20809211Macroeconomics
Course Information
Description
This course introduces students to the study of macroeconomics. The course is designed to provide students with a foundation for understanding macroeconomic issues and policies. Topics include GDP, inflation, unemployment, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade. The course discusses the role of markets, government and central banks in stabilizing the economy, addressing social issues and promoting growth. This course meets the need for college transfer credit.
Total Credits
3
Prior Learning Assessment
  • Exam-National (CLEP)
Course Competencies
  1. Use economic thinking to explain choice in a world of scarcity
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Explain economics and why it is important
    Define marginal analysis
    Distinguish between microeconomics and macroeconomics
    Distinguish between positive and normative economics
    Explain the cost of choices and trade-offs
    Illustrate society's trade-offs by using a production possibilities frontier (or curve)
    Explain the assumption of rationality by individuals and firms

  2. Use Supply and Demand Analysis to predict changes in the economy
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define markets and their role in the allocation of scarce resources
    Describe the concepts of supply and demand
    Draw supply and demand curves
    Explain changes in demand, supply, quantity demanded, and quantity supplied
    Analyze the effects of changes in supply and demand on equilibrium price and quantity
    Identify the circumstances under which markets efficiently allocate resources and the circumstances under which markets fail

  3. Use GDP to evaluate economic performance and business cycles
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Identify major macroeconomics goals, such as economic growth, full employment, and price stability
    Explain how macroeconomic indicators are used to assess the state of the economy
    Differentiate between nominal and real GDP
    Explain business cycles, including recessions, depressions, peaks, and troughs
    Calculate real GDP per capita using population data
    Explain the strengths and limitations of using GDP as a measure of economic welfare

  4. Evaluate macroeconomic outcomes, including unemployment and inflation, and their impact on different demographic groups within the economy
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define unemployment and the labor force participation rate
    Calculate the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate
    Discuss the causes of unemployment and trends in unemployment and the labor force participation rate
    Identify the types of unemployment including cyclical, frictional, structural, and natural unemployment
    Explain how inflation is calculated and the different ways to measure inflation
    Apply inflation metrics to convert nominal to real values
    Identify the causes and consequences of inflation
    Explain the strengths and limitations of key macroeconomics measures, including inflation and unemployment

  5. Describe the linkages between economic growth and “standards of living”
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define economic growth and how it is measured
    Identify the sources of economic growth
    Explain how increasing productivity can lead to sustained economic growth
    Explain differences in economic growth around the world
    Identify methods and policies to foster sustainable growth
    Identify positive and negative externalities associated with economic growth

  6. Use the aggregate demand-aggregate supply model to analyze the macroeconomy
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define aggregate demand and supply
    Explain the equilibrium levels of real GDP and price level using the AD-AS model
    Examine factors that shift aggregate supply and aggregate demand
    Illustrate economic growth, unemployment, and inflation using the AD-AS model
    Identify conditions leading to inflationary and recessionary gaps
    Describe the contributions of economic theorists to our understanding of the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model

  7. Explain the uses and implications of fiscal policy
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define fiscal policy
    Identify the goals of fiscal policy
    Identify the major spending categories and major revenue sources in the U.S. Federal budget
    Distinguish between the deficit and the national debt
    Explain how expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy can be used to close recessionary and inflationary gaps
    Describe the role of automatic stabilizers and supply side fiscal policies in the economy
    Apply the multiplier principle to government spending and taxation
    Describe the contributions of economic theorists to our understanding of fiscal policy

  8. Explain the role of money and banking in an economy
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Recognize the historical and current forms and characteristics of money
    Explain the functions of money and liquidity
    Identify the M1 and M2 money supply as defined by the Federal Reserve
    Describe the role financial markets and financial intermediaries play in an economy
    Explain how interest rates are determined in the loanable funds market
    Describe how banks create money through the fractional reserve banking system

  9. Examine the tools and impacts of monetary policy
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define monetary policy
    Explain the structure, functions, and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System
    Explain the Fed’s dual mandate of price stability and full employment
    Describe the Fed's main policy tools and how they are used to close recessionary and inflationary gaps
    Evaluate the opportunities and limitations of monetary policies
    Explain how monetary policies affect GDP, inflation, unemployment and interest rates
    Describe the contributions of economic theorists to our understanding of monetary policy

  10. Analyze the benefits and costs of international trade
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, written, and/or graphic formative and summative assessments
    Criteria
    Define comparative advantage
    Explain how comparative advantage provides a justification for specialization and trade
    Predict the outcomes of international trade using the supply and demand model
    Identify different types of trade barriers
    Analyze the impact of trade barriers on economic outcomes
    Articulate rationales for and against trade barriers
    Identify international economic institutions