35 Outcome: Health of the Economy

What you’ll learn to do: describe the methods economists use to evaluate the health of an economy, such as GDP, unemployment rate, and CPI

How many times have we had our temperature taken? Probably too many to count! Why do we (and doctors) reach for a thermometer when someone says, “I don’t feel good.” Because we’re looking for a symptom of an underlying problem or illness. If you have a fever, it could be a sign of the flu, an ear infection, or strep throat—or something else that requires treatment or action.

Similarly, economists have ways of taking the temperature of the economy to determine whether something serious is going on. Some of the “ills” they look for are recession, inflation, deflation, and stagnation. In this section you’ll learn about the key economic indicators used to measure the health of the economy: GDP, unemployment, and the CPI.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

The learning activities for this section include:

• Reading: Measuring the Health of the Economy
• Self Check: Health of the Economy

Take time to review and reflect on this activity in order to improve your performance on the assessment for this section.