With input and advice from leading economics educators and economists, CFEE listened to what Canadians had to say. We assembled their feedback in a draft document, which was reviewed and revised. And then we shared it with those who contributed to determine if they could support the document as a working guideline.

With widespread support, we present here—the Economic Capabilities Guideline. It represents CFEE's best collaborative effort to chart a course for future initiatives to improve the economic capability of Canadians. We welcome your feedback and comments.

Framework for the Economic Capabilites Guideline

The Economic Capabilities Guideline has been developed using the following framework.

The Target Concepts: These represent the most essential economic concepts that stand as the building blocks or analytical tools that enable Canadians to understand economic information and apply it to various conditions and circumstances, to formulate personal judgments, to make decisions, and to undertake actions.

The Target Areas for Application and Understanding: These represent the key areas to which the concepts should apply—the areas of economic understanding that have relevance for the economic roles, responsibilities, decisions, and actions that will face virtually all Canadians.

The Target Attributes and Attitudes: These represent the target attributes and attitudes that appear to be most highly correlated with the potential for achieving economic success—success defined in whatever way a person wants to define it.

The Target Skills: Beyond knowledge, understanding, attributes, and attitudes, there are some key skills that also appear to be highly correlated with economic success. These skills relate to our abilities to act and to accomplish the tasks we set for ourselves. In this way, attributes, attitudes, and skills are closely associated. Attributes are those inner factors affecting our sense of our own potential, attitudes relate to how we act, and skills relate to our capacity to act and achieve our goals.

We acknowledge, and refer readers to, the Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills 2000+ as another reference for this area. However, although the Conference Board's guideline focuses specifically on skills that are important to the "workforce," the Economic Capabilities Guideline takes a broader focus and is concerned with abilities in many areas including the "workplace." Therefore, we see the Employability Skills document as a companion reference but quite distinct from the broader objective we are addressing in this Guideline.

The "Change Factors": It was made very clear from all of our consultations that Canadians are highly sensitive to, and concerned about, the forces, factors, and speed associated with economic change in the world today. It was stressed that, somehow, change, and how to deal with change, should be considered by all Canadians.

To that end, the Guideline identifies a set of key factors underlying much of the economic change that is under way and will continue to occur in our society. Canadians should have opportunities to understand how the factors listed in the Guideline generate change and have the chance to foresee possible problems, challenges, and opportunities that may result from change.

The Fundamental Economic Issues, Concerns, and Debates: There are a variety of fundamental issues that reach beyond the boundaries of economic concern alone. Although these issues, concerns, and debates do not stand as a component part of economic capability, they are key areas for analysis, deliberation, discussion, and debate.

The Target Concepts

The following represent the basic economic concepts that have been judged to be most valuable in enabling Canadians to understand economic events and realities, to analyze conditions, and to undertake economic roles and responsibilities with confidence and competence. It is not intended that Canadians would know these concepts by name and definition; rather, they would have a grasp of the essential concept and be able to apply this understanding.

Comparative Advantage: The ability of a person, company, or country to produce a good or service at a lower cost (that is, more efficiently) relative to other goods and services

Distribution: The process by which resources, income, wealth, products, and services are divided among people and purposes

Economic Efficiency: The extent to which resources are used for the purpose for which they are best suited and most desired by society

Economic Freedom: The extent to which decisions and actions are based on personal choice and preference rather than on such external determinants as laws, regulations, and the dictates of others

Economic Growth: 1. An increase in the production of goods and services. Economic growth is usually measured as the increase in gross domestic product over a specified period of time, after adjusting for inflation. 2. An increase in the capacity of an economy to produce due to more and/or better use of economic resources

Economic Performance Indicators: Statistical measures of current economic conditions and changes (for example employment, inflation, productivity, growth)

Economic Power: The ability of a person or group to influence personal, household, workplace, or societal economic conditions and outcomes

Economic Resources: The natural resources, labour, and capital goods (for example, equipment, tools, buildings) that are used to produce goods and services

Economic Scarcity: The problem created when relatively unlimited needs and wants exceed the availability of limited resources

Economic Stability: The economic goal of limiting undesirable changes in prices, employment, and production

Economic Statistics: The quantifiable economic information that serves as input to economic decisions and actions

Economic Surplus: Production of goods and services, and the attainment of income, that are beyond basic needs and that can be used in exchange for other things that are needed/wanted.

