonstrates two points: (1) that markets set prices, (2) that markets determine the allocatively efficient amount of a product to produce. But markets can achieve these results only if demand curves accurately represents society’s values and supply curves accurately represent its costs.

Property Rights6. Relate the following to the class: Capitalism is based on private property, or the

ownership and control of resources and products by individuals (as opposed to the government). In actual practice, private ownership of property depends on a system of “property rights” –legal or social arrangements that govern the ownership, use, and exchange of goods and resources. These arrangements typically involve limitations as well as privileges.

7. Break the class into five groups and ask each group to describe the typical property rights (privileges and limitations) associated with one of the goods listed below. Someone from each group will report to the class for discussion. Possible answers follow:

applePrivileges: can eat it, carve it, or make it into applesauce Limitations: cannot throw it through the school window or smash it in someone’s face

motor oilPrivileges: use in your car, lubricate your tools Limitations: cannot dispose of it on the ground or down the sewer or burn it in your backyard.

rented apartment Privileges: can arrange the furniture, sleep in the kitchen, or entertain guestsLimitations: depending on the terms of your lease, no pets, no remodeling

riflePrivileges: use on target range, use to hunt, have in a collectionLimitations: cannot fire at 2 a.m. in your home, shoot a bald eagle, or sell to a known felon

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air:Privileges: can breath, emit auto exhaust in to, or use to grow plantsLimitations: cannot fly or smoke in certain areas

Well-defined Property Rights and Competitive Markets8. Distribute a copy of Activity 2 (The Guide to Ideal Markets) to each student. Discuss

how each of these characteristics is met by the notebook market described in Activity 1. Note that all these characteristics exist in a market, the market demand curve accurately reflects the value society assigns to a product and the market supply curve accurately reflects the cost society must bear to produce the product. Thus, market equilibrium leads to the allocatively efficient quantity of the product.

Problems in the Notebook Market9. Distribute a copy of Activity 3 to each student. Ask students working in groups of

three or four to complete the activity.

10. Allow 10-15 minutes and then discuss the response, as follows:

Each of these conditions in the notebook market violates one of the characteristics of “well-defined” property rights listed in The Guide to Ideal Markets. When any of these characteristics is violated, it is likely that the supply curve no longer reflects the costs to society or that the demand curve no longer reflects the value to society. In either case, the equilibrium quantity determined by the market is no longer likely to be the quantity which maximizes the net value society gets from the product (that is, it is not allocatively efficient).

a. Ownership of the notebooks is not clearly defined as between the producers and the students. In this case there is little incentive for the producers to produce notebooks since students are given the right to use them without paying. No incentive to supply means the market production will be zero. Since the value to students and the cost to producers remains as shown in Activity 1, however, this amount (zero) is less than the “right” amount of 30. This is a violation of the “universality” condition.

b. The production of notebooks is imposing a cost on society that the producers are probably not taking into account in their supply decisions. Since the actual costs to society is greater than that to which producers are reacting, supply understates actual costs and so the market produces more notebooks than it should. This is a violation of the “exclusivity” condition.

c. Since college students are not allowed to buy notebooks, the value of notebooks to them would not be reflected in the market. Thus, market demand would understate the true value of the notebooks and so the market would produce fewer notebooks than it should. This is a violation if the “transferability” condition.

d. The consumption of notebooks generates value for others that students probably do not consider in their demand decisions. Since the actual value to society is greater than that envisioned by the students, demand understates the actual value and so the market produces fewer notebooks than it should. This is a violation of the “exclusivity” condition.

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e. Even though students would still value being able to use these notebooks, their demand for them would likely be zero. There is no incentive to buy a notebook because it might be taken away. No demand means no market production. This is a violation of the “enforceability” condition.

11. Ask the class to suggest environmental examples that would violate each of the characteristics shown on The Guide to Ideal Markets. Possible examples follows:

Universality: air in the classroom, whales in the ocean, the moon, migratory birds, the ozone layer, etc., are not privately owned (i.e., they are not controlled by an individual or a private business).

Exclusivity: costs of pollution creating activities are seldom confined solely to the polluter; the benefits of a beautiful garden can be enjoyed by people other than the owner.

Transferability: hunting licenses and water rights are often not transferable.

Enforceability: even though the government may attempt to define rights (such as declaring ownership rights 200 miles out to the sea, setting hunting limits, banning the use of certain chemicals, prohibiting dumping), it is difficult to enforce these rules given the vast size of the area, which must be patrolled.

Lack of Economics Power: many natural resource industries are dominated by a few large firms, which can influence supply and therefore influence price.

