Macroeconomics analyzes the performance of the national economy and its links to the global economy. This course is designed to examine many aspects of the economy from an aggregate perspective. Basic tools of economists are described, and an overview of the interrelated components of the United States' economy is included. Supply, demand, economic measures, growth, employment, and inflation, as they relate to the business cycle and the health of the economy, are examined. The relationship between aggregate expenditures and aggregate supply is analyzed. The roles of fiscal policy, money, banks, and monetary policy in the economy are discussed along with examining the role politics and the Federal Reserve have on economic outcomes. Other topics include the deficit, surplus, national debt, and the U.S. Social Security system. Throughout the course, various international issues in today's global economy are presented.
There are no prerequisites to take Macroeconomics.
StraighterLine does not apply letter grades. Students earn a score as a percentage of 100%. A passing percentage is 70% or higher.
| Topic |
Lesson Topic |
Subtopics |
Objectives |
| 1 |
Limits, Alternatives, and Choices |
- Economic Reasoning and Theory
- Concepts
- Graphs
|
- Identify and describe three interrelated features of how economists think about the world.
- Differentiate between a model and a theory.
- Define consumption, production, and scarcity, and describe their relationship.
- Describe how markets and trade impact society in macroeconomic terms.
- Define and give an example of opportunity cost.
- Represent a relationship between two variables with a graph.
|
| 2 |
The Market System and Circular Flow |
- Decision Makers in the United States' economy
- How Households, Businesses, and the Government Interact
- The United States in the Global Economy
- Circular Flow
|
- Describe how household income spending affects the macro economy.
- Summarize different types of businesses, and describe potential strengths and weaknesses in each.
- Describe three ways in which the government guides and influences in the macroeconomy.
- Describe how households and businesses interact in a market economy.
- Analyze how the government interacts with other sectors of the economy.
- Explain how globalization impacts competition.
- Illustrate the principle of comparative advantage.
- Draw a representation of the Circular Flow Model with its various components.
|
| 3 |
Demand, Supply, and Market Equilibrium |
- Supply
- Demand
- Equilibrium
|
- Describe the inverse relationship between price and demand.
- Describe the relationship between prices and supply, and offer three determinants of demand.
- Illustrate, with a real-life example, how to determine market equilibrium.
- Graphically demonstrate the effects of price ceilings and price floors.
|
| 4 |
The U.S. Economy: Private and Public Sectors |
- U.S. Households
- U.S. Businesses and Business Organization
- Economic Role of Government
- Government Budget Outlays and Receipts
|
- Analyze public and private sectors of the United States' economy.
- Synthesize public and private sectors of the United States' economy.
- Explain the economic role of government.
|
| 5 |
The United States in the Global Economy |
- International Trade
- Comparative Advantage
- Exchange Rates
- Trade Organizations and Agreements
|
- Analyze international economic activity.
- Use the results of the aforementioned analysis to predict the impact on U.S. macroeconomic activity.
- Describe comparative advantage using a real-life example.
- Explain the impact that trade organizations and agreements have on the global economy.
|
| 6 |
Measuring Economic Outcomes |
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Gross National Product (GNP)
- The Expenditure Approach
- National Income Accounting and Other Measures
|
- Explain and synthesize the components of the National Income and Product Accounts.
- Define the Gross Domestic Product and describe its relationship to the Gross National Product.
- Define the Gross National Product.
- Describe the Expenditure Approach.
|
| 7 |
Introduction to Economic Growth and Instability |
- Employment
- Unemployment
- Inflation
- Growth
|
- Describe the macroeconomic goals and problems.
- Define three types of unemployment.
- Explain how economists measure unemployment.
- Describe full employment and its impact on productivity and growth.
- Differentiate between the social, economic, and personal cost of unemployment.
- Define inflation.
