Standards of Living: Comparing Different Countries
Introduction.
What do we mean by a "standard of living"? Probably no two people would describe this term in exactly the same way. There are many different factors that can indicate a "higher" or "lower" standard of living, such as cost of living, population density, gross national product, availability of natural resources or basic individual freedoms. Our own personal values and lifestyles will influence what factors we think are most important in describing a country’s overall quality of life.
In this lesson, students will become familiar with various demographic and economic measures that can be used to describe a standard of living. They will access the Internet to find current data for these measures and will devise a ranking system to compare various countries.
Audience.
This lesson can be used in any economics class and could be adapted for use in a history, government, geography, sociology or mathematics class.
Previous knowledge needed.
Students should know how to access a given website on the Internet. They should understand the terms percent, ratio, rate, density, per capita and average. The Bloom taxonomy analysis level is assumed.
Materials.
Internet access.
Objectives.
To learn demographic and economic terms related to a country’s standard of living such as the cost of living, average income, per capita expenditure, unemployment rate, birth, death and population growth rates, population density, GNP, poverty level, pollution level.
To obtain current data for these measures for various countries by accessing the Internet.
To share data obtained and enter into a spreadsheet.
To discuss ways to rank countries using various standard of living measures.
To rank countries studied according to two different ranking criteria.
To evaluate simple formulas.
Procedure.
Students will access the CIA’s International Factbook page to see what sorts of data and information is given. After perusing the Factbook, the class will discuss which data would be useful in trying to describe a country’s standard of living. A list of suggestions can be made and saved for future use.
Next students will look up data for five countries using the measures given in the worksheet. If available, they will create a spreadsheet and enter the data they have found. They will then rank these five countries by two different formulas. One formula weights each of the three standard of living measures equally; the other gives higher weight to one of the measures.
Evaluation.
See points on the Standards of Living Worksheet. If assigned, a group poster comparing standard of living for five countries and three different measures using a ranking formula of the group’s choice can be evaluated using the attached grading rubric.
Extensions.
The class as a whole might cooperate to include more countries and more standard of living measures in order to compare countries. Other suggestions for ranking functions may be used. Class data may be entered into a spreadsheet to simplify calculations.
A lesson just considering one class of measures may be studied. For example, the class may describe only measures that have to do with population—birth, death, population growth rates, life expectancy, infant mortality, age groups, etc; or only measures that are related to industrial development—energy consumption, exports and imports, transportation (airplanes, railroads, automobiles), communication (radio, TV, telephone, computer connections), etc.
Teacher Notes.
If students are familiar with a spreadsheet, they may use it to sort data and evaluate formulas.
Wisconsin’s Model Academic Standards Addressed.
Social Studies:
A12.1. Use various types of atlases and appropriate vocabulary to describe the physical attributes of a place or region, employing such concepts as climate, plate tectonics, volcanism, and landforms, and to describe the human attributes, employing such concepts as demographics, birth and death rates, doubling time, emigration, and immigration.
A12.5. Use a variety of geographic information and resources to analyze and illustrate the ways in which the unequal global distribution of natural resources influences trade and shapes economic patterns.
A12.7. Collect relevant data to analyze the distribution of products among global markets and the movement of people among regions of the world.
D12.2. Use basic economic concepts (such as supply and demand; production, distribution and consumption; labor, wages and capital; inflation and deflation; market economy and command economy) to compare and contrast local, regional, and national economies across time and at the present time.
D12.4. Explain and evaluate the effects of new technology, global economic interdependence, and competition on the development of national policies and on the lives of individuals and families in the United States and the world.
D12.6. Use economic concepts to analyze historical and contemporary questions about economic development in the United States and the world.
D12.8. Explain the basic characteristics of international trade, including absolute and comparative advantage, barriers to trade, exchange rates, and balance of trade.
Science:
G12.1. Identify personal interests in science and technology; account for implications that these interests might have for future education, and decisions to be considered.
H12.1. Using the science themes and knowledge of the earth and space, life and environmental, and physical sciences, analyze the costs, risks, benefits and consequences of a proposal concerning resource management in the community and determine the potential impact of the proposal on life in the community and the region.
H12.5. Investigate how current plans or proposals concerning resource management, scientific knowledge, or technological development will have an impact on the environment, ecology, and quality of life in a community or region.
H12.6. Evaluate data and sources of information when using scientific information to make decisions.
Mathematics:
A.12.1. Use reason and logic to evaluate information, perceive patterns, identify relationships, formulate questions, pose problems, make and test conjectures, and pursue ideas that lead to further understanding and deeper insights.
A12.2. Communicate logical arguments and clearly show why a result does or does not make sense, why the reasoning is or is not valid.
B12.5. Create and critically evaluate numerical arguments presented in a variety of classroom and real-world situations (e.g., political, economic, scientific, social).
D12.1. Identify, describe, and use derived attributes (e.g., density, speed, acceleration, pressure) to represent and solve problem situations.