Economic Sustainability: The extent to which an economy can use its resources to satisfy economic needs at the current rate or better into the future

Employment Independence: The extent to which a person or household can function without the need for employment income (for example, the ability of a person to "retire," or the necessity for a household to have two income earners)

Externalities: A cost or a benefit of economic activity that affects people other than those directly involved in its use or production

Interest: Payments for the use of borrowed funds

Investment: 1. As used in economics, spending on capital goods such as factories, mines, and machinery so as to increase the productive capacity of the economy. 2. In its broader meaning, investment is any purchase of an asset in the hope that, over time, there will be an increase in the value of the asset

Markets: 1. Where buyers and sellers of commodities (goods, services, or resources) negotiate a mutually agreeable "price" or other "rate of exchange" so a trade may occur. 2. The demand, actual or potential, for a product or service

Money: A commodity, now most commonly issued by a government as official currency, that can be used to pay for goods and services, to measure the price of things, and to serve as a store of value

Opportunity Cost: The loss of the benefits that would have been received from the next best alternative whenever a choice is made

Productivity: Output of goods or services per unit of input (for example, widgets per worker)

Risk: The degree of uncertainty associated with the potential outcome/result of an economic decision or action

Saving: The decision to accumulate personal or economic resources for later rather than current use

Work: The physical and intellectual efforts of all those who make a productive contribution to households, business activity, communities, and society as a whole.

The Target Areas for Application and Understanding

The targets for economic capability should enable Canadians to apply the fundamental concepts to an understanding/awareness of the following areas to support their economic thinking, analysis, decision making, and action:

• Factors that influence employment/unemployment and that present challenges and opportunities to those who are employed and unemployed

• Factors influencing investment, innovation, and technological change

• Why nations are becoming increasingly linked economically, the factors that influence the linkages, and the potential and varying impact of these links on nations

• Principles and methods of effective personal financial planning

• The value of all forms of work to individuals, households, and the economy

• Factors that influence the quality, quantity, and nature of work available in an economy

• Worker and business organizations and related regulations influencing working conditions

• Various roles that governments can play in the economy

• Variations among nations and political parties in how they perceive, or could perceive, roles and priorities for government activity in the economy

• Various policies that can be used by governments to influence the economy

• Factors that influence government economic policy decisions

• Factors that influence the purchasing power of money

• Roles played by financial institutions with respect to exchange, saving, and investment

• Relevant economic information as it is presented in the form of charts, graphs, and tables

• Types of economic systems and ways of deciding (a) what will be produced, (b) how production will take place, and (c) how goods and services will be distributed

• Roles played by entrepreneurs in an economy and the attributes, attitudes, skills, and processes that are important to entrepreneurial success

• Influence of productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness on various economic decisions

• Factors affecting variations in the economic development of nations

• Factors that affect the distribution of income and wealth

• Economic activity that can go "underground" and the consequences if it does so

• Options available for assisting those who are economically disadvantaged

• There is no free economic good because someone, somewhere, somehow incurs the costs associated with providing an economic good or service

• Varying perspectives on the roles, size, and use of profits

• The relationship between economic activity and the environment

The Target Attributes and Attitudes

A. Internal Factors: How a person feels about him/herself

The economic capability of a person will be enhanced if the person:

• has an inner driving force, cares deeply about something and has a strong commitment to achieving goals that are personally important
      (Driving force = Passion)

• believes that he/she has a significant ability to overcome obstacles and influence the outcome of events in one's life
      (Can influence outcomes = Internal Locus of Control)

• believes that he/she can achieve success and does not fear failure in actions related to what is important and related to goals
      (Doesn't fear failure = Self-confidence)

• has a high level of self-respect, values personal goals, and believes that he/she is worthy of accomplishments and achieving success
      (Worthy of accomplishment = Self-esteem)

• is willing to apply talent and skills in pursuit of ambitions, dreams, and personal goals
      (Willing and able to apply oneself = Self-actualization)
  

• has accumulated a series of personal accomplishments leading to the belief that one is capable of achieving success
      (Belief in ability to accomplish = Self-efficacy)

• has a broader sense and vision of one's self in the context of community and society to foster a concern for the well-being of others
      (Concern for well-being of others = Compassion)

B. External Factors: How a person acts and does things

The economic capability of a person will be enhanced if the person:

• is willing to act, take initiative, and follow up with commitment and perseverance
      (Willingness to act)

• is motivated and focused on accomplishment and achieving short-term goals while maintaining a focus on longer-term goals
      (Motivation for accomplishment)

• is willing and able to learn-read, ask, inquire, research, and discover in order to seek out the information, knowledge, advice, and insights that can assist in achieving goals
      (Willingness to learn)

• has basic literacy and numeracy skills, and good health, to enable learning
      (Readiness to learn)

The Target Skills

The following skills will enhance the economic capability of a person:

