LA - Economics and the Environment (Lesson)

Economics and the Environment

Introduction 

Latin America is a land of opportunity and its economy is dependent upon several factors including land, climate, literacy rate, geographic location, natural resources, and politics. However, Latin America also faces many environmental challenges including deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, air pollution in Mexico City, and the effects of oil production in Venezuela.

 

Economics

A country's gross domestic product or (GDP) is used to determine the health of a country's economy. GDP represents the total value or worth of all goods and services produced during a period of time. The GDP also indicates the size of a country's economy. GDP has an enormous impact on every economy. A healthy economy has a low unemployment rate and high growth rate, an increase in wage rates and an increase in the demand for labor. In contrast, a country with a poor economy has a high unemployment rate, lower wage rate and less demand for labor.

A flourishing economy is dependent upon several factors including land, climate, literacy rate, geographic location, natural resources and politics. Education and financial worth are perhaps the most important factors. There is a strong correlation between literacy rates and the positive growth of an economy. For example, developed countries like the United Kingdom and the United States have high literacy rates and also have high GDPs. In contrast, developing countries, or considered poor like Haiti and Sierra Leone, have very low literacy rates and low GDPs.

Find out more about economics in Latin America by exploring the information in the activity below.

Environmental Concerns

Learn more about the environmental concerns facing Latin America by exploring the information in the activity below.

Review

Review your terms for this lesson by completing the activity below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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