E12.1 Work with data in the context of real-world situations by formulating hypotheses that lead to collection and analysis of one- and two-variable data, using technology to generate displays, summary statistics and presentations.
F12.1 Analyze and generalize patterns of change (e.g., direct and inverse variation) and numerical sequences, and then represent them with algebraic expressions and equations.
F12.2 Use mathematical functions (e.g., linear, exponential, quadratic, power) in a variety of ways, including recognizing that a variety of mathematical and real-world phenomena can be modeled by the same type of function, translating different forms of representing then (e.g., tables, graphs, functional notation, formulas), describing the relationships among variable quantities in a problem, using appropriate technology to interpret properties of their graphical representations (e.g., intercepts, slopes, rates of change, changes in rates of change, maximum, minimum).
Activity Sheets.
Standards of Living Poster
Choose five countries, three standard of living measures and a formula to rank the five countries. Make a poster showing your findings. Include the following parts.
Your poster will be evaluated on the following criteria.
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|
Standards of Living Worksheet |
Name ______________________ |
Access the CIA’s International Factbook at the website:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
1. (10 points) Name five types of information given about a country that might help in describing the country’s standard of living or quality of life.
2. (30 points) For the following countries, find and write the Per Capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the Infant Mortality Rate and the Population Density (= population/total area).
|
Country |
Per Capita GDP |
Rank |
Infant Mortality Rate |
Rank |
Population Density |
Rank |
Overall Rank I |
Overall Rank II |
|
Australia |
_________ |
_____ |
________ |
_____ |
________ |
____ |
_______ |
_______ |
|
France |
_________ |
_____ |
________ |
_____ |
________ |
____ |
_______ |
_______ |
|
Japan |
_________ |
_____ |
________ |
_____ |
________ |
____ |
_______ |
_______ |
|
United Arab Emirates |
_________ |
_____ |
________ |
_____ |
________ |
____ |
_______ |
_______ |
|
United States |
_________ |
_____ |
________ |
_____ |
________ |
____ |
_______ |
_______ |
3. Rank the countries above on a scale of 1 to 5 in each category. 1 denotes worst in that category and 5 denotes best in that category. For example, in the Per Capita GDP category, the country with the highest income would get a 5; the country with the lowest income would be assigned a 1. Describe what "best" means in the Infant Mortality category. Describe what "best" means in the Population Density category. (15 points)
"Best" in Infant Mortality:
"Best" in Population Density:
4. Compute the Overall Rank I by adding the three rankings for each country. If you have entered this information in a spreadsheet, use the formula for adding the three ranking columns. Compute the Overall Rank II by giving the most weight to the Per Capita GDP: add twice the rank of the Per Capita GDP to the ranks for the Infant Mortality and Population Density. List the five countries from "best" to "worst" for the two overall rankings. (30 points)
|
Best |
Worst |
||||
|
Overall Rank I |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
|
Overall Rank II |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
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Standards of Living Worksheet (Sample Answers)
Access the CIA’s International Factbook at the website:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
1. (10 points) Name five types of information given about a country that might help in describing the country’s standard of living or quality of life.
Life expectancy, natural resources, gross national product, personal freedoms, climate, technology, access to education, infant mortality, population density, political system
2. (30 points) For the following countries, find and write the Per Capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the Infant Mortality Rate and the Population Density (= population/total area).
|
Country |
Per Capita GDP |
Rank |
Infant Mortality Rate (deaths per 1000) |
Rank |
Population Density |
Rank |
Overall Rank I |
Overall Rank II |
|
Australia |
21400 |
1 |
5.26 |
4 |
2.4 |
5 |
10 |
11 |
|
France |
22700 |
2 |
5.69 |
3 |
108 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
|
Japan |
24500 |
4 |
4.10 |
5 |
333 |
1 |
10 |
14 |
|
United Arab Emirates |
24000 |
3 |
14.77 |
1 |
83 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
|
United States |
30200 |
5 |
6.44 |
2 |
28 |
2 |
9 |
14 |
3. Rank the countries above on a scale of 1 to 5 in each category. 1 denotes worst in that category and 5 denotes best in that category. For example, in the Per Capita GDP category, the country with the highest income would get a 5; the country with the lowest income would be assigned a 1. What does "best" mean in the Infant Mortality category? What does "best" mean in the Population Density category? (15 points)
"Best" in Infant Mortality:
"Best" means low Infant Mortality, fewer deaths per thousand.
"Best" in Population Density:
"Best" means low Population Density, fewer people per square mile.
4. Compute the Overall Rank I by adding the three rankings for each country. If you have entered this information in a spreadsheet, use the formula for adding the three ranking columns. Compute the Overall Rank II by giving the most weight to the Per Capita GDP: add twice the rank of the Per Capita GDP to the ranks for the Infant Mortality and Population Density. List the five countries from "best" to "worst" for the two overall rankings. (30 points)
|
Best |
Worst |
||||
|
Overall Rank I |
Australia |
Japan |
United States |
France |
United Arab Emirates |
|
Overall Rank II |
Japan |
United States |
Australia |
United Arab Emirates |
France |