9th Economics Chapter 2: People as Resource

 Chapter 2: People as Resource

1. Classification of Activities

Human beings perform various activities which can be divided into two categories—

(A) Economic Activities

• Activities through which income/money is earned.
• Examples: Farmers, laborers, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers, taxi drivers, manufacturers, etc.

(B) Non-Economic Activities

• Activities that do not provide any economic benefit and are done only for social/personal reasons.
• Examples: Household work, helping the poor, voluntary service, etc.

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2. Types of Economic Activities

1. Market Activities

   • Work done in exchange for payment/profit.
   • Example: Growing crops and selling them in the market.

2. Non-Market Activities

   • Work done for self-consumption or for creating permanent assets.
   • Example: Kitchen garden, production for family use.

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3. Human Capital

• Definition: Human capital is the knowledge, skills, and productive capacity inherent in people.
• When investment is made in education, training, and health, the population turns into human capital.

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4. Human Capital Formation

• When existing human resources are made more educated, trained, and healthy by spending on them, it is called human capital formation.

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5. People as Resource

• This means viewing the population of a country as a resource based on their skills and abilities.
• Thus, population is not a burden but a resource.

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6. Quality of Population

The quality of population depends on—

1. Literacy Rate
2. Life Expectancy
3. Skill Formation

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7. Importance of Education

• Education is the most important component of human resource development.

Importance:

1. Enables individuals to take advantage of available economic opportunities.
2. Enhances national income, cultural richness, and efficiency of governance.
3. Major government initiatives:
   • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
   • Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM)
   • Right to Education Act (RTE, 2009)

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8. Importance of Health

• A healthy person is more productive and contributes to the growth of the economy.
• A healthy person can work more hours and produce better results.
• Example: Japan – Despite lack of natural resources, it became a developed country due to investment in education and health.

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9. Social Perspective

• Due to historical and cultural reasons, labor was divided between men and women.
• But now this situation is changing, and women are also participating in every sector.

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10. Important Terms

1. Literacy Rate: People aged 7 years and above who can read and write.
2. Life Expectancy: The average life span of an individual.
3. Birth Rate: Number of babies born per 1000 population.
4. Death/Mortality Rate: Number of deaths per 1000 population.
5. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Number of children dying before age one per 1000 live births.

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11. Sectors of Economy

1. Primary Sector: Activities directly connected with natural resources.

   • Examples: Agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, mining, forestry.

2. Secondary Sector:

   • Uses raw material from the primary sector to manufacture goods.
   • Examples: Sugar from sugarcane, steel from iron ore.

3. Tertiary Sector:

   • Service sector that provides services to both other sectors.
   • Examples: Transport, banking, insurance, communication.

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12. Unemployment

• Definition: When people of working age (15–59 years) are willing to work but do not get employment.
• Children (below 15 years) and elderly (60+ years) are not counted in unemployment.

Types of Unemployment

1. Seasonal Unemployment:

   • People remain unemployed during certain months of the year.
   • Example: Agricultural laborers in the off-season.

2. Disguised (Hidden) Unemployment:

   • When more people are employed than actually needed, and the extra workers have zero productivity.
   • Example: 10 people working in a field where only 5 are required.

3. Urban Unemployment:

   • Even educated people in urban areas remain unemployed while searching for jobs.
   • Causes: Lack of industrial development, mismatch between skills and opportunities.

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Conclusion

• If human beings are developed through education, health, and skills, they become the greatest asset of a country.
• Japan is a perfect example of this.
• Hence, “People are not a burden, but a resource.”

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📘 Objective Question Bank: People as Resource

A. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Which of the following is an economic activity?
   (a) Cooking food at home
   (b) Serving the poor
   (c) Working as a laborer
   (d) Cleaning the house
   👉 Answer: (c)

2. “People as Resource” means—
   (a) Considering people as a burden
   (b) Considering people as natural resources
   (c) Considering people as resources based on their abilities and skills
   (d) Only rural population
   👉 Answer: (c)

3. The most important means of human capital formation is—
   (a) Industrialization
   (b) Education & Health
   (c) Trade
   (d) Tax collection
   👉 Answer: (b)

4. What is the main basis of Japan’s development?
   (a) Natural resources
   (b) Investment in technology and human resources
   (c) Vast agricultural land
   (d) Mineral wealth
   👉 Answer: (b)

5. Disguised unemployment is usually found in—
   (a) Industries
   (b) Agriculture
   (c) Transport
   (d) Banking sector
   👉 Answer: (b)

6. Seasonal unemployment is mostly related to—
   (a) Agriculture
   (b) Industrial sector
   (c) Service sector
   (d) Mining sector
   👉 Answer: (a)

7. Which of the following is an example of the tertiary sector?
   (a) Agriculture
   (b) Mining
   (c) Banking
   (d) Sugar industry
   👉 Answer: (c)

8. Literacy rate is related to—
   (a) Age
   (b) Birth rate
   (c) Education
   (d) Death rate
   👉 Answer: (c)

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B. True / False

1. All non-economic activities are done for social reasons. ✅
2. Investment in education and health is considered an expense, not an investment. ❌
3. Japan lacks natural resources but developed through human capital investment. ✅
4. Children and elderly are included in unemployment calculation. ❌
5. Tertiary sector is also called the service sector. ✅

