Economics (ECO)
Economic Essentials: Theory and Application - ECO 150
https://courses.vccs.edu./courses/ECO150-EconomicEssentialsTheoryandApplication
Effective: 2022-03-31
Course Description
Presents a broad overview of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory with application to current economic situations. Introduces concepts, policies, and theories in addition to models of domestic and global economies. This is a Passport and UCGS transfer course.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
The purpose of this transfer level course is to provide students with an introduction to economic principles to increase understanding of domestic and global economic issues. This course serves as a lower division major requirement for programs requiring a basic understanding of economics. This course is not intended for students majoring in Business or Economics at a four-year university.
Course Objectives
- Communication
- Demonstrate college-level communication skills.
- Data Literacy
- Identify economic similarities and differences among nations using statistical information
- Technological Competency
- Retrieve relevant economic data from web-based sources and databases
- Critical Thinking Skills
- Assess the credibility of given economic theories and economic data to determine whether certain conclusions or consequences are supported by the information provided.
- Definition and Scope of Economics
- Topics: Economic Behavior, Categories of Resources, Scarcity, Choice, Opportunity Cost
- Explain the social, historical and economic impact of scarcity and choice on the individual as well as the domestic and global economy using economic models and current applications
- Market interactions
- Topics: Competitive Markets, Demand, Supply, Market Equilibrium; Price Elasticity of Demand; Government Price Controls; Labor Market
- Recognize differences in Market Supply and Demand. Identify the impact of changing prices versus changing determinants of supply and demand in theory and in practice
- Identify types of price controls, critical shortages or examples of surpluses in global markets
- Interpret the relationship between today's labor market and the demand and supply model
- Define and graph demand and supply of labor curves and include changes in the equilibrium wage rate and quantity of labor employed.
- Interpret price elasticity of demand coefficient values and determine the direction of price changes to increase total revenue.
- Determine the equilibrium price and quantity when given either data or a graph of Supply and Demand.
- Gross Domestic Product
- Topics: Expenditure Approach to Measuring GDP; Real and Nominal GDP; Causes of Economic Growth.
- Distinguish between Real and Nominal GDP; calculate GDP Per Capita
- Compare and explain differences in the real GDP Growth Rate in different nations and situations
- Inflation, Unemployment, and the Business Cycle
- Topics: types and causes of unemployment and inflation; measuring inflation, the four parts of the business cycle.
- Connect short term fluctuations in the GDP growth rate with types of inflation and unemployment.
- Retrieve data and explain differences in unemployment rates and inflation rates among nations.
- Identify business cycle positions in theory and the current economy
- Calculate inflation and unemployment rates
- Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy
- Topics: Fiscal and Monetary Policy Tools, National Debt, Government spending, and tax multipliers; Federal Reserve; money creation and deposit multiplier
- Identify tools of fiscal and monetary policy in the macroeconomy.
- Identify fiscal and monetary policymakers and their limitations
- Identify how expansionary or contractionary fiscal and monetary policies are used in various economies to address a specific economic problem
- Identify and calculate appropriate multipliers
- Production and Costs
- Topics: Short Run Cost Curves and Long-Run Cost Curves; Categories of Profit
- Identify differences between perfectly competitive. natural monopoly and pure monopoly market structures.
- Graph and explain how firms in each market determine price, output, and profit.
- Identify economic profit, normal profit or loss from a graph
- International Trade
- Topics: Comparative Advantage, Production Possibilities Frontier and Gains from Trade; Free trade and Protectionism,
- Calculate comparative advantage between two nations and be able to identify goods imported and exported in the context of the Production Possibilities Model
- Compare economies using protectionism versus free trade illustrating the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Major Topics to be Included
- Definition and Scope of Economics
- Market Interactions
- Gross Domestic Product
- Inflation, Unemployment, and the Business Cycle
- Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy
- Production and Costs
- Market Structure
- International Trade
Principles of Macroeconomics - ECO 201
https://courses.vccs.edu./courses/ECO201-PrinciplesofMacroeconomics
Effective: 2022-03-31
Course Description
Presents the fundamental macroeconomic concepts, theories, and issues including the study of scarcity and opportunity cost, supply and demand, national economic growth, inflation, recession, unemployment, fiscal and monetary policies, and international trade. Develops an appreciation of how these economic concepts apply to consumer, business, and government decisions, and their effect on the overall economy. This is a Passport and UCGS transfer course.
Lecture 3 hour. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
Principles of Macroeconomics is a course in economics for students whose college and career paths require knowledge of the fundamentals of concepts, theories, and issues which influence the economy overall. Emphasis is placed upon the development of an appreciation of how these apply to consumer and business decisions, and their effect on the overall economy. To that end, students will utilize economic data collection methods and models to support reasonable conclusions.
Course Objectives
- Communication
- Effectively communicate economic theory and concepts.
- Problem Solving
- Identify and solve macroeconomic problems using economic theory and methodology.
- Introduction to Economics
- Topics: Scarcity; Choice; Opportunity Costs; Comparative and Absolute Advantage
- Illustrate the impact of scarcity and choice with economic models.
- Analyze the differences between comparative and absolute advantage and demonstrate how trade can be beneficial with both.
