Government policy and the economy

Overview

Through the study of the fluctuations in Canada's economic growth during the 20th century, students will see the effects of government policies in Canada's "modified market" economy. The lesson applies text material from the Canada Year Book 1999 or CD-ROM.

Objectives

• To realize that Canada's economy provided periods of great prosperity and terrible hardship during the 20th century
• To see the relationship between government decisions and their effects on Canada's economy
• To appreciate the need for both command and market systems in a successful modern economy

Suggested grade levels and subject areas

Intermediate, Secondary
Geography, Social Studies, History, Economics

Duration

60 minutes

Vocabulary

Economic systems — organizational structures that answer the basic economic questions of what to produce, how to produce, and who gets the product.
Tariff walls — duty on imports. Tariff walls may be so high that they stop goods from being imported.
Hinterland — farm, forest and mining areas to which city manufacturers sell products.
Social safety net — a series of government-supported programs that protect the income levels and health services of citizens.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) — a cartel or producer co-operative of countries largely dependent on income from oil exports, set up to manage the supply and the price of oil.
Stagflation — a condition where economic stagnation, measured by high unemployment, exists at the same time as inflation, measured by rising prices. This was generally believed to be impossible before the 1980s.
Free Trade Agreement — Canadian–American agreement to reduce and eventually eliminate many tariffs that were restricting trade between Canada and the United States.

Materials

• Canada Year Book 1999
  Print version: copies of pp. 299-301
  CD-ROM version: go to The Economy > The Economy > Introduction, Structure and Trends
  HTML
• Student worksheet

Classroom instructions

1. Explain to students the concepts of economic systems and how a modern modified economy employs a combination of command and market systems.
2. Prepare students for a discussion of 20th century Canadian economic history by introducing them to, or reminding them of, the National Policy of John A. Macdonald. This focused on railroads and tariffs to connect and bind the country into an east–west economic and political union.
3. Distribute the Student worksheets. Allow students to complete them individually or in groups.
4. Gather the Student worksheets for evaluation or use them as a basis for discussion of government involvement in the economy.

Evaluation

Evaluate Student worksheets using the Marking guide.

Please e-mail comments or examples of how you used this exercise in your class.