Capacity to Plan: Ability to chart a course and organize resources for the achievement of goals and to respond effectively to events and changing circumstances and conditions

Communication: Ability to access, gather, synthesize, and provide relevant information and ideas

Creative Thinking: Ability to generate new ideas, approaches, possibilities

Critical Thinking: Ability to apply knowledge, understanding, information, and experience to make effective judgments and decisions and to offer insights, opinions, and ideas

Decision Making: Ability to apply an effective process involving evaluation of alternatives and criteria in making choices from available options

Goal Setting: Ability to establish meaningful goals that are measurable, realistic, and positive (working toward something, not to avoid something) and that cover a variety of time horizons (for example, short-term and long-term)

Interpersonal: Ability to relate well to and collaborate/co-operate/partner/team/
network/associate with others to achieve productive outcomes and goals in an effective, harmonious environment

Opportunity Orientation: Ability to apply knowledge, experience, vision, and creativity to identify opportunities as they exist and as they may arise (for example, existing, changing, and evolving needs, wants, problems)

Personal Effectiveness: Ability to organize one's personal affairs and habits to be consistent with standards and expectations that contribute to a positive relationship with others and the achieving one's goals

Problem Solving: Ability to generate and achieve solutions to problems and challenges that arise

Sharing: Ability to determine ways to effectively assist and support others through sharing of time, knowledge, ideas, and resources

Technological: Ability to apply the relevant tools of technology to tasks and activities that enable the accomplishment of tasks and the achievement of goals

Transfer Knowledge and Experience: Ability to transfer knowledge and experience from one area to another (for example, from school to the workplace, from camp experiences to volunteer activities, from employment to starting a business, from one job to another job)

The "Change Factors"

Canadians should have opportunities to witness, experience, and analyze the extent to which the following "change factors" can influence economic activity, environments, conditions, potential outcomes, and opportunities pertinent to their lives (and those of family members and community members)-today and in the future.

The economic capability of a person will be enhanced if the person is able to understand the potential changes and impacts associated with the following:

• Technology

• Demographics (particularly the impact of an aging population)

• Political Priorities and Policies

• New Information, Knowledge, and Discovery

• Changing Stages/Phases in the Business Cycle

• The Fiscal Position of Governments (the problems or opportunities they create in terms of government activity and economic policy)

• Nature of Work and Working Conditions (for example, more at-home activity, increased rate of job change, part-time work, job-sharing, consultant services, online activity, multiple careers)

• Relative Economic Performance (for example, changes and consequences arise when there are shifts in the way one person performs a task relative to another, how one business performs relative to another, how an industry performs relative to another, and how one country's economy performs relative to another)

• Lifestyle/Consumer Tastes and Preferences

• Issues of Public Concern and Priority (for example, the priority of concern assigned by the public in general to such areas as the environment, the debt/deficit, and so forth)

• Private and Public Sector Restructuring

• Rationalization within Industries and Markets

• Globalization and Increasing Economic Interdependence

Fundamental Issues, Concerns, and Debates

Although topics related to issues, concerns, and debates are not part of the actual Capabilities Guideline, they represent key areas to which many Canadians will have to apply their economic knowledge, skills, and values. Therefore, based on the feedback we have received from Canadians, the following are presented as the key issues for discussion and debate. It is hoped that, through various opportunities, these issues can be brought to the attention of Canadians and that they will have an chance to consider them, think about them, and formulate personal opinions and perspectives.

• What are the appropriate roles for government in the economy, and how are these roles best undertaken?

• What constitutes economic power, and how it is allocated and exercised in our economy?

• What is an equitable distribution of income for our society and how do we consider variations in wealth, along with income, in addressing the issues related to economic inequality?

• How is poverty defined, and what factors are causes of poverty and what efforts might be undertaken to decrease the level of poverty in our society?

• What rights and responsibilities do individuals have in terms of their economic roles and decisions?

• To what degree is government debt a problem, and what should be done to address the economic challenges and opportunities that stem from our level of public debt?

• What are appropriate government policies to deal with the economy, its performance, and the achievement of its goals?

• In what ways do the economy and the environment stand as adversaries or allies in efforts to sustain and improve the environment?

• To what degree, if any, should the burden of various taxes differ?

• What are the most appropriate and desirable uses for our available resources?

• What priorities and policies are best used to deal with the trade-off between concern for inflation and concern for unemployment?

• What is the global responsibility of a nation?

• What is the social responsibility of a company beyond concern for owners'/shareholders' profit

• What priority should be assigned by businesses, and by a nation overall, to efforts to improving productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness?

• Who is responsible for the quality and quantity of training provided to workforce participants?