advanced placement microeconomics and macroeconomics course description...

1

ADVANCED PLACEMENT MICROECONOMICS AND MACROECONOMICS COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PHILOSOPHY

“There is no aspect of education more important that that which makes all our citizens intelligent and truly informed about the economic system in which they live and work.” --National Council on Economic Education "Nobody can be a great economist who is only an economist - and I am even tempted to add that the economist who is only an economist is likely to become a nuisance if not a positive danger." -- Friedrich Hayek "The Theory of Economics … is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking which helps its possessor draw correct conclusions." -- J. M. Keynes “If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.”

-- George Bernard Shaw Advanced Placement (AP®) Economics is an elective full - year course open to juniors and seniors. Students will receive the equivalent of one semester of college - level preparation in the fields of introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics. The course is designed to provide a foundational understanding for possible future study in economics and business. Additionally, students will acquire skills and knowledge prospectively suitable and sufficient to receive assessment designation as "extremely well qualified" on the Advanced Placement microeconomics and macroeconomics exams.1 The course complies with all AP Curriculum Requirements [CR] and, where appropriate, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards: 21st Century Life and Career Standards Learning Progressions. AP economics is designed to present economics as a relevant, serious, spirited, and evolving social science.2 The course is intended to expand the realms of descriptive, quantitative, inductive, and deductive reasoning so that students may see the world through the reasonable and considered lens of an economist. The course will help students gain an integrated insight to economic terminology, concepts, theories, data analysis and models as well as the operational dynamics of economic societies, especially the United States. The course will be guided by "two principles … (1) institutions and history are important in policy discussions and (2) good economics is open economics -- willing to deal with all ideas."3 Students shall understand that assigned reading prompts and flipped classroom presentations are to be completed in advance of class lectures, discussions, and problem set encounters. The instructional elements of class are intended to clarify and reinforce assigned readings, master essential economic concepts and models, and nurture a full understanding of AP curricular content and exam requirements. Students shall understand the necessity of independent learning, self - inspired understanding, as well as the importance of cooperative group efforts in gaining full command of AP microeconomics and macroeconomics. While the lecture - discussion method may be required for initial presentation of the 1 Laker Pride, dictum. 2 Michael Parkin, Microeconomics, 8th ed. (New York: Peasron / Addison Wesly), 2008. 3 David C. Colander, Economics, 8th ed. (New York: McGraw - Hill / Irwin) 2010.

2

course content AP economics will emphasize "active learning" as students will become the critical actors and assessors in the learning dynamic. This will stimulate interest and promote a deeper understanding of model concepts critical to performing well on the A.P. exam. Students will learn to graph early and graph often in order to acquire visual, tangible, representational, and graphical understanding of essential economic concepts. Lastly, students will learn to think like modern economists by employing and analyzing the full empirical scope of traditional and modern economic models. As this subject may, at first, intimidate students, the pedagogical methods employed are designed put students at ease and allow them to enjoy, perhaps come to embrace, this dismal science.4 The course will employ structured learning experiences though which students will engage in authentic self - assessment and problem based (and set) critical thinking activities in keeping with the district's Accreditation for Growth (AFG) goals and objectives. The course will provide “students with the life and career skills needed to function optimally … [in the] … intensely competitive and constantly changing worldwide marketplace.” Students will be equipped with a foundational understanding of microeconomics and macroeconomics that will allow them to contend and excel in the college classroom, the work place, and the 21st century market economy. The course will provide students the opportunity to demonstrate creative and critical thinking by “recognizing and acting on promising opportunities while accepting responsibility for possible risks.”5 Readings

• Required Text: Colander, David C. Economics. 8th ed. New York: McGraw – Hill Irwin, 2010. • Supplementary Text: Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Economics. 6th ed. Mason, OH: South – Western Cengage Learning, 2012.

Resources

• Stone, Gary L. Advanced Placement Economics: Microeconomics. New York: Council for Economic Education. 2012 • Ray, Margaret A.. Advanced Placement Economics: Macroeconomics. New York: Council for Economic Education. 2012 • www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html • http://www.councilforeconed.org/ap-economics • http://danariely.com/ • http://www.reffonomics.com • The New York Times • The Wall Street Journal

Written Summer 2013 4 Yours, Thomas Carlyle. 5 Quotations above are provided verbatim from the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards: 21st for Century Life and Career Standards. All other substantive elements and points of focus contained in the Course Description, Philosophy, and Expectations are intended to comply with the enumerated objectives and Progress Indicators contained in NJCCCS 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, and 9.4.

