Economic Decision Making

Economics in Action Lesson 2 CONCEPTS TEKS Choices (4) Economics. The student understands the basic principles of the U.S. free enterprise system. Economizing behavior (11) Economics. The student understands the basic concepts of consumer economics Opportunity costs (5) Economics. The student understands the concepts of scarcity and opportunity costs. Scarcity (5) Economics. The student understands the concepts of scarcity and opportunity costs. Economic Systems (10) Economics. The student understands traditional, command, and market economic systems B) compare the U.S. free enterprise system with other economic systems

How would your students define economics?

Economics the science of decision making … ‘Economics’ evaluates the study of choice… ‘Economics’ evaluates relative cost benefits of each alternative

Decision making… weighs the costs and benefits of alternatives identifies the real or opportunity costs of a decision

Opportunity cost…. the best alternative not chosen the next best alternative What is the common misconception regarding opportunity cost?

PACED Decision-Making Model A very useful 5 step tool to help students reach personal and societal decisions. The five steps are:

PACED Decision-Making Model P. What is the PROBLEM? A. What are the ALTERNATIVES? C. What are the CRITERIA important to the decision? E. EVALUATE each alternative. D. Make a DECISION

Economic Reasoning …an analysis of costs and benefits to make rational choices Two basic economic premises: People economize People respond to incentives in predictable ways

Choices

Choices Making good choices helps us use limited resources wisely. Most choices involve trade-offs…a little more or a little less of something.

Allocation Different methods can be used to allocate goods and services. Which methods are best? Which piece of the pie do we use to allocate different kinds of goods and services?

Classifying economic activities Each type of economic system represents: A way of allocating resources A way of making decisions

All economic systems must… answer the same basic economic questions What… How … For whom…

Economic Systems Traditional Economies - make decisions by repeating decisions of previous generations Command Economies - an authority figure makes the decisions Market Economies – individuals and businesses make the decisions; price determines how goods and services are allocated

Relate concepts of this lesson to: Travel www.travel.state.tx.us Regions Cities Videos Weather and more…

Plan a Texas vacation Two people 6 days $1000 allowance Activity 2.1 Students use the Paced Decision-Making Grid

Decisions/Choices Where? When? Mode of transportation?

Where? Big Bend Gulf Coast Hill Country Panhandle Plains Piney Woods Region Prairies & Lakes Region South Texas Plains

When? Fall Winter Spring Summer

Mode of transportation? Car Air Bus Bike Other Walk

Where to begin? Trip Ideas You are here: Home > Plan Your Trip > Get a head start on your Texas vacation with helpful ideas to plan your getaway. Start planning your perfect Texas getaway. First, take a look at our latest advertising campaign. When you see a place or activity that interests you, match it with the perfect day trip or driving tour. You’ll also find lodging options to help you get the most from your Texas adventure. Trip Planner We want your trip to Texas to be as unique as the state itself. Trip Planner lets you build your own personalized itinerary of exciting places, activities and events for the perfect Lone Star vacation. www.travel.state.tx.us

Texas Tourism How to Read this Report VARIABLES CHARACTERISTICS RECOMMENDED USE Demographics Segmented by age, income and household A fundamental description of travelers that can be used for all marketing and communication vehicles Lifestages Age of the Household Head Household Income Children under Age 18 in Household A discriminating segmentation of target audience for media targeting,CRM among others Young & Free 18‐34 years no Young Family 18‐34 years yes Maturing & Free 35‐54 years no Moderate Family 35‐54 years Under $75K yes Affluent Family 35‐54 years $75K or higher yes Moderate Mature 55 years or older Under $60K no Affluent Mature 55 years or older $60K or higher no Lifestage analysis combines three variables ‐age, household income, and presence of children in the household ‐into one variable containing seven mutually‐exclusive segments defined above. Because of the age component, the lifestage segments are “moving targets” from year to year. Generations Traveler’s Year of Birth A focused messaging approach that uses different mediums (radio, TV, and Internet) to target a specific audience Millennial After 1981 Gen X 1965‐1980 Boomers 1946‐1964 Silent 1930‐1945 GI 1929 and earlier

Collecting information The following documents highlight the latest tourism data available: 2008 Texas Travel Facts (.pdf 637KB) 2008 Top Leisure Destinations (.pdf 108KB) 2008 Top Attractions (.pdf 112KB)

Popular Texas sites… 11 Schlitterbahn 12.5% 1 Alamo 33.9% 2 Hill Country 23.3% 12 Fort Worth Stockyards 12.1% 3 Galveston Island 22.5% 13 Six Flags Fiesta Texas 11.5% 4 State Capitol 17.9% 14 Texas State Fair 11.0% 5 Six Flags Over Texas 17.3% 15 Cabela's 10.8% 6 San Marcos Outlet Malls 17.2% 16 Kemah Boardwalk 10.2% 7 Bass Pro Shops 15.3% 17 Space Center Houston 10.0% (NASA's Johnson Space Center) 8 Sea World of Texas 14.7% 18 Texas Motor Speedway 10.0% 9 Paseo del Rio (River Walk) 14.1% 19 Fort Worth Zoo 9.8% 10 South Padre Island 13.0% 20 Dallas Museum of Art 9.6%