Principles of Macroeconomics 

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Principles of Macroeconomics Course Outline

What is economics?

Concepts Covered:

  • Why is economics important?
  • How can economists use theories and models to understand economic issues?
  • What are the differences between microeconomics and macroeconomics?
  • How are economies organized?

How does scarcity affect economies?

Concepts Covered:

  • How should individuals make choices based on budget constraints?
  • What is a production possibilities frontier?
  • What are the major objections to economic approaches to decision making?

Why is the relationship between supply and demand important?

Concepts Covered:

  • How does demand and supply affect markets for goods and services?
  • What factors affect demand?
  • How do changes in equilibrium price and quantity affect supply and demand?
  • What are price ceilings and price floors?
  • How is supply and demand act as a social mechanism?

What factors affect the labor and financial markets?

Concepts Covered:

  • How do demand and supply work in labor markets?
  • Who are the demanders and suppliers in a financial market?
  • How do price controls affect the equilibrium of prices and quantities?

What is elasticity?

Concepts Covered:

  • How is the price elasticities of demand and supply calculated?
  • What are polar cases of elasticity?
  • How does elasticity affect pricing?
  • What are other areas affected by elasticity?

What is the macroeconomic perspective?

Concepts Covered:

  • How is the size of the economy measured?
  • How are nominal values adjusted to real values?
  • How is the real GDP tracked over time?
  • How is GDP compared across countries?
  • How well does the GDP measure the well-being of society?

What is economic growth?

Concepts Covered:

  • Why has economic growth only occurred relatively recently?
  • How is labor productivity related to economic growth?
  • What are the components of economic growth?
  • What is economic convergence?

How does unemployment affect an economy?

Concepts Covered:

  • How is the unemployment rate defined and computed?
  • What are the key patterns of unemployment?
  • What causes change in unemployment over the short run?
  • What causes change in unemployment over the long run?

What is inflation?

Concepts Covered:

  • How is inflation tracked?
  • How are changes in the cost of living are measured?
  • How do the U.S. and other countries experience inflation?
  • Why is there confusion over inflation?
  • What is indexing, and what are its limitations?

What defines international trade?

Concepts Covered:

  • How are trade balances measured?
  • What are the historical and international contexts for trade balances?
  • How are trade balances related to flows of financial capital?
  • What is the national saving and investment identity?
  • What are the pros and cons of trade deficits and surpluses?
  • What is the difference between level of trade and the trade balance?

What is the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model?

Concepts Covered:

  • What are macroeconomic perspectives on demand and supply?
  • How do economists build models of aggregate demand and aggregate supply?
  • What happens when there are shifts in aggregate supply?
  • What happens when there are shifts in aggregate demand?
  • How does the AD/AS model incorporate growth, unemployment, and inflation?
  • How does the AD/AS model incorporate Keynes’ law and Say’s law?

What is the Keynesian Perspective?

Concepts Covered:

  • What is the Keynesian analysis of aggregate demand?
  • What are the building blocks of Keynesian Analysis?
  • What is the Phillips Curve?
  • How are market forces defined by the Keynesian Perspective?

What is the Neoclassical Perspective?

Concepts Covered:

  • What are the building blocks of Neoclassical Analysis?
  • What are the policy implications of the Neoclassical Perspective?
  • How do we balance Keynesian and Neoclassical models?

How are money and banking approached at a Macroeconomic Level?

Concepts Covered:

  • How is money defined by its functions?
  • How is money measured?
  • What is the role of banks?
  • How do banks create money?

Why are monetary policy and bank regulation important?

Concepts Covered:

  • What are the roles of the Federal Reserve and central banks in the U.S. economy?
  • How are banks regulated?
  • How does a central bank execute monetary policy?
  • How does monetary policy affect economic outcomes?
  • What are the pitfalls for monetary policy?

What are exchange rates and international capital flows?

Concepts Covered:

  • How does the foreign exchange market work?
  • What do demand and supply shifts in foreign exchange markets look like?
  • What are the Macroeconomic effects of exchange rates?
  • What are exchange rate policies?

How do government budgets and fiscal policies affect change on Macroeconomic scale?

Concepts Covered:

  • How do governments define spending priorities?
  • What are taxes?
  • What is the federal deficit, and how does it relate to the national debt?
  • How can fiscal policy be used to fight recession, unemployment, and inflation?
  • What are automatic stabilizers?
  • What are the practical problems with discretionary fiscal policy?
  • What is the question of a balanced budget?

What are the impact of government borrowing?

Concepts Covered:

  • How does government borrowing affect investment and the trade balance?
  • What is the relationship between fiscal policy, investment, and economic growth?
  • How does government borrowing affect private saving?
  • How does fiscal policy affect the trade balance?

How is Macroeconomic policy implemented around the world?

Concepts Covered:

  • Why are economies around the world so diverse?
  • How can countries improve their standards of living?
  • What are the causes of unemployment around the world?
  • What are the causes of inflation in various countries and regions?
  • What are the implications of trade balance in the foreign market?

How are e-commerce and trade handled at the international level?

Concepts Covered:

  • What are absolute and comparative advantages?
  • What happens when a country has an absolute advantage in all goods?
  • How is intra-industry trade between similar economies handled?
  • What are the benefits of reducing barriers to international trade?

What is globalization and protectionism?

Concepts Covered:

  • What is protectionism?
  • What are the effects of international trade on jobs, wages, and working conditions?
  • What are the arguments in support of restricting imports?
  • How is trade policy enacted globally, regionally, and nationally?
  • What are the tradeoffs of trade policy?

About the book

Principles of Macroeconomics  

Principles of Macroeconomics covers the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory macroeconomics courses. The text also includes many current examples, which are handled in a politically equitable way. The outcome is a balanced approach to both Keynesian and classical views, and to the theory and application of economics concepts.

About the authors:

Senior Contributing Authors

Steven A. Greenlaw, University of Mary Washington
Timothy Taylor,
Macalester College

Contributing Authors

David Shapiro, Pennsylvania State University
Ralph Sonenshine, American University
Craig Richardson, Winston-Salem State University
Eric Dodge, Hanover College
Cynthia Gamez, University of Texas at El Paso
Andres Jauregui, Columbus State University
Diane Keenan, Cerritos College
Dan MacDonald, California State University San Bernardino
Amyaz Moledina, The College of Wooster

 
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