- Demand and Supply
- Topics: Demand; Supply; Market Equilibrium
- Apply the demand and supply model.
- Analyze the impacts of the determinants on the demand and supply models.
- Illustrate market equilibrium on the demand and supply model.
- Analyze the impact of market failure on demand and supply
- Measurements of the Economy
- Topics: Gross Domestic Product (GDP); Unemployment; Inflation; Economic Growth
- Define gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, economic growth and how they are measured.
- Analyze the different types of GDP, inflation, unemployment and how they impact each other.
- Analyze the impacts of inflation and unemployment on economic growth.
- Compute statistical data to measure the status of the economy.
- Identify the differences in Classical, Keynesian and Austrian approaches to utilizing these metrics.
- Aggregate Demand Aggregate Supply (ADAS) Model
- Topics: Aggregate Demand; Aggregate Supply; Equilibrium
- Interpret the impact of determinants of the ADAS Model.
- Illustrate the changes on the ADAS Model.
- Fiscal Policy
- Topics: Government Spending; Taxation; Changes to ADAS Model
- Analyze the impacts of fiscal policy on the economy.
- Demonstrate the fiscal policy tools used to adjust the economy (government spending, taxation).
- Illustrate the changes from fiscal policy on the ADAS Model.
- Illustrate the impact of the fiscal multiplier on the ADAS Model.
- Monetary Policy
- Topics: Money; Banking; Federal Reserve; Tools of Monetary Policy; changes to ADAS Model
- Analyze the impacts of monetary policy on the economy.
- Demonstrate the monetary policy tools used to adjust the economy (open market operations, discount rate, required reserve ratio, interest on reserves, loanable funds market).
- Illustrate the changes from monetary policy on the ADAS Model.
- International Trade
- Topics: Comparative Advantage; Exchange Rates; Barriers to Trade; Trade Agreements
- Examine the economic principles underlying international trade.
- Analyze exchange rates.
- Analyze the impact of international trade on the domestic economy and purchasing power parity on GDP.
- Illustrate the impact of international trade on the ADAS Model.
- Illustrate the relationship between capital flows and trade deficits/surpluses.
Major Topics to be Included
- Introduction to Economics
- Demand and Supply
- Measurements of the Economy
- ADAS Model
- Fiscal Policy
- Monetary Policy
- International Trade
Principles of Microeconomics - ECO 202
https://courses.vccs.edu./courses/ECO202-PrinciplesofMicroeconomics
Effective: 2022-03-31
Course Description
Presents the fundamental microeconomic concepts, theories, and issues including the study of scarcity and opportunity cost, supply and demand, elasticities, marginal revenues and costs, profits, production and distribution. Develops an appreciation of how these economic concepts apply to consumer and business decisions, and their effect on the individual. This is a Passport and UCGS transfer course.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
Principles of Microeconomics is a course in economics for students whose college and career paths require knowledge of the fundamentals of concepts, theories, and issues affecting consumers, businesses, and the government. Emphasis is placed upon the development of an appreciation of how these apply to consumer and business decisions, and their effect at the individual level. To that end, students will utilize economic data collection methods and models to support reasonable conclusions.
Course Objectives
- Communication
- Effectively communicate economic theory and concepts.
- Problem Solving
- Identify and solve problems using microeconomic theory and methodology.
- Introduction to Economics
- Topics: Scarcity; Choice; Opportunity Costs; Comparative and Absolute Advantage
- Illustrate the impact of scarcity and choice with economic models.
- Analyze the differences between comparative and absolute advantage and demonstrate how trade can be beneficial with both.
- Demand and Supply
- Topics: Demand; Supply; Market Equilibrium and Disequilibrium; Coase Theorem; Government Intervention
- Apply the demand and supply model.
- Analyze the impacts of the determinants on the demand and supply models.
- Illustrate market equilibrium on the demand and supply model.
- Analyze the impact of market failure on demand and supply.
- Apply the Coase Theorem to solve market disequilibrium caused by externalities.
- Analyze the impact of government intervention on demand and supply.
- Elasticity
- Topics: Elasticity of Demand; Elasticity of Supply; Income Elasticity; Cross-Elasticity
- Assess the impact of elasticity on consumers and producers.
- Compute statistical data to measure elasticity to quantify demand and production decisions.
- Production and Costs
- Topics: Costs; Short-Run Production Costs and Decision-Making Process; Long-Run Costs and Decision-Making Process; Trade Barriers
- Analyze the impact of costs of production on the short-run and long-run.
- Illustrate the changes on the cost curves.
- Analyze the impact of trade on production decisions.
- Market Structures
- Topics: Perfect Competition; Pure Monopoly; Monopolistic Competition; Oligopoly
- Compare and contrast the impact of the costs of production on the market structures (pure competition; pure monopoly; monopolistic competition; and oligopoly).
- Illustrate the changes on the cost curves.
- Labor Markets and Income
- Topics: Perfect Competition; Monopsony; Unions; Income
- Assess the costs of labor on production decisions.
- Illustrate the changes on the cost curves.
- Analyze the impact of trade labor markets.
Major Topics to be Included
- Introduction to Economics
- Demand and Supply
- Elasticity
- Production and Cost
- Market Structures
- Labor Markets and Income