CBSE Class 9 Social Science Economics Revision Notes Chapter 2

Class 9 Economics Chapter 2 notes: 

CBSE Class 9 Economics Chapter 2 notes- People as Resource: 

Class 9 Economics Chapter 2 Notes – People as Resource highlight the importance of human capital and how human capital is crucial for the development of any nation. In Chapter 2 Economics Class 9 Notes, students will get to know the major details of the chapter that are important for their final examination. Along with Class 9 Chapter 2 Economics notes, Extramarks also provides students with important questions that help them prepare better for tests and exams. Moreover, Class 9 Economics Notes Chapter 2 are a student’s last-minute revision guide providing all the necessary information which covers the entire chapter in such a way that they are able to recall crucial points during the exams.

CBSE Class 9 Economics Revision Notes 2023-24

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People as Resource Class 9 notes Economics Chapter 2-

Access CBSE Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 2- People as Resource: 

2. Population as Asset: 

• Population is an asset, not a liability. Moreover, it becomes human capital when investment is made in terms of education, medical care, and training.
• Human Capital simply refers to the stock of skills, knowledge, and learning a person possesses.
• We often see the negative aspects of a large population, such as giving them education, healthy food, and work opportunities. While if we look at the positive aspect, a large population can become human capital which can contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
• Investments made in human capital will yield higher returns in future, just like investments in physical capital. For instance, an educated person will earn more and be a productive asset to the organisation and the country.
• The most enticing aspect of the educated and healthy population is that they will not only earn higher income for themselves, but indirectly they will also be an asset to those who are not educated.
• Moreover, human capital is superior to other factors needed for the production of goods and services like land and physical capital because without human capital they  are just resources with no utility. The presence of human capital offers utility to other resources necessary for production.
• Investment in human capital can be made in terms of education, healthcare, training for industrial and agricultural workers, use of modern technology, useful scientific research, and so on.

3. Virtuous and Vicious cycle of Human Capital Investment: 

A Virtuous cycle of human capital investment is the cycle which will give positive results. In terms of human capital, a virtuous cycle of human development refers to the cycle whereby the parents take care of the needs of their child and gives him a comfortable space to live, study and play in a healthy environment.

To grasp the concept more clearly, educated parents are an asset as they know the significance of education, and thus they are willing to provide the same and even better level of education to their children. Moreover, they are also conscious of healthy food and nutrition so that their children remain healthy.

On the contrary, a vicious cycle of human capital investment is one which will yield negative returns. For instance, illiterate and poor parents who do know the value of education are not able to invest in their schooling and skill training efficiently. Furthermore, as they are underprivileged, they cannot provide nutritious and healthy food to their children. This makes the children earn less and grow up unhealthy.

4. Economic Activities: 

Economic activities are activities that add value to the national income. These activities contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any country. Moreover, based on the type of work done, activities are classified under three sectors; Primary sector, secondary sector, and tertiary sector.

• Primary sector: Primary sector includes activities such as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming, mining and quarrying. In this sector, the raw material is produced that will further be used in the secondary sector.
• Secondary sector: Secondary sector includes activities such as manufacturing, industrial production, or any activity which forms a finished product using the raw materials provided by the primary sector.
• Tertiary sector: Tertiary sector includes activities such as Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance, etc. These are the activities which are crucial for the development of the above two sectors. For instance, without an efficient transportation system, the goods produced in the secondary or primary sector cannot reach the public.

Further economic activities are divided into two types of activities; market activity and non-market activity.

• Market activity: Market activities are those that are performed with the objective of earning money in terms of salary or profit. These activities provide remuneration to any individual who performs. To understand this concept better, let’s take the example of Geeta, the mother of Vikas. She earns by selling fish. Thus she is paid for her work as she has entered the labour market. This will be included in market activity and add value to the country’s national income.
• Non-market activities: Non-market activities simply mean activities that are done for the purpose of self-consumption without the objective of making a profit or salary. For instance, on farms, small-scale farmers keep some produce for self-consumption so that products will not be a part of the National income. Let’s take an example of a housewife, Sheela. She cooks food, cleans utensils, washes clothes, cleans the house and looks after her children. Moreover, she is getting paid for these activities. Hence, these activities will not be a part of the National income.

