STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 1.   Demonstrate awareness of economic concepts of: the consumer, the firm, the nature of cost, perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition.

 2.   Show understanding of the fundamental significance of the resource base, demographic change, positive and negative externalities, income distribution, social welfare, discrimination and economic waste.

 3.   Manifest the ability to recognize, collect and analyze objective performance data employing the scientific method.  Further, understand and use models that project possible economic outcomes.

 4.   Demonstrate the ability to select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve problems or compile information.

 5.   Read, analyze and apply written materials to new situations.

 6.   Write and speak clearly and logically in presentations and essays.

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I.      An Overview

         A.      What Economics is all About

         B.      How a Graph is Drawn

         C.      How to Read a Graph

 II.     Supply and Demand

         A.      Market Participants

         B.      Market Interactions

         C.      Market Forces

         D.      Supply and Demand Schedules

         E.      Supply and Demand Graphs

         F.      Market Equilibrium

 III.    Demand Analysis

         A.      Patterns of Consumption

         B.      Determinants of Demand

         C.      The Demand Curve

         D.      Shifts in the Demand Curve

         E.      Elasticity

 IV.     Supply Analysis

         A.      Profit and Supplier Motivation

         B.      Determinants of Supply

         C.      Profits of U.S. Business

         D.      Economic Profit vs. Accounting Profit

         E.      Profit, Prices, and Costs

         F.      Long-run and Short-run Supply Decisions

         G.      Maximizing Short-run Profit

         H.      The Shutdown Point

 V.      The Costs of Production

         A.      The Production Function

         B.      Marginal Productivity

         C.      Resource Costs

         D.      Dollar Costs

         E.      Economic Costs vs. Accounting Costs

         F.      Short-run costs

         G.      Long-run costs

         H.      Economics of Scale

 VI.     Competition in the Real World

         A.      Market Power

         B.      The Nature of Competition

         C.      Competition and Efficiency

 VII.    Monopoly

         A.      Monopoly Power

         B.      Pros and Cons of Market Power

         C.      Comparative Perspective on Market Power

 VIII.   Imperfect Competition

         A.      Degrees of Market Power

         B.      Oligopoly

         C.      Monopolistic Competition

 IX.     Market Power and the U.S. Economy

         A.      Measuring Market Power

         B.      Examples of Market Power in the Real World

         C.      Problem Areas for the Markets

         D.      Limits to Government Intervention in the Market Place

 X       Labor Markets

         A.      The Motivation to Work

         B.      Work vs. Leisure Time Tradeoff

         C.      Non-monetary Incentives

         D.      Training and Adaptability of Labor

         E.      Derived Demand

         F.      Labor Productivity

         G.      Labor Unions and Employer Power

 XI.     Income Distribution

         A.      Definition of Income

         B.      The Functional Distribution of Income

         C.      Analysis of Income Distribution

         D.      The Impact of Discrimination of the Economy

         E.      Poverty and Welfare

 XII.    Current Economic Issues

         A.      Externalities - Positive and Negative

         B.      Population Pressure and Economic Resources

 XIII.   International Economic Interdependence

         A.      Comparative Advantage

         B.      Evolving World Monetary System