3

AP Microeconomics The complimentary design and end of the Advanced Placement course in Microeconomics shall be the study of individual choice as influenced by economic forces. Microeconomic study shall focus on the consumption and production decision - making of individuals, households, firms, and polities in the allocation of societal resources; a dynamic interchange that operates within the often contentious realms of human nature, product and factor markets, and government policy. UNIT 1 Basic Economic Concepts [CR1] [CR5] [CR6]

• Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost�� • Production possibilities curve�� • Comparative advantage, absolute advantage, specialization, and trade �� • Economic systems �� • Property rights and the role of incentives • Marginal analysis

Objectives: Students will be able to …

• Define economics and explain how economists develop models. • Explain why scarcity and choice are the basic problems in economics. • Explain how to make decisions by comparing marginal costs and marginal benefits. • Define opportunity cost and explain its relationship to economic reasoning. • Differentiate between microeconomics and macroeconomics. • Describe the intellectual source origin(s) and conceptual element(s) of property rights and incentives. • Determine and discuss the impact of scarcity on human decision-making and economic activity. • Distinguish among positive economics, normative economics, and the art of economics (political economy). • Demonstrate opportunity cost with the production possibility curve • State the principal of increasing marginal utility cost. • Relate the concept of comparative advantage to the production possibility curve. • Explain the principle of comparative advantage and why, generally, economists oppose trade restrictions. • Determine and articulate how, through comparative advantage and trade, countries can consume beyond their production possibilities. • Define market economics. • Contrast socialism with capitalism. • Describe how businesses, households, and government interact in the market economy. • State six roles of government related to economics.

4

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Economics and Economic Reasoning

• Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions

Colander, Economics Chapter 1

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning, problem sets, and examining multiple choice and free response questions.

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities, www.reffonomics.com Economics USA (21st Century Edition) from Learner.org

9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.B.3 9.1.12.F.5

The Production Possibilities Model, Trade, and Globalization


Economics Chapter 2, pp. 25 - 40

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to production possibilities model . Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.C.5 9.2.12.E.1 9.2.12.E.2 9.2.12.E.4 9.2.12.F.1 9.4.12.D.4 9.4.12B.52

Economic Institutions • Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions

Economics Chapter 3, pp. 56 - 72, 80 - 82

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including related to economic institutions. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.F.E 9.2.12.A.8

Comparative Advantage



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning and problem sets demonstrating comparative advantage. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.4 9.1.12.C.5 9.3.12.C.8 9.4.12.D.5 9.4.12B.52

5

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 1; Chapter 2, pp. 25 - 40; Chapter 3, pp. 56 - 72, 80 - 82; Chapter 9 pp. 203 - 209 Assessments:

1. (Apposite) multiple - choice / objective questions from released AP Exams. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Student will generate, interpret, label, and analyze production possibility tables and curves to describe and demonstrate comparative

advantage and efficiency. 4. Advanced Placement Microeconomics, Unit 1 (Activities 1-1 to 1-11)

Ethical Decision Making/Character Education Students will consider the practical (and philosophical) essence of “scarcity” and will seek a balance between satisfying their needs and wants against the need to allocate time and resource (income). Students will balance the need for equity against the economic reality of providing insurance coverage. Examples: males under 25 paying more for car insurance, those with pre-exiting medical conditions paying more for health insurance. 21st Century Life Skills, Personal Financial Literacy, Career Awareness & Preparation To develop this skill, students should be able to analyze, synthesize, organize and present information from the social sciences in clear, complete and effective formats. Consequently, this activity calls for students to research and create an economic model illustrating the trade-off between work and a college education … “A huge trade-off you will make after high school is whether to begin working or to attend college.” Students will evaluate all elements from the attendant costs of a college education (versus entry into the workforce) to the career opportunities and earning potential of those who hold a bachelor’s degree (as compared to those with high school diploma). Before attempting college at all, students should “critically evaluate the data: student-loan debt, return on investment, lifetime salary earnings, academic performance, skills training . . . and so on" … William J. Bennett: Is College Worth It? To engage critical thinking skills, students will consider the potential advantages / disadvantages of "outsourcing" - a word and concept that carries considerable political stigma - and draft an economic policy & position paper that outlines the best course of action for the United States in the 21st century.

