GDP and Human Capital

GDP and Human Capital

SS7E7 The student will describe factors that influence economic growth and examine their presence or absence in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

a. Explain the relationship between investment in human capital (education and training) and gross domestic product (GDP).

Human capital means the knowledge and skills that make it possible for workers to earn a living producing goods or services. The more skills and education workers have, the better they are able to work without mistakes and to learn new jobs as technology changes. Companies that invest in better training and education for their workers generally earn more profits. Good companies also try to make sure working conditions are safe and efficient, so their workers can do their jobs without risk.

Gross domestic product, or GDP, is determined by taking the total value of all goods and services produced by a country in a single year. Wealthy countries have a much higher per capita GDP (amount of goods and services produced divided by the total population) than do developing or underdeveloped countries.

Companies that have invested in their human capital through training and education are more likely to have profitable businesses and more satisfied workers than companies that do not make these investments. Countries where training and education are more easily available often have higher production levels of goods and services, therefore higher gross domestic product, than countries that do not offer these opportunities. The countries in Southwest Asia have widely different gross domestic product levels. Those countries that make it possible for workers to receive training and education tend to be wealthier than those that do not.

Capital Goods and Natural Resources

SS7E7 The student will describe factors that influence economic growth and examine their presence or absence in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

b. Explain the relationship between investment in capital (factories, machinery, and technology) and gross domestic product (GDP).

Capital goods (the factories, machines, and technology that people use to make other goods) are important to economic growth. Advanced technology and the organization of this technology into factories, where many workers can work together, increases production and makes that production more efficient. Producing more goods for sale in a quicker and more efficient way leads to economic growth and greater profit. This greater profit leads to a higher gross domestic product (GDP).

Natural resources are the raw materials a country has that make life and production of goods possible. Land, water, forests, rich soil, and minerals are all types of natural resources. In Southwest Asia, one of the most important natural resources for some countries is oil. Some natural resources can be replaced once they are used, like the trees cut for lumber or fuel. Others, like oil or coal, cannot be replaced once they are used.

Oil and Entrepreneurs

Oil is one of the most important and valuable natural resources in Southwest Asia. Oil and natural gas are called fossil fuels, which mean they were created when plants and animals that lived centuries ago decayed underground. Oil and natural gas are also considered non-renewable natural resources, meaning they cannot be replaced once they are taken out of the ground. Most of the world’s industrial nations depend on a steady supply of oil and natural gas. The United States has to import nearly half of all the oil it uses, almost 18 million barrels every day. Many other industrial countries have to do the same, even though they also use other sources of energy such as coal, wind power, and nuclear power. For this reason, countries in Southwest Asia with large reserves of these products have steady markets for all the oil and gas they can produce. Many of these countries have become very rich in the last fifty years, as the world demand for oil and gas has increased. Saudi Arabia and Iran are two of the world’s largest producers of oil. Over half of the world’s known supplies of oil are found in countries in Southwest Asia.

Entrepreneurs are creative, original thinkers who are willing to take risks to create new businesses and products. Entrepreneurs think of new ways to combine productive resources (natural, human, and capital) to produce goods and services that they expect to sell for a price high enough to cover production costs. These business people are willing to risk their own money to produce these new goods and services in the hope that they will earn a profit. Because no one can tell how popular their new products and services will be, not all entrepreneurs can count on making a profit. Many businesses are not successful. Only about 50% percent of all new businesses are still operating three years after they begin.