Transcript How is the patient doing?

How is the patient
doing?
Diagnosing the patient
 When you went to the doctor’s
office as a child, what were the
regular indicators, tests, and
measurements that a physician used
to see if you were healthy?
 Make a list on the left hand column
of your organizer.
 Now share your list with a neighbor
Medical indicators
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Measured height
Measured weight
Took temperature
Checked blood pressure
Listened to breathing
Looked in ears, eyes, and throat
Tested reflexes
Making a diagnosis
 Imagine you were sick with a
temperature of 102 degrees.
 When you visited the doctor’s office and
they took your temperature, would it be
important for the doctor to know if your
temperature was dropping from 104, or
had just risen from 98.6?
 Why would this be important? What
might the direction indicate?
Diagnosing the Economy
 What indicators
do you think
macro economists
might use to
decide if an
economy is
healthy or sick?
Economic IndicatorsThe Big Three
 GDP = Gross Domestic Product is the
value of all goods and services produced
in the US
 Unemployment rate = the percent of
Americans out of work, who are looking
for jobs
 Inflation/deflation = the rise or fall in the
general level of prices
Economic indicators
 Trade balance = the amount of
exports and imports
 Business inventory = stockpiles of
unsold goods
 Consumer spending = the amount of
spending consumers do as a group
 Savings= the percent of income
consumers save rather than spend
 The stock market = the rise and fall
in stock prices
Making a diagnosis
 The direction of each of these indicators
is also important to an economist
diagnosing whether the economy is
healthy, sick, getting better or worse.
 Read the Time article about CBO
estimates.
 In the third column of your organizer add
information you found for each economic
indicator in the second column.
How is the economy
doing?
 Discuss your diagnosis of the US
economy with a partner.
 Is the economy getting better, getting
worse, or staying about the same?
 What do you think are the most important
indicators cited in the article, that you
base your diagnosis on?
 On the back of your sheet, write a short
diagnosis of the economy using the facts
you have gathered.