What role should consumerism play in our economy? How does consumer behaviour affect quality of life for individuals and groups in Canada and the U.S.?

Introduction You are a consumer. You purchase products and things to satisfy your needs and wants. Remember, a need is something necessary for survival, such as a warm jacket to wear during the winter. A want, however, may be a pair of expensive designer jeans. It is something you may want because it satisfies a desire, but expensive designer jeans are not necessary for survival.

Introduction Economies are established to supply the goods and services that satisfy society’s needs and wants. As a consumer, you are a very important member of the country’s economy.

Consumerism and the Economy Consumerism is important to the economies of Canada and the United States. Every time a consumer buys a good or a service, an investment is made in the country’s economy. Consumers influence the three basic economic questions: What goods should be produced? How should these goods be produced? For whom should the goods be produced?

Quality of Life As a consumer, you have needs and wants and you require goods and services. You make purchases for yourself and others. Think about the things that you have purchased in the last two days. Maybe you bought a drink and a snack at the corner store, purchased and downloaded some music from the Internet, or rented a recently released movie or video game that came highly recommended by your friends. Deciding which products or services you want and purchasing the products or services is the act of a consumer. All of these purchases also contribute to your quality of life.

Quality of Life Think about your quality of life. Make a list of things that make you content and satisfied. Think about how well you and your family live. What changes would make the biggest impact on improving your quality of life? Go beyond superficial factors, such as having a lot of money and nice clothes; instead consider your rights and freedoms, your beliefs and values, and your individual and collective identities as well as your needs.

Standard of Living Remember that health, happiness, and security are just as important to your quality of life as your economic well-being. The term economic well-being refers to standard of living. For instance, a high standard of living means that there is a high quality and quantity of goods and services available to support living. This contributes to material well-being.

Quality of Life and Standard of Living While quality of life and standard of living are two different concepts, they are related. Standard of living is one factor used to evaluate quality of life. All elements that influence standard of living have a price tag. In Canada, we can rate standard of living by using statistics such as average income, average number of televisions, average number of vehicles, and average amount of money spent on entertainment.

standard of living: the quality and quantity of goods and services available and how they are distributed. When analyzing standard of living, gross domestic product per person (GDP per capita) is often used as a measure. You can use GDP to determine how well off people are. gross domestic product: the total value of all goods and services a country’s economy produces.

Assignment Let’s take a closer look at standard of living, quality of life and the factors associated. Complete Lesson 1.Standard of Living and Quality of Life How do we compare to other countries?