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.

This series of slides presents the production possibilities frontiers for Alphatown and Omegaville and illustrates their comparative advantage in the production of apples and potatoes, leading to specialization and trade.

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.

In this lesson, students play the role of producers in two fictional countries, Acca and Dur. Students use production cards to construct production possibilities tables and graphs. These tables and graphs are used to discuss productivity, opportunity costs, and comparative advantage. Producers in each country discover that if they specialize and trade, they are able to produce and consume more goods than they would have been able to produce and consume on their own.

Students learn about McCulloch v. Maryland, a case decided in 1819 over (1) whether the state of Maryland had the right to tax the Second Bank of the United States and (2) whether Congress had violated the Constitution in establishing the Bank. Students also review the expressed powers of Congress identified in the Constitution and analyze how Congress implements the necessary and proper (elastic) clause to enact its expressed powers. Finally, students use their knowledge of McCulloch v. Maryland and the necessary and proper clause to consider the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve System.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed consumer spending habits. The January 2021 issue of Page One Economics® reviews how people substituted meals purchased at restaurants with meals cooked at home. Also, people traveled less and the demand for hotel services decreased. As a result, both employment and prices declined in the leisure and hospitality industry.

This video from the Explore Economics series helps kids understand that people are both consumers and producers. Kids learn that consumers buy goods and services to satisfy their wants and that producers make goods and services. Kids are encouraged to be producers by making a bookmark, and then to be consumers by using a bookmark to hold their place in a book. Students learn a song about goods and services.

Many of even the most prepared young people could not have anticipated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn about some of the pandemic’s economic impacts on young people and their families and some information and tips for financial planning in the February 2021 Page One Economics®: Focus on Finance.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Maybe you’ve heard that before. Or you’ve even said it. If so, you probably know it means that everything has a cost. Businesses are especially aware of costs because costs affect profits, and without profits a business might not survive. This episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series describes how businesses consider costs when making decisions – including about whether to shut down.

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.

In this lesson, students practice counting as the book Counting with Common Cents is read. As they count pennies, nickels, and dimes, they place those coins on the appropriate spot on a handout, indicating how many pennies are equal to a nickel and a dime. They discuss saving their pennies and draw a picture of an item they would like to buy. In an optional activity, they draw pictures or write notes indicating chores they would do to earn 10 pennies.

This lesson demonstrates how easy it is to create a binary FRED map. Students search for state-level data on average weekly earnings and visualize them in FRED. The goals are for students to customize a map, observe patterns in mapped data, and note differences across geographical areas.

Credit bureaus have evolved into big businesses. The December 2017 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance addresses the growth of credit bureaus and how the credit reports they maintain affect both creditors and borrowers.

With record-level credit card debt in the headlines, this December 2023 issue of Focus on Finance addresses credit card history, statistics, and usage, as well as reasons for the increase in credit card debt. The information in the article can help in managing credit card accounts, and students will better understand the economics of using revolving credit as they prepare to become cardholders!

Credit can be a powerful tool in your financial toolbox if you understand how to use it wisely. In this course, you'll learn about different types of credit and the costs associated with using credit. You'll learn the importance of building strong credit by borrowing wisely and paying promptly, arranging credit for making major purchases like a car or home, avoiding common credit mistakes, and monitoring your own credit. You'll also learn about credit reports, your credit score, and steps you can—and should—take to build your own credit cred!

In this lesson, students first learn how credit history and credit scores are determined. Then, to better understand the protections of the Equal Credit Opportunities Act, they participate in a card-sorting activity where they evaluate creditworthiness based on borrower characteristics, determine which characteristics may be legally considered, and sort the applicants from most likely to least likely to get a loan. Next, they examine a primary source document to see how information that can be legally used to evaluate credit changed with the act. In an optional extension activity, students sort cards again to match primary borrowers with cosigners. They then learn about the pros and cons of cosigning.

Students learn that the loanable funds market is a virtual clearing house matching borrowers and savers. They participate in an activity to demonstrate crowding out in the loanable funds market. They use demand and supply analysis to graphically represent the results of crowding out.

In the story Curious George Saves His Pennies, George wants to buy a new bright-red train, but he does not have enough money. At the suggestion of his friend, George saves his money to buy the train. In this lesson, the students draw an outline of a piggy bank, within which they write a word for or draw a picture of something they would like to buy. This becomes their savings goal. They listen to the story, and as George finds some ways to earn money, the students come up with ways they can earn money to reach their savings goals. Students are introduced to the difference between income and gift money. They participate in an activity where they determine if they are receiving income or gift money and how many weeks it will take them to reach their savings goal. Students also discuss why George did not buy the original red train he wanted.

FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) provides access to a wide range of data from multiple sources. Describing the source of data used in a presentation, written report, or research project with a citation makes that work more thorough and easier to replicate. This article describes the elements of a good data citation for new data users and serves as a reference for advanced data users.

FRED can display data in choropleth maps, using shading and colors to convey historical and current data for a given area. This Page One Economics Data Primer describes the different data geographies available in FRED, which help shape the stories behind the numbers.