Free Mobility: ownership or leasing or major ore deposits by firms already in many mineral industries creates a barrier to firms wishing to enter these industries.

Perfect Information: the effect of many pollutants on climate, people’s health, plants and animals, and ecosystems in general is still very much unknown. People’s demand for some products might change if this information became available.

Property Rights and Incentives12. Explain that this activity provides another example of how incentives are affected by

property rights (in this case, the “universality” condition of The Guide to Ideal Markets has not been met).

13. Ask for 10 volunteers for a lucrative job (flash a $5 roll of dimes!). The volunteers should go to a cleared area of the room and form a circle. The circle should have a diameter of at least six feet (bigger if possible).

14. Take 50 paper clips and toss them on the floor inside the circle. Tell the students that they are going to be paid to pick up the clips. Tell them there will be two periods in which they may pick up the clips. In the first period they will be paid a dime for each clip they pick up, while in the second period they will be paid twenty cents for each clip they pick up. Note that only those clips not picked up in period one will be available to be picked up in period two. Finally, note that each period will last for only one minute and that clips must be turned in the period in which they were picked up.

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15. Ask if everyone understands; then begin period one. Although there may be some talk (colluding!) about waiting, soon someone will start gathering up the clips as fast as he or she can, and everyone else will jump in. All the clips will be picked up in period one! Pay the students!

16. Next use masking tape to line the floor in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Have one student stand in each cell and the tenth student stand off to the side. Again toss the clips on the floor so that they fall into the various cells. Tell the students you are going to repeat the game, again paying a dime for every clip picked up in the first period and twenty cents for clips picked up in the second. However, this time students may only pick up clips in their own cell.

17. Begin period one. Not too surprisingly, none of the clips is now picked up. Thank students for participating and tell them that the second period will begin as soon as you win the lotto! Ask the students to return to their seats.

18. Ask: If the goal of society is to get the most value from its scarce resources (i.e., allocative efficiency), when should the clips have been picked up? In the second period, since the willingness and ability to pay for them (their value) then is greater—twice as much.

19. Note that this happened the second time the game was played but not the first. Ask: What was different? Property rights to the clips were assigned the second time.

20. Ask: How did the assigning of property rights change the incentives of the players? Discuss responses. Because players could control when their clips would be picked up during the second round, they received the benefit of waiting. In the first round, their waiting might have cost them the opportunity to get anything at all.

21. Relating this game to the harvesting of whales (the floor is the “ocean,” the clips are the “whales,” and the students are the “whale hunters”). Note that no one has the incentive to manage or control the stock of whales, since they don’t own them and can’t control others access to them. Thus, the exploitation of whales can be traced to a lack of adequately defined property rights.

22. Next ask students to think about the amount of beef and chicken consumed every day in the United States. Ask: Why aren’t we worried about “Saving the Cattle” or “Saving the Chickens” as some are concerned about “Saving the Whales”? Possible answer follows: Cattle and Chicken stock are privately owned. Thus, if a rancher foresaw pending extinction or a future shortage of cattle, she would withhold her cattle from the market today to take advantage of the higher expected price in the future. Thus, private property rights provide the incentives for owners to sell their resources at the time when the resources are most highly valued.

23. Ask: What other resources are like whales? (You might help students get started by asking who owns the air in the room.) Possible answers include: air, groundwater, oil pools, wildlife species – eagles, deer, coyotes, ducks, tuna, etc.

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24. What does the game played today suggest about how these resources would be used in the absence of any outside intervention? They might be overused and/or used too quickly from the perspective of allocative efficiency.

An Economic Function of the Government25. Explain that a major economic function of the government is to define and enforce

property rights.

26. Ask students to discuss how the government had defined property rights or “rules of the game” for environmental resources. Some suggestions follow:

Air and water: The Environmental Protection Agency sets national ambient standards, while states establish allowable emissions of various substances to meet these standards.

Wildlife: the Department of the Interior and state Department of Natural Resources establish hunting and fishing seasons and quotas to control the harvest of wildlife species.

Scenic forests and wilderness areas: the National Park Service and various state agencies established camping and other rules of use for these areas. Ocean fisheries: 200 – mile limit, harvest quotas.

Water Rights27. Explain that this final activity highlights the importance of being able to transfer

property rights in order to get the most value from a resource – in this case water.

28. Distribute a copy of Activity 4 and its accompanying worksheet to each student. Ask students to read Water Rights and complete the worksheet.

