1. What is the census?

An official count of all people and their place of residence, established by the Constitution and taken every 10 years, to determine how many Representatives each state receives

2. Name and describe two ways the Census Bureau tabulates and presents data.

Urban populations – groups of people of 2,500 or more or people living in incorporated towns

Chapter 15 Section 1

Rural populations – groups of people living in sparsely inhabited areas

Researchers who study population growth and density are called demographers.

3. List three significant changes in the population of the United States since colonial times

a. 1790 to 1860 (~Revolutionary War to Civil War): population was increasing at a rate of 3% per year, average household had 5.8 people

b. 1860-1945 (Civil War to World War II): rate of growth decreased to 2.23% and eventually 1.38%

c. Current day: Population growth is under 1% per year, average 2.65 people per household

More people living alone than ever before

4. What are three major factors affecting the growth of population in the United States?

a. Fertility rate: number of births per woman in her lifetime

b. Life expectancy: average remaining life span of people who reach a certain age

c. Net Immigration: net change of people coming into and going out of the country

Video - Japan’s impending population crisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwUIKDTErNo#t=11

Idiocracy clip

5. How will the baby boomers affect the dependency ratio?

Baby Boom – period after World War II between 1946 and 1964 where births spiked

Dependency Ratio – the number of children and elderly (who are dependent on others) for every 100 adults between the working ages of 18 and 65

The large number of baby boomers will soon be considered elderly (65+) and thus increase the dependency ratio greatly.

What year will the earliest-born baby boomers start hitting age 65? What about the latest-born baby boomers?

2011-2029, the years the baby boomers start entering retirement…spooky!

Chapter 15 Section 2

1. a. What is a good measure of economic growth in the short run?

For 1-5 years, real GDP (i.e., GDP adjusted for inflation)

b. What is a good measure of economic growth in the long run?

For more than 5 years, real GDP per capita to account for population increases and decreases

2. What are five ways in which economic growth benefits the United States?

Government Spending – adds to the number and quality of public services

Standard of Living – quality of life based on the possession of necessities and luxuries that make life easier

Global Role Model – many developing countries do not have established political and economic ideas

Domestic Problems – creates more jobs and income, which can help with poverty, medical care, and inequality of opportunity

Helping Other Nations – purchasing goods and services from other countries can be mutually beneficial

3. What are four factors that influence economic growth?

Capital – tools, equipment, and factories used in the production of goods and services, more capital -> more goods and services -> more growth

Land – natural resources such as minerals, clean air, water, forests, and fertile land which are abundant in the U.S., but not countries like Japan and Great Britain

Labor – a skilled and growing work force tied to a country’s population

foreign workers and retirees returning to the work force are options for countries that face a population/labor shortageEntrepreneurs – the key to economic growth, entrepreneurs innovate, act as agents of change, and take risks that promote economic progress

4. What must the United States do to keep its land resources from dwindling?

Establish regulations to improve conservation so that natural resources are not used faster than they can be replenished (e.g., cutting down trees)

5. How does declining productivity hurt the American economy?

Labor productivity – the rate of economic growth per unit of labor output (i.e., how efficiently are goods and services produced)

Declining productivity means possibly losing a competitive edge compared to other countries, which means fewer jobs, lower profits, higher prices, and underemployment (e.g., an engineer having to work at McDonald’s due to a lack of engineering work)

Chapter 15 Section 3

1. What is a business cycle?

The cycle of ups and downs of the real GDP

2. What are the two phases of the business cycle?

a. Recession – a decline in real GDP for a period of at least 6 months

b. Expansion – a period of recovery from a recession, real GDP increases

3. a. At what point in the business cycle does a recession begin?

b. At what point in the business cycle does a recession end?

Peak

Trough

4. What term refers to a very severe recession? Depression

5. What four factors worked together to cause the Great Depression?

b. Credit too plentiful: many people borrowed extensively, which left them with absolutely nothing when the economy took a turn for the worse

Great Depression: Started with Stock Market crash of 1929, between 1929 and 1933, GDP fell from $103bb to $55bb (roughly half), unemployment went from 1.6m people to 12.8m, 25% of workers were unemployed, average wages went from 55cents/hr to 5cents/hr, thousands of banks failed (depositors lost everything since no FDIC), money supply fell by 33% which forced towns and counties to print their own money (depression scrip)a. Distribution of income: people were either very poor or very rich, the poor couldn’t afford to spend anything while the rich spent their money unproductively (e.g., betting on the stock market)

c. Foreign loans: Without loans, foreign countries could not afford U.S. goods -> lower demand -> lower production -> fewer jobs

d. High tariffs: Taxes on imported goods made countries less willing to sell to the U.S.

2005-2013 Dependency Ratio for the United States and Japan

Q4 2004 Q4 2006 Q4 2008 Q4 2010 Q4 2012 Q4 2014

Peak

Recession Expansion

US real GDP 2004-2014

Trough