Description

College Credits: 3

Economics is the study of how best to allocate scarce resources among competing users. Its study can be divided into two parts, microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics is concerned with the individual agents operating within the economy, inclusive of households, individual workers and businesses and how they use the scarce resources available to them. It looks at the economy from the bottom-up. Macroeconomics, however, looks at the economy as a whole; or from the top-down. In more technical terms, macroeconomics studies the factors that influence aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Our focus will be on studying and understanding the macroeconomy.

This course is designed as an introductory survey of the economic concepts that are commonly used in understanding economic issues at the aggregate, or national level. The emphasis is on examining the overall functioning of the economy, exploring and understanding such phenomena as gross domestic product, national income, unemployment, inflation, the business cycle, as well as the fiscal and monetary policy tools that can be used to achieve a desired economic objective. In addition, the course will provide a basic understanding of international economics, with a focus on exchange rates, international trade and balance of payment dynamics.