29. Allow 30 minutes; then discus their responses, as follows:a. Total benefit of two units is $39, while for one is $20; thus the second unit

added $19. Similarly, the fifth unit adds $16, the eighth adds $13, and the tenth adds $11.

b. Suppose that User A is a typical residential consumer. The first units of water are very valuable for basic survival (drinking and cooking). The next units might be used to satisfy less pressing health needs such as bathing, flushing toilet, and washing clothes. Later units would satisfy such wants as washing the car of watering the lawn. The final units of water might be used to run an ornamental fountain. The point is that the benefits received from additional units of water (or any good in general) tend to decrease as the more important wants and needs are satisfied. One could also discuss agricultural uses of water in terms of the diminishing productivity of water.

c. i. 8 units for User A: $132ii. 8 units for User A: $162iii. 6 units for User A, 2 units for User B: $105+$57=$162

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iv. 2 units for User A, 6 units for User B: $39+$136=$175v. Note that the value of benefits received by User A for the 8th unit is

$13, while User B would receive $30 in benefits from it. Thus, User A would be willing and able to sell it for any amount over $13, while User B would be willing and able to buy it for any amount less than $30. This gives plenty of room for the two to negotiate a transfer. The same is true for User A’s 7th, 6th, 5th, and 4th units. Through trades, User A ends up with 3 units and User B with 5: $57+$120=$177.

vi. Trading yields the same result as in v. Emphasize that being allowed to transfer the water through trades yields the maximum benefit possible from the water – regardless of who initially owns the water!

d. i. 4 units for User A: $74ii. 4 units for User B: $102iii. 4 units for User A: $74iv. 4 units for User B: $102v. 4 units for User B: $102 vi. 4 units for User B: $102

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES Government/Law30. Explain that some laws and regulations (traffic and zoning laws, pollution regulation,

city ordinances) are attempts by the government to ensure that the exclusivity condition of property rights is met.

31. Ask students to investigate specific city ordinances and state and federal

regulations and relate them to an attempt to minimize the flow of benefits and/or costs to non-owners (or innocent bystanders).

32. Ask students to discuss the costs associated with defining and enforcing well-defined property rights over natural resources such as the air, ozone layer, migratory species, and other natural resources.

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ACTIVITY 1DETERMINING THE PRICE AND

QUANTITY OF NOTEBOOKS

The market for notebooks made from recycled paper is shown below. These notebooks are valuable to students for taking notes and completing school assignments – plus they are environmentally “friendly.” How many of these notebooks are students willing and able to buy at various prices? That amount – the demand for notebooks – is shown below. These notebooks require resources to produce (the recycled paper, processing and cutting machines, workers, energy, etc.). Notebook producers must bid these resources away from the other valued uses. If producers are able to cover these costs, they will produce notebooks. How many? The amount the producers are willing and able to produce and offer for sale at various prices – the supply of notebooks – is also shown below. Given this, answer the questions on the accompanying worksheets.

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ACTIVITY 1WORKSHEET

DETERMINING THE PRICE AND QUANTITY OF NOTEBOOKS

a. How many notebooks would be purchased at each of the following prices: $20, $10, $7?

b. Why do students buy fewer notebooks as the price rises? (Answer in terms of the value of the notebooks to students.)

c. How many notebooks would be produced and offered for sale at each of the following prices: $15, $7, $5?

d. Why do producers offer more notebooks for sale as the price rises? (Answer in terms of the cost of producing the notebooks.)

e. At what price does the quantity demanded by student’s equal the quantity producers would offer for sale? Explain why the market would in time establish this as the price of notebooks.

f. The price found in (e) is called the “equilibrium” price. At this price, what is the “equilibrium” quantity produced and purchased?

g. If the demand curve shows the value of each additional notebook, what is the value of the following notebooks: the 10th, the 20th, the 30th, and the 40th?

h. If the supply curve shows the cost of each additional notebook, what is the cost of the following notebooks: the 10th, the 20th, the 30th, and the 40th?

i. If society wishes to maximize the net value (total value minus total costs) it gets from its resources, how many notebooks should produced?

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ACTIVITY 2THE GUIDE TO IDEAL MARKETS

In order for the market demand curve to reflect the value of a product to society, and the market supply curve to reflect the cost of the product to society, all seven of the following characteristics must exist. If they do, then the equilibrium quantity found by the market is also the quantity which is allocatively efficient. Few real world markets score one hundred percent on these seven characteristics. However, using well-defined property rights and higher degrees of competition in markets as a basis for public policy decisions regarding resource allocation can get us closer to allocative efficiency than if we do not.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WELL-DEFINED PROPERLY RIGHTSUniversalityAll goods and resources are privately owned and all privileges and limitations with respect to their use are completely specified.

ExclusivityAll benefits and costs related to the ownership or use of all goods and resources accrue only to the owner or by sale to others.

TransferabilityAll property rights can be exchanged from one owner to another.

