Germany Jahrgangsstufe 10 Economics and Law (WSG-W track)
Chapters: 5
1. Companies in economy and society
Companies in the economy and society
- From Ideas to Startups: Entrepreneurship – An entrepreneur turns an idea into a business by bringing together land, labour and capital and taking the risk. New ideas replace old ways, which economists call creative destruction. Startups grow with help from investors, banks, incubators, government schemes such as Startup India and Make in India, and small firms called MSMEs. A business plan maps the idea, costs and customers. The profit and loss statement shows Sales − Costs, and the balance sheet shows Assets = Liabilities + Capital.
- Entrepreneurship Development – Entrepreneurship is starting a new business by spotting a need, putting resources together and taking the risk. India needs entrepreneurs for jobs, new ideas and balanced growth. The process runs from knowing yourself to launching and growing. Start-up India (2016) supports new firms, funding comes from savings, angels, venture capital, banks and crowdfunding, and intellectual property rights protect new ideas, brands and creative work.
2. Law as a framework for action
Public law and youth criminal law
- Criminal Law: Crimes, Offences and Defences – Criminal law lists acts the state treats as crimes and sets punishments. Most crimes need two parts: a guilty act (actus reus) and a guilty mind (mens rea). Offences can be against the person (fatal, like murder and manslaughter; non-fatal, like assault) or against property (like theft, robbery, fraud, criminal damage). Trying to commit a crime is itself an offence (attempt). Defences such as self-defence, insanity, duress or being under the age of criminal responsibility can remove or reduce guilt. The accused is presumed innocent; the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt in a fair trial.
3. Economic action on markets
Markets and price formation
- Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium – The law of demand says buyers want less when the price rises; the law of supply says sellers offer more. The market price settles at equilibrium, where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, and shifts in demand or supply move it. Some goods break the usual laws (Giffen, Veblen, panic buying). A price ceiling set below equilibrium causes shortages. Markets can also fail, for example with pollution or public goods like street lights, so the government steps in.
4. Decisions from a behavioural economics view
Decisions from a behavioural economics view
- Behavioural Economics: How Real People Decide – Traditional economics assumes people are fully rational: they know all options, weigh costs and benefits and always pick what is best for them. Behavioural economics uses psychology and experiments to show how real people decide. Our rationality is bounded by limited time, information and brain power, so we use shortcuts (heuristics) that cause predictable biases: anchoring, availability, herd behaviour, loss aversion, present bias and framing. People also care about fairness and social norms, as the ultimatum game shows. Governments and firms use these ideas in nudges and choice architecture, for example default options. Nudges keep freedom of choice but raise ethical questions about manipulation.
5. Profile area (economics-social science school)
Companies and economy: extension · Law: extension · Markets: extension · Behavioural economics: extension · Economics project
- From Ideas to Startups: Entrepreneurship – An entrepreneur turns an idea into a business by bringing together land, labour and capital and taking the risk. New ideas replace old ways, which economists call creative destruction. Startups grow with help from investors, banks, incubators, government schemes such as Startup India and Make in India, and small firms called MSMEs. A business plan maps the idea, costs and customers. The profit and loss statement shows Sales − Costs, and the balance sheet shows Assets = Liabilities + Capital.
- Entrepreneurship Development – Entrepreneurship is starting a new business by spotting a need, putting resources together and taking the risk. India needs entrepreneurs for jobs, new ideas and balanced growth. The process runs from knowing yourself to launching and growing. Start-up India (2016) supports new firms, funding comes from savings, angels, venture capital, banks and crowdfunding, and intellectual property rights protect new ideas, brands and creative work.
- Rule of Law – The rule of law means everyone, including the government and its leaders, must follow the same known laws, which are applied equally by fair and independent courts. Its main principles are supremacy of law, equality before the law, clear and public laws, fair trials, protected rights and separation of powers. Laws are made and changed through an open process, can be reviewed by courts against a constitution or charter of rights, and countries also agree to international law through treaties.
- Perfect Competition and Price Determination – In perfect competition, very many firms sell the same product to very many buyers, so each firm is a price taker. The market price is set where market demand equals market supply (Qd = Qs). If demand rises, price and quantity both rise; if supply rises, price falls and quantity rises.
- Behavioural Economics: How Real People Decide – Traditional economics assumes people are fully rational: they know all options, weigh costs and benefits and always pick what is best for them. Behavioural economics uses psychology and experiments to show how real people decide. Our rationality is bounded by limited time, information and brain power, so we use shortcuts (heuristics) that cause predictable biases: anchoring, availability, herd behaviour, loss aversion, present bias and framing. People also care about fairness and social norms, as the ultimatum game shows. Governments and firms use these ideas in nudges and choice architecture, for example default options. Nudges keep freedom of choice but raise ethical questions about manipulation.