1. Economic Resources
Now that we’ve examined the basics of marketing, you need to understand how the economy can affect marketing decisions. In this lesson you will learn what an economy is as well as the various types of resources that economies use to provide for its populations. You will learn the meaning of the word ‘scarcity’ and how economies handle scarcity by answering 3 important questions.

2. Economy or Economic System
The way a nation makes choices
How the nation will use its resources to produce and distribute goods and services.
What do you think an economy is? SHARE RESPONSES.
Show bullet. An economy is simply how a nation makes choices, and more specifically, choices about how its resources will be used to produce and distribute goods and services to its population.

3. Resources All things used in producing goods and services
Factors of Production – the technical term economists use for resources
Simply put, resources are all the things that are used in producing goods and services.
SHOW BULLET. The technical term that economists use for resources is ‘factors of production’. There are 4 factors of production. Let’s look at each one.

4. Resource 1 – Land
Everything on the earth in its natural state / the earth’s natural resources
Resources Include:
Contained in the earth or found in the sea
Coal and crude oil
A lake and all the living
things in the lake
The first factor of production (or resource) is land. Land includes everything on earth that’s in its natural state. What do you think would be some examples of land as a resource? SHARE RESPONSES.
SHOW BULLETS. Land not only includes the ground, but the waters, oceans, rivers and lakes and everything in them. It also includes everything mined from the ground and under the water.

5. Resource 2 – Labor All the people who work in the economy
Labor includes:
Full and Part-time Workers
Both the Public and the Private sector
The second factor of production (or resource) is labor. This includes all the people who work to produce and distribute goods and services to an economy’s population.
The pictures here give some examples of labor – office workers, restaurant workers, repair people and people who work in the medical field. Of course this is not everything. If you work, you are a part of the labor resource.
SHOW BULLETS. It doesn’t matter whether you work full-time or part-time, or if you work for a private company, like Target, or in the public sector, which includes government organizations. E.g. I work in the public sector as a teacher.

6. Resource 3 - Capital The money needed to start and operate a business
The goods used in the production process
Examples are:
Factories
Office Buildings
Computers
Raw materials
Inventory
The 3rd factor of production (or resource) is capital. This includes money to operate a business as well as the goods that are used in the operation of the business.
What do you think are examples of capital? SHARE RESPONSES.
SHOW BULLETS. These are just examples of capital. While many of us think of capital as being only money, capital also includes anything that is used in the operation of your business. In some instances, capital could also be land, such as raw materials or inventory.

7. Resource 4 - Entrepreneurship
The skills of the people willing to risk their time and money to run a business
Organization of the other factors of production to create the goods and services
The 4th factor of production (or resource) is entrepreneurship. This resource includes the skills that people use when they take the risk to operate a business. Entrepreneurs organize the other factors of production in order to create goods and services for an economy’s population. Without the factor of entrepreneurship the other factors would just ‘sit there’ without being used.
GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF HOW AN ENTREPRENEUR ORGANIZES THE OTHER FACTORS. SHARE RESPONSES.
Examples:
Organizes production schedules to create products from the land resources.
Organizes the distribution of products.
Schedules employees (labor) so that products can be produced and distributed.
Handles the allocation of capital, such as using money to pay bills and salaries, or purchasing equipment.
STOP HERE AND DO CHEESEBURGER CLASSIFICATION ACTIVITY.
FINISH PRESENTATION FOLLOWING ACTIVITY.

8. Infrastructure The physical development of a country
Elements necessary for production and distribution of goods and services
Parts of the infrastructure include
Roads
Ports
Sanitation Facilities
Utilities
Although not considered a specific factor of production, infrastructure is an important economic term that relates to the physical development of a country so that the factors of production can exist. Infrastructure are the elements that are necessary so that production and distribution can take place. These include elements such as roads and ports for distribution, sanitation facilities so that waste can be handled properly, and utilities to facilitate communication.

9. Scarcity
The difference between wants and needs and the resources available to meet these needs is called Scarcity.
Nations have unlimited wants and needs but limited resources – Scarcity forces the nations to make economic choices.
Another important economic term is ‘scarcity’. Can anyone tell me what this means? SHARE RESPONSES.
SHOW BULLET. Scarcity represents the difference between the wants and needs of a population and the resources that are available to meet those needs.
Think about your needs and wants. SHARE RESPONSES OF WHAT STUDENTS WANT.
Why don’t you have these things? SHARE RESPONSES (e.g. not enough money).
The reason you don’t have everything you want is because of scarcity. That’s why we have to budget or save, and make decisions about what we buy.
SHOW NEXT BULLET. Nations also have scarcity. There are unlimited wants and needs, but there are also limited resources. Scarcity forces nations to make economic choices just like we have to make choices for ourselves.
Tomorrow we will look at how these choices are made on the national level.