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C. Fill in the Blanks

1. ______ are the activities through which money is earned. 👉 Economic activities
2. ______ rate tells the educational condition of people aged 7 years and above. 👉 Literacy
3. ______ means viewing people’s skills and knowledge as resources. 👉 People as Resource
4. In ______ unemployment, more people are engaged in a work than required. 👉 Disguised
5. To spread education, the government launched ______ and ______ schemes. 👉 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM)

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D. Match the Following

Column A	Column B
Primary Sector	Agriculture, Animal husbandry
Secondary Sector	Industry, Manufacturing
Tertiary Sector	Transport, Banking
Seasonal Unemployment	Agricultural sector
Disguised Unemployment	Extra laborers in field

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📘 Question Bank: People as Resource

A. Very Short Answer ( 2 Marks)

Q1. Difference between economic and non-economic activities? 👉 Economic activities are done for earning income, while non-economic activities are without any economic gain.
Q2. Examples of market and non-market activities? 👉 Market: Selling crops. 👉 Non-Market: Kitchen garden for family use.
Q3. What is human capital? 👉 Skills, knowledge, and productive capacity in human beings.
Q4. What is meant by human capital formation? 👉 Making people more capable through education, training, and health investment.
Q5. Meaning of “People as Resource”? 👉 Viewing population as resources based on their skills and abilities.
Q6. On what does quality of population depend? 👉 Literacy rate, life expectancy, and skill formation.
Q7. Why is education important in human resource development? 👉 It increases income capacity, social progress, and national income.
Q8. Importance of health? 👉 Healthy persons produce more and strengthen the economy.
Q9. Why is Japan developed despite lack of resources? 👉 Due to heavy investment in education and health.
Q10. Define literacy rate. 👉 Ability to read and write among people aged 7 years and above.
Q11. What do you mean by life expectancy? 👉 Average life span of a person.
Q12. What is birth rate and death rate? 👉 Birth rate = Number of births per 1000 population. 👉 Death rate = Number of deaths per 1000 population.
Q13. What is Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)? 👉 Number of children dying before age one per 1000 live births.
Q14. Give two examples of primary sector. 👉 Agriculture, fishing.
Q15. Give two examples of secondary sector. 👉 Steel industry, textile industry.
Q16. Why is tertiary sector called service sector? 👉 Because it provides services to other sectors.
Q17. What is meant by unemployment? 👉 Willing workers unable to get jobs.
Q18. Give one example of seasonal unemployment. 👉 Agriculture off-season.
Q19. What is disguised unemployment? 👉 More people engaged in work than required, extra ones contribute nothing.
Q20. Causes of urban unemployment? 👉 Lack of industries, mismatch between jobs and skills.

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B. Short Answer (3 Marks)

Q1. Explain types of economic activities. 👉 Two types:

• Market Activities: For payment/profit, e.g., selling crops.
• Non-Market Activities: For self-use, e.g., kitchen garden.

Q2. Main means of human capital formation? 👉 Education, training, and health.
Q3. Importance of education? 👉 Helps people utilize opportunities, brings social progress, raises national income.
Q4. Why is health an important part of human resource development? 👉 Healthy people produce more and contribute to economic growth.
Q5. How does Japan show importance of human capital investment? 👉 Despite lack of resources, it invested in health and education and became developed.
Q6. How is quality of population measured? 👉 Through literacy, life expectancy, and skills.
Q7. Effects of unemployment on society and economy? 👉 Decreases income & production, increases poverty, crime, inequality.
Q8. Difference between seasonal and disguised unemployment? 👉 Seasonal: No work during certain period. 👉 Disguised: Extra workers with zero productivity.
Q9. Causes of urban unemployment? 👉 Lack of industries, mismatch of skills & jobs, overpopulation.
Q10. Relation among primary, secondary, tertiary sectors? 👉 Primary provides raw material, secondary converts it into products, tertiary provides services.

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C. Long Answer (4 Marks)

Q1. Explain the statement “People are not a burden, but a resource.” 👉 With education, health, and skills, people contribute to development. Illiterate and unhealthy people are a burden, while educated and healthy people are resources. Example: Japan.
Q2. Discuss major government measures in education and health. 👉

• Education: SSA, Mid-Day Meal, RTE Act (2009)
• Health: National Rural Health Mission, Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
  Q3. Explain process of human capital formation and its benefits. 👉 Investment in education, training, health. Benefits: Higher productivity, higher national income, reduction in poverty/unemployment.
  Q4. Describe types of unemployment and their effects. 👉 Types: Seasonal, disguised, urban. Effects: Reduced productivity, poverty, crime, inequality.
  Q5. Explain primary, secondary, tertiary sectors with examples. 👉 Primary: Agriculture, livestock. Secondary: Textile, steel. Tertiary: Transport, banking. They depend on each other and together run the economy.
  Q6. How does Japan’s development prove that human resources are more important than natural resources? 👉 Japan lacks coal, oil, etc. But invested in education and health, advanced in technology, industries, services. Today, Japan is among the most developed nations.

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