Standards of living
Activity
Read and discuss the following statements Record your reactions, answers or ideas. a. If I only had more money, I would be happy. b. Australia is a wealthy nation. c. Most Australians are financially well off. d. I need a new phone every couple of years. e. Buying things makes me happy. f. Most Australians cannot afford to buy everything they need. g. If I could have three possessions only, they would be … h. I would like to live a simpler life. i. Many Australians can afford to donate to charity. j. Paying the bills is difficult for many families. k. Australia is a cheap place to live. l. I could live for a month without buying anything new. m. The government should hand out money to taxpayers, such as the Baby Bonus and the First Home Owner Grant. n. Australia’s standard of living is similar to that of most of the world. |
So what does Standards of
A standard of living is the amount of wealth, comfort, material goods and necessities available to people in a certain area or country.
The standard of living is influenced by things such as income, GDP (gross domestic product), economic and political stability, political and religious freedom, environmental quality, climate, and safety. The standard of living is closely related to quality of life. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/standard-of-living.asp |
Does Australia have a high standard of living?
Are we wealthy compared to the rest of the world?
The United Nations Development Programme publishes statistics about the standard of living in different countries. Explore the following pages and answer the questions that follow:
· http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/hd_map
· http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics
a. What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?
b. How reliable do you think it is as a measure of a country’s standard of living? Explain your answer.
c. How does Australia rank in terms of the HDI?
d. Which country was first in the 2011 rankings?
e. Look at the world map (http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/hd_map) showing countries with high, medium and low HDI rankings. Zoom in on the map to identify three countries with low rankings and three with high rankings.
· http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/hd_map
· http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics
a. What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?
b. How reliable do you think it is as a measure of a country’s standard of living? Explain your answer.
c. How does Australia rank in terms of the HDI?
d. Which country was first in the 2011 rankings?
e. Look at the world map (http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/hd_map) showing countries with high, medium and low HDI rankings. Zoom in on the map to identify three countries with low rankings and three with high rankings.
Australia's Economic Indicators
Economic indicators are any statistic that might show how well the economy of a country is doing. Governments and investors use the information to make decisions such as:
- if they should start up a new business
- if they should expand a business
- if they should invest in a business or trade with a country
Common economic indicators include:
Activity Use the snapshot document below and the weblink (tradingeconomics.com/china/indicators) to compare Australia and China's economic situation. Alternatively, you can access Australia's financial data from the following websites: https://quickonomics.com/overview-of-the-australian-economy-2016/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html Question: Which country do you think is in a better financial position? Why? |