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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Over the past few decades, the pharmaceutical industry has shifted its focus to areas of high unmet need Such as treating cancer and rare diseases For many of these conditions, traditional approaches to clinical trial design fall short The transition therefore calls for innovative clinical and regulatory strategies that can deliver new drugs fast Advanced digital technologies now offer unprecedented opportunities to improve drug development and, by extension, patients’ lives These include capturing patient-reported outcomes facilitating accelerated regulatory approval pathways analyzing real-world data and using intelligent analytics solutions While the tools and practices for unlocking the potential of innovation abound pharma is only in the early stages of adapting them at scale Aligning the needs of patients, providers, payers, and regulators will require biopharma organizations to adapt and evolve And leveraging digital tools, data, and analytics could help them get there Lee e.."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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

This course explores how information technology is reshaping different dimensions of the U.S. labor market: the way work is organized, the mix of occupations, the skills required to perform in an occupation, economy-wide labor productivity, and the distribution of wages.

The MIT Biology Department core courses, 7.012, 7.013, and 7.014, all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as, the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.
7.014 focuses on the application of these fundamental principles, toward an understanding of microorganisms as geochemical agents responsible for the evolution and renewal of the biosphere and of their role in human health and disease.
Acknowledgements
The study materials, problem sets, and quiz materials used during Spring 2005 for 7.014 include contributions from past instructors, teaching assistants, and other members of the MIT Biology Department affiliated with course 7.014. Since the following works have evolved over a period of many years, no single source can be attributed.

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

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

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Positive organizational change doesn’t just happen It requires powerful strategy that can balance proven methodology with creative application Most enterprises want to sustain growth while also creating value, navigating complexity, and promoting innovation These aspirations have increased the demand for professional management consulting services A new article in Global Business and Organizational Excellence examines how strategic human resource development (HRD) consulting can transform performance metrics -- from productivity and quality to employee engagement and profitability Using a real-world example, the work highlights the concept of energizing, redesigning, and gelling (ERG) -- an alternative way to think about organizational development and change ERG helps leaders strategically align learning and development with other components of organizational design to execute an organization's overall goal Too many organizational change efforts fail....."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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