EnforceabilityAll property rights are protected from unauthorized capture or control by others.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A “COMPETITIVE” MARKETLack of Economic PowerNo buyer or seller in the market is able individually to influence the price established by the market (that is, everyone in the market is a “price taker”).

Free MobilityAll resources can be transferred costlessly into or out of the market.

Perfect InformationEach participant in the market has complete information about the product, including its quality, its price, its ability to satisfy his or her desires, and the availability of substitute products.

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ACTIVITY 3PROBLEMS IN THE NOTEBOOK MARKET

Consider each of the six cases below, looking for reasons why the market for notebooks may NOT yield the equilibrium quantity of notebooks found earlier. Think about how the incentives of buyers to buy and sellers to sell are affected in each case and why the demand and supply curves may not reflect society’s actual value or costs.

a. Suppose any notebooks produced must be given to any student who wants them, at no charge.

b. Suppose the de-inking of the recycled paper used in producing the notebooks creates a waste flow that leaks into the local water supply and causes the water to smell bad.

c. Suppose notebook producers and others are not allowed to sell to college students even though college students value the notebooks more highly than high school students do.

d. Suppose the notebook paper is made in such a way that it dramatically reduces the risk of a paper cut to those who handle it (both the students and their teachers).

e. Suppose teachers were allowed to confiscate and keep student notebooks whenever they chose to do so.

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ACTIVITY 4WATER RIGHTS

The first settlements in the western and southwestern parts of the United States were typically located near existing bodies of water. The property rights to the water were generally tied to the land adjacent the water. Called “riparian rights,” this definition of rights meant that owners of land next to the water bodies could use the water, but only on the adjacent land they owned.

As long as the demand of these land owners for the water was small relative to its availability, this posed no economic problem (i.e., water was not scarce). However, as the population grew and settled on lands not adjacent to water sources, a change in property rights was needed. Owners of non-adjacent lands needed some means of acquiring water for their lands. The doctrine of “prior appropriation” soon replaced riparian rights.

Prior appropriation gave the rights to use the water to the first person to arrive and claim it. This separated the water rights from the land rights and allowed first claimants to divert water to whomever and wherever they chose. For example, an adjacent land owner could now sell his water to be used by others at other locations. Ultimately, states assumed ownership of all water within their boundaries, and the original claimants were given only use (as opposed to ownership) rights (called “usufructuary rights”). Along with these rights, however, came several restrictions.

One of the first restrictions required that claimants put their water to “beneficial use.” If their water was not all being used they faced the prospect of losing their rights to it. In addition, many states established a hierarchy of uses called “preferential uses.” For example, agricultural uses might be given first preference, municipal uses (residential uses) second, and industrial uses third. Transfers between the different classes are often restricted. “Instream uses” of water (rafting, fishing, wildlife habitat, etc.) have largely been ignored (consumptive uses are typically given priority).

The lack of direct ownership and the inability of users to transfer water among themselves suggests that water use is likely to be allocatively inefficient.

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ACTIVITY 4WORKSHEET

The table below shows the benefits received by two users of water (each unit = 1000 gallons). Use this information to answer the questions below.

Amount of Water(units)

Total Benefits Received by User A

Total Benefits Received by User B

12345678910

$20$39$57$74$90$105$119$132$144$155

$30$57$81$102$120$136$150$162$172$180

a. How much value does the 2nd unit of water by itself add to User A’s total benefits?__________What about the 5th unit?__________

8th unit?___________ 10th unit?__________

b. Why might you expect to see the pattern of values indicated in (a)?

c. Suppose 8 units of water are all that is available this year. Determine the total value of benefits generated by this water in each of the following cases:

i. The right to use all units is given to User A with no right to transfer any of the water to others. ________

ii. The right to use all units is given to User B with no right to transfer any of the water to others. ________

iii. User A has been given preferential priority over User B for the first six units of available water in any year while User B is given priority over any other users for the next six units. _______

iv. Same as (iii) but reverse A and B. _______v. User A has full ownership rights over all units (s/he can use or sell any unit

s/he desires). ______vi. User A and User B each have full ownership rights over one-half of the

available water. ________

d. Repeat (c) assuming only 4 units of water are available due to a drought.

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Topic: Location, Movement and Connections

Grade Level Standard: E-7 Explain economic location, movement, and connections.

Grade Level Benchmark: 1. Describe major world patterns of economic activity and

explain the reasons for the patterns. (II.3.HS.1)


New Vocabulary:

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Documents

MATHEMATICS - Saginaw Valley State · Web viewMost had little money and little capacity, therefore, to pay the costs involved in relocation. In the absence of information about alternatives