This course introduces the determination of levels of national income, employment and prices, and the basic causes of fluctuations in the business cycle, the banking system, monetary policy and financial intermediation. Other topics may include international trade and international finance.
Course Outcomes:
1. Discuss the role scarcity plays in defining economic choices and how individuals, companies and nations resolve these issues.
2. Describe and use economic data to evaluate the three basic macroeconomic problems: recession, unemployment, and inflation.
3. Discuss and apply the concepts of economic growth and business cycles to the macro economy.
4. Demonstrate how Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Real GDP are calculated and explain the uses and limits of both.
5. Discuss and apply the aggregate-demand and aggregate-supply model to analyze short run and long run national economic conditions and the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy.
6. Apply the concepts of comparative and absolute advantage to explain the benefits of trade.
This course introduces the theory of relative prices in a market system, consumer choice, marginal analysis, and the allocation of productive resources among alternative uses in a market economy. Other topics may include market power and price discrimination, public finance, the labor market and environmental policy.
Course Outcomes:
1. Discuss the role scarcity plays in defining economic choices and how individuals, companies and nations resolve these issues.
2. Describe and apply marginal principle, principle of opportunity cost, principle of diminishing returns, comparative advantage, and elasticity.
3. Analyze the relationships between production costs and cost curves.
4. Explain the mechanics of supply and demand and apply the supply and demand model to evaluate markets.
5. Discuss the efficiency and equity of both competitive and noncompetitive markets and how both are impacted by government intervention.
6. Explain, compare and contrast, and apply in context each of the basic market structures - i.e. perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition.