6

Unit 2 The Nature and Functions of Product Markets [CR1] [CR2] [CR5] [CR6] • Supply and demand

o Market equilibrium o Determinants of supply and demand o Price and quantity controls o Elasticity

Price, income, and cross-price elasticities of demand Price elasticity of supply

o Consumer surplus, producer surplus, and allocative efficiency o Tax incidence and deadweight loss

• Theory of consumer choice o Total utility and marginal utility o Utility maximization: equalizing marginal utility per dollar o Individual and market demand curves o Income and substitution effects

• Production and costs o Production functions: short and long run o Marginal product and diminishing returns o Short-run costs o Long-run costs and economies of scale o Cost minimizing input combination and productive efficiency

• Firm behavior and market structure o Profit

Accounting versus economic profits Normal profit . Profit maximization: MR=MC rule

o Perfect competition Profit maximization Short-run supply and shutdown decision Behavior of firms and markets in the short run and in the long run Efficiency and perfect competition

o Monopoly Sources of market power Profit maximization Inefficiency of monopoly Price discrimination Natural monopoly

7

o Oligopoly Interdependence, collusion, and cartels Game theory and strategic behavior Dominant strategy Nash equilibrium

o Monopolistic competition Product differentiation and role of advertising Profit maximization Short-run and long-run equilibrium Excess capacity and inefficiency


• State the law of demand and draw a demand curve from a demand table. • Explain the importance of substitution to the laws of supply and demand. • Distinguish shifts in demand from movements along the demand curve. • State the law of supply and draw a supply curve from a supply table. • Distinguish shifts in supply from movements along the supply curve. • Explain how the law of demand and the law of supply interact to bring about price equilibrium. • Show the effect of a shift in demand and supply on equilibrium price and quantity. • Identify and explain the limitations of demand and supply analysis. • Provide and explain real-world events using supply and demand. • Explain how exchange rates are determined using supply and demand. • Demonstrate the effect of price floor(s) / price ceiling(s) on a market. • Explain the effect of excise taxes and tariffs on equilibrium price and quantity. • Explain the effect of third - party- payer system on equilibrium price and quantity. • Understand and demonstrate price elasticity of supply and demand to describe responsiveness of quantities to changes in price. • Calculate elasticity graphically and numerically. • Explain the importance of substitution in determining elasticity of supply and demand. • Relate price elasticity of demand to total revenue. • Describe the effect of shift factors on demand. • Demonstrate how equilibrium maximizes producer and consumer surplus. • Demonstrate the burden of taxation on consumers and producers. • Explain the principle of indirect taxation (they that pay the tax need not be they that bear the burden). • Demonstrate how an effective price ceiling is the equivalent of a tax on producers and a subsidy to consumers. • Discuss and describe the principle of diminishing marginal utility. • Summarize the principle of rational choice. • Explain the relationship between marginal utility and price when a consumer is maximizing total utility.

8

• Link the principle of rational choice to supply and demand. • Provide examples of how behavioral economists change the assumption of utility maximization. • Distinguish technical efficiency from economic efficiency. • Explain how economies and diseconomies of scale influence the shape of the long - run cost curves. • Describe the envelope relationship between short - run cost curves and long - run cost curves. • Explain the role of the entrepreneur in translating cost of production to supply. • Understand some of the problems of using cost analysis in the real world. • Define and differentiate economic profit from accounting profit. • Distinguish between long - run and short - run production. • State the law of diminishing marginal productivity. • Calculate fixed costs, variable costs, marginal costs, average fixed costs, average variable costs, give the appropriate information. • Distinguish and graph the various types of cost curves and describe the relationships among them. • Explain why average cost curves are U-shaped. • List the six conditions for a perfectly competitive market. • Explain why producing an output at which marginal cost equals price maximizes total profit for a perfect competitor. • Demonstrate why the marginal cost curve is the supply curve for a perfectly competitive firm. • Determine the output of profit for a perfect competitor graphically and numerically. • Construct a market supply curve by adding together individual firms' marginal cost curves. • Explain why perfectly competitive firms make zero economic profit in the long run. • Explain the adjustment process from short term to long-term equilibrium. • Explain why the decisions facing a monopolist differ from the collective. • Explain why MC = MR maximizes total profit for a monopolist. • Determine a monopolist's price, output, and profit graphically and numerically. • Show graphically, the welfare loss of monopoly. • Explain why a price - discriminating monopolist will earn more than a normal monopolist. • Define natural monopoly and describe the situational dynamics that lead to natural monopolies. • Identify the four distinguishing characteristics of monopolistic competition. • Demonstrate graphically the equilibrium of a monopolistic competitor. • Identify and describe the central element of oligopoly. • Explain why decisions in the cartel model depend on market share & decisions in the contestable market model depend on entry barriers • Define collusion both implicit and informal (sticky prices). • Describe two empirical methods of determining market structure. • Provide an example of the prisoner's dilemma game. • Explain what is meant by the Nash equilibrium. • Distinguish between a dominant and a mixed strategy. • Describe the role of product differentiation and advertising in monopolistic competition. • Contrast various market structures.