- Give examples of attempts to measure how inflation and unemployment relate.
|
| 8 |
Basic Macroeconomic Relationships |
- Basic Macroeconomic Relationships
|
- Analyze and synthesize short-run and long-run models of macroeconomic activity.
|
| 9 |
The Aggregate Expenditures Model |
- The Aggregate Expenditures Model
- Equilibrium GDP
- The Multiplier Model
- Factors Influencing Equilibrium Gross Domestic Product
|
- Define equilibrium Gross Domestic Product.
- Describe how net exports and government purchases impact equilibrium.
- Identify two ways the multiplier model can be misleading.
- Describe what causes the level of Gross Domestic Product to change.
|
| 10 |
Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply |
- Aggregate Demand and Supply Framework
- Components of Aggregate Demand
- Components of Aggregate Supply
|
- Define the three parts of the aggregate-demand/aggregate supply framework.
- Describe the streams of spending that relate to aggregate demand with a focus on investment and consumption.
- Compare and contrast long-run and short-run aggregate supply.
- Describe examples of supply-side policy.
|
| 11 |
Fiscal Policy, Deficits, and Debt |
- Fiscal Policy
- Major Federal Government Spending Programs and Tax Sources
- Government Spending, Taxation, and Fiscal Policy
- Supply-Side and Demand-Side Fiscal Policy
|
- Define fiscal policy and its role to fight inflation and ensure full employment.
- Differentiate between major federal government spending programs and tax sources.
- Describe how government spending can help fight inflation and relate the risks of government intervention.
- Compare and contrast demand-side versus supply-side fiscal policies.
|
| 12 |
Money and Banking |
- How the Banking System Functions
- Financial Institutions
|
- Describe the essential functions of the demand for money.
- Describe the essential functions of banks pertaining to the macroeconomic perspective.
- Differentiate between various types of financial institutions.
|
| 13 |
Money Creation |
- Money: Its Creation and Supply
|
- Summarize what money is.
- Explain how money was developed, creating a diagram or table to show how banks create money.
- Compare and contrast M1, M2, and M3, and discuss how money is supplied.
- Describe the determiners of the demand for money.
|
| 14 |
Interest Rates and Monetary Policy |
- Interest Rates
- Monetary Policy
|
Analyze the interest rate, and explain how it is used to stabilize the macroeconomy.
•
Analyze the monetary policy, and explain how it is used to stabilize the macroeconomy. |
| 15 |
Extending the Analysis of Aggregate Supply |
- Short-run Aggregate Supply
- Long-run Aggregate Supply
- The Phillips Curve
|
- Define short-run aggregate supply.
- Define long-run aggregate supply.
- Explain the Phillips Curve.
|
| 16 |
Economic Growth |
|
- Analyze and synthesize various models of economic growth.
|
| 17 |
Disputes Over Macro Theory and Policy |
- Classical Theory
- Keynesian Theory
- Monetarism
- New Classical Theory
- Rules vs. Discretion
|
- Distinguish between the Classical and Keynesian Theories.
- Explain monetarism.
- Compare and contrast the Classical and the New Classical Theories.
- Explain what is meant by "Rules vs. Discretion."
|
| 18 |
International Trade |
|
- Analyze and synthesize international economic activity, and use the results to predict the impact on U.S. macroeconomic activity.
|
| 19 |
Exchange Rates, the Balance of Payments, and Trade Deficits |
- Exchange Rates
- Types of Deficits
- Surpluses and Debt
|
- Distinguish between passive and structural deficits.
- Differentiate between real and nominal deficits.
- Give an example of how economic and political conditions inform how one should judge surpluses and debt.
- Analyze the problem, and compare and contrast two plans for solving the projected Social Security shortage.
|
| 20 |
Review |
- Macroeconomics Concepts
- Economic Decision Makers
- Supply and Demand
- Economic Outcomes
- Measuring Economic Outcomes
- The Business Cycle
- Growth and Unemployment
- Inflation
- Inflation and Unemployment
- Aggregate Expenditures
- Aggregate Supply and Demand
- Fiscal Policy
- Monetary and Financial Institutions
- Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve
- Deficits and Surpluses
- National Debt
|
None |
