In this course, students will learn the foundations of macroeconomics as the branch of economics concerned with how decision-making, in an environment of scarcity, maps onto the aggregate economy. Students will examine theories and evidence related to the following core set of topics: national income determination, money, monetary and fiscal policy, macroeconomic conditions, international trade and the balance of payments, and economic growth and development.
Course Goals
After you have completed this course you should be able to:
- Understand the factors that determine the prices and quantities of products.
- Understand how unemployment, inflation, and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) are measured and calculated.
- Discuss the factors that help determine the rate of our economic growth.
- Explain how government policies, such as changes in government purchases or taxation, affect the nation’s economic climate.
- State how the quantity of money is controlled in the United States and discuss the impact that changes in the quantity of money have on the nation’s economy.
- Explain what factor determines the inflation rate and how inflation affects the nation’s interest rates.