Introduction to Economics

Explain and use the “economic way of thinking” to analyze how people make decisions.

Explain how markets and prices allocate resources and how government sometimes plays a positive and sometimes a negative role when attempting to influence markets.

Identify the various causes of social problems such as pollution, crime, poverty and discrimination, and analyze the debates concerning the government’s role to correct or alleviate these problems.

Explain why nations trade with one another, and analyze the debate regarding protectionism.

Define measures of economic activity such as unemployment, inflation and economic growth.

Identify market factors that influence economic activity and examine government policies that attempt to influence economic activity.