To increase economic activities, we must realise the worth of girl education. If women are educated, they will contribute to the GDP of the nation. Education helps individuals recognize opportunities for themselves. Education and skillsets are two primary determinants that affect a person’s earnings in the market. Unfortunately, the majority of women are either uneducated or have to leave their education in between due to various financial reasons. This binds women to work in unorganised sectors where rules and regulations are not followed. In the unorganised sector, there is an absence of basic facilities like maternity leave, childcare and other social security systems designed for women.

5. Education: 

Education and literacy are not just the rights of an individual. Instead, education is needed for the enhancement of National Income and cultural richness and to increase the efficiency of governance. The government makes a provision for providing universal access, retention, and quality in elementary education with special emphasis on girls. Moreover, the government has developed several vocational programs to equip a large chunk of the high school population with work and occupations related to their skillsets and knowledge. The plan expenditure has increased from INR 151 crore to INR 99,300 crore. Moreover, the expenditure on education in terms of percentage of GDP has increased from 0.64% in 1951 to 1952 to 3.1% in 2019 and 2020.

Additionally, the budgetary estimate highlighted in the Budget Documents of Union State Governments and Reserve Bank of India that the expenditure on education has further reduced to 2.8% of the GDP in the year 2020 to 2021. Though literacy rates vary from state to state, the average literacy rate of the country has increased from 18% in 1951 to 85% in 2018. According to the census of 2011, the literacy rate in Kerala is 94%, and in Bihar, 62%. However, the literacy rate among males is 16.1% which is higher than females, 14.2%. In addition to it, though, the primary school system has expanded over a period of time to more than 7lakhs. But this expansion of schools is affected by high dropout rates and poor quality of schooling.

Furthermore, the government has  introduced various schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Under this scheme, all children within the age group of 6 years to 14 years will be provided with elementary education. Mid-day meal scheme launched by the government was certainly a game changer as this will influence students to come to school regularly, especially in the rural areas, further improving their nutritional status. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education within the age group of 18 to 23 years is 27% in the year 2019–20, which is at par with the world average.

6. Health: 

No organisation would be interested in employing someone with an illness because the illness will ultimately affect his or her productivity at the workplace. Undoubtedly, health is an indispensable part of realising one’s well-being. Hence, improving the health of individuals must be one of our primary concerns. Our national policy aims at improving the accessibility of healthcare services, family welfare and nutritional service with a special focus on the underprivileged section of the population. In the last five decades, India has been able to build a huge and efficient health infrastructure.

As a result of these measures, the life expectancy in India has increased to 69.4 years by the year 2016. Moreover, the infant mortality rate (IMR) has reduced from 147 in the year 1951 to 36 in 2020. Also, crude birth rates have reduced to 20.0 in 2018 and death rates dropped to 6.2 in the same year. An increase in life expectancy and enhancement in childcare are useful parameters in assessing the country’s future progress. An increase in the longevity of life is an indicator of good quality of life. Reduction in infant mortality involves the protection of children from infection, ensuring the nutrition of both the mother and the child, and childcare, which points to the fact of improving healthcare systems.

Moreover, there are only 542 medical and 313 dental colleges in India. The four states which constitute the maximum number of medical colleges are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

7. Unemployment: 

Unemployment means people who are willing to work and are able to work at the current wage rate are not able to find jobs for themselves.  Looking at the Indian scenario, we have unemployment both in rural and urban areas. Rural areas suffer from seasonal unemployment and disguised unemployment. However, urban areas suffer from educated unemployment, wherein the educated youth are  not able to find jobs.

Seasonal unemployment usually occurs in the agricultural sector. It simply means people are not able to find work during some months of the year. For example, after sowing, harvesting, weeding, and threshing is done, people or farm labourers in rural areas suffer from seasonal unemployment for the rest of the year. Disguised unemployment simply means hidden unemployment. For instance, a family owns land to grow wheat, and all eight members of the family are indulged in some or the other work. However, the actual number of people needed for the farmland is five. So even if you remove three people, the production will remain unaffected.

Educated unemployment is a very common sight in urban areas, wherein people who are graduates and postgraduates are not able to find work. Unemployment leads to the wastage of human resources. People who are an asset to the economy turn into liability. Moreover, unemployment increases the economic overload. The dependence of the unemployed people on the working population increases.

Class 9 Economics Chapter 2 notes PDF: 

Economic activities: 

Economic activities in India: 

Quality of Population: 

The quality of population depends upon a person’s literacy rate and health, indicated by several indicators like life expectancy, infant mortality rate (IMR), death rate, birth rate and skill formation acquired by the country’s people. Therefore, the quality of the population ultimately decides the growth rate of the economy.