Prerequisite:  University or university/college preparation course in English, Canadian and world studies, or social sciences and humanities.

Text:  Economics Now: Analyzing Current Economic Issues. Bolotta, Hawkes, Mahoney, and Piper. Oxford Publishing.  2002

COURSE EXPECTATIONS 

Students will:

• Explain the cause and nature of the three types of choices that all economic systems make;
• Apply the concepts, models, and processes of economic inquiry to the study of economic choice;
• Evaluate different sources and types of current economic information;
• Explain the economic rights and responsibilities of “the economic citizen”;
• Compare the ways and the degree to which different types of economic systems satisfy the needs of stakeholders;
• Assess the ways in which, and the degree to which, people in Canada and other countries have become interdependent in the global economy;
• Identify examples of, and reasons for, conflicts of self-interest that prevent the achievement of economic goals;
• Explain and compare the functions of Canada’s private and public institutions;
• Describe the impact of international economic institutions of the Canadian economy;
• Analyze the effectiveness of economic stabilization policies;

1. The Economic Problem: 

• Scarcity and Choice
• Tools of Economic Analysis
• Types of Economic Systems
• Economic Profit

 

2. The Goal of Economic Efficiency:   

• Markets, Supply and Demand
• Price Mechanism
• Competition and Market Structures

 

 

3. The Goal of Economic Stability (A) & Measurement and Evaluation  

• Aggregate Supply and Productive Capacity
• Aggregate Demand and Unemployment
• Price Level Changes
• Real vs. money flow
• National accounts
• Index numbers and economic indicators
                 

 

4. The Goal of Economic Stability (B)   

• Business Cycles   
• Fiscal Policy

 

5. The Goal of Economic Stability (C)   

• Money & Banking
• Monetary Policy

 

6. Income Determination and The Goal of Economic Equity   

• Government Intervention & Regulation Income distribution
• Taxation, transfer payments, subsidies

 

7. Global Economy   

• International Trade
• Foreign Investment, Multinationals