Canada · Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Grade 11 Economics
This course explores how individuals and societies manage scarcity through decision making and resource allocation. Students analyze market structures, government intervention, and the complexities of the global economy to understand the forces shaping their financial lives.
The Economic Way of Thinking
Foundational concepts of scarcity, choice, and the fundamental economic problem facing all societies.
Understanding that every choice involves a trade off and the value of the next best alternative.
Using models to visualize efficiency, growth, and the limits of production within an economy.
Comparing how different societies answer the three basic economic questions of what, how, and for whom to produce.
Market Mechanics: Supply and Demand
An analysis of how buyers and sellers interact to determine prices and quantities in a market economy.
Examining why consumers buy more at lower prices and the factors that shift demand curves.
Investigating the relationship between price and quantity supplied from a producer perspective.
Analyzing how markets reach balance and the impact of government-imposed price ceilings and floors.
Business Structures and Labor Markets
Exploring how firms compete and the factors that determine wages and employment levels.
Comparing perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly.
Analyzing how the demand for and supply of labor determines wages and employment.
Evaluating the historical and modern impact of collective bargaining on the economy.
Macroeconomic Indicators and Policy
Measuring the health of the national economy through GDP, inflation, and unemployment metrics.
Understanding Gross Domestic Product and its limitations as a measure of well being.
Analyzing the causes of inflation and how it erodes the value of money over time.
Examining how the government and central bank manage the economy through spending and interest rates.
Personal Finance and Wealth Management
Applying economic principles to personal financial decisions, including saving, investing, and credit.
Developing strategies for managing income and expenses to achieve financial goals.
Exploring different asset classes and the relationship between risk and potential return.
Analyzing the role of insurance in protecting against financial loss.
Global Markets and International Trade
Investigating how nations interact through trade, exchange rates, and international agreements.
Explaining why nations trade even when one is more efficient at producing everything.
Analyzing the impact of tariffs, quotas, and free trade zones on the global economy.
Understanding how the value of one currency is determined relative to another.