9

Topic/Content Skills Assessment Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Supply and Demand • Quiz / Exam

• Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions

Economics Chapter 4

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning, problem sets, graphing supply and demand curves, and examining multiple choice and free response questions.

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities, www.reffonomics.com "Governing Dynamics" scene from A Beautiful Mind.

9.2.12.A.1 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.C.5 9.2.12.E.1 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12B.52

Using Supply and Demand


Economics Chapter 5

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning, problem sets, graphing supply and demand curves, and examining multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.1 9.1.12.B.1 9.2.12.E.1 9.1.12.C.5 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12.B.18 9.4.12B.52

Describing Supply and Demand: Elasticities


Economics Chapter 7

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning, problem sets, graphing supply and demand curves, constructing models, and examining multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.1 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.C.5 9.2.12.E.1 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12.B.18

Taxation and Government Intervention

• Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets


Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning and

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities, www.reffonomics.com

9.1.12.C.5 9.2.12.F.2 9.2.12.F.7 9.4.12B.14

10

• AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions

problem sets. Debate the merits of government tax policies and intervention into the working of the market. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.

The Logic of Individual Choice: The Foundation of Supply and Demand


Economics, Chapter 10

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning and problem sets. Present, graphically and numerically: total utility, marginal utility, maximizing utility and equilibrium. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.C.5 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12B.18 9.4.12B.52

Production Cost and Analysis I



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to profit, production, and diminishing marginal utility. Calculate various costs, distinguish and graph various costs curves graphically. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.B.1 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12B.18

Production and Cost Analysis II

• Quiz / Exam • Text Based


Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction),

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities,

9.1.12.A.1 9.4.12B.14

11

Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions

group work activities including problem based learning related to efficiency an cost analysis. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.

www.reffonomics.com 9.4.12B.18 9.4.12B.29

Perfect Competition • Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions


Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities related to perfectly competitive markets / profit maximization. Determine graphically and numerically: output and profit of a perfect competitor. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12B.18 9.4.12B.29

Monopoly • Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions


Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning and decision - making facing a monopolist. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12B.18 9.4.12B.29

Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly Game Theory, Strategic Decision Making and

• Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response

Economics, Chapter 16, pp. 361 - 373; Chapter 11, pp. 256 - 263

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning and decision - making related to monopolistic

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities, www.reffonomics.com Economics USA (21st Century Edition) from Learner.org Freakonomics blog

9.1.12.A.1 9.4.12B.14 9.4.12B.18 9.4.12B.29

12

Behavioral Economics

Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions

competition, oligopoly, the cartel model, Game Theory, Nash Equilibrium and dominant / mixed strategy. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 7; Chapter 8, pp. 179 - 188, pp. 192 - 193, Chapter 10, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14; Chapter 15, pp. 340 - 352; Chapter 16, pp. 361 - 373 & Chapter 11 pp. 256 - 263. *Teacher's Note: the presentational order deviates from ©The College Board outline and follows instead Chapters 12 and 13 (Production and Cost Analysis I and II, respectively) as found in David Colander's Economics 8th ed. Assessments:

1. Unit Examination (two day administration): multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, one long FRQ, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Student will generate, interpret, label, and analyze the full scope of graphs / matrices related to supply and demand, elasticity, production

cost, cooperative games and strategies, and competition. 4. Advanced Placement Microeconomics, Unit 2 (Activities 2-1 to 2-9) and Unit 3 (Activities 3-1 to 3-17)

Ethical Decision Making/Character Education Students will consider the best way to provide for the net economic benefit of the whole of society. Students will determine the proper province and role of government in the operations of an economy and defend their position. Students will consider and debate national tax policy, redistribution as public policy, behavioral economics as public policy, market function and structure. 21st Century Life Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• To develop this skill, students will engage in a critical thinking task that requires the development of sound reasoning in order to make complex choices and decisions. Students will engage in an activity that