The introductory course provides students some insight into ways by which people and nations function economically, i.e., how they make a living. Basic economic concepts including wealth, utility,capital, labor, supply and demand, profit and competition, production, distribution, exchange, consumption, and the factors affecting each area are studied. Monetary and fiscal policies are examined in the light of contemporary economics, both national and international. Students will study fiscal policy, the public debt, and ways banks create money. This course serves several purposes. First, students who successfully complete the course should have a solid grounding in the basic conceptual frameworks of the discipline of economics and be able to apply those in a practical way to events in the real world. Second, the course may serve as a gateway for students who wish to make economics a focus of their coursework at SAS. All students who complete this course successfully should be able to move into AP Economics and then our advanced topics course (Globalization). Those that have demonstrated mastery of the course standards might move directly into the advanced topics course.
Macroeconomics
1. Module 1 (Basic Concepts)
In this module students will study the basic concepts common to both microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Scarcity
Decision Making
Allocation
Incentives
2. Module 2 (Markets and Elasticities - Micro)
In this module students will further develop the ideas from Module 1 related to microeconomics.
The philosophy of Adam Smith and Friedrich Von Hayek in addition to other market-oriented economists
Supply and Demand
Markets and Prices
Role of Prices
Elasticities
Competition and Market Structure
Market Failure
3. Module 3 (Macro)
In this module students will further develop the ideas from Module 1 related to macroeconomics.
The philosophies of Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes in addition to other related economists
Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand
Fiscal Policy
The Financial system, monetary Policy and the Phillips Curve
4. Module 4 (International Trade)
In this module students will begin their study of international trade.
Comparative advantage
Specialization and the benefits of free trade
Protectionism
Exchange rates
The balance of payments
Globalization and economic integration
5. Module 5 (Economic Growth and Development)
In this module students will begin their study of economic growth and development.
Sources of economic growth and development
Consequences of economic growth and development
Barriers to economic growth and development
Economic growth and development strategies