Economic Vocabulary

§        Natural resources: Materials that come from nature (water, soil, wood, coal)

§        Human resources: People working to produce goods and services

§        Capital resources: Goods made by people and used to produce other goods and services (machines, tools, buildings)

§        Producers: People who use resources to make goods and/or provide services

§        Goods: Things that people make or use to satisfy needs and wants

§        Services: Activities that satisfy people’s needs and wants

§        Economic specialization: Focusing on one product or service

§        Economic interdependence: Two or more people depending on each other for goods and services

§        Economic choice: The choice of or decision among alternatives or possibilities

§        Opportunity cost: The next best choice that is given up when a decision is made

Economic specialization and interdependence of communities in the past:

·       Ancient Greece and Rome both focused on building ships, farming, and making pottery. (Specialization)

·       Greeks and Romans traded their goods with Egypt and other nearby communities. (Interdependence)

·       In the empire of Mali, some people specialized in protecting the empire, while others specialized in growing food for the empire. (Specialization)

·       The people of Mali traded (gold for salt) with other people.  (Interdependence)

Economic specialization and interdependence in the present:

·       Virginia is known for its expertise in shipbuilding. (Specialization)

·       Virginia sells its coal to other countries but depends on other countries for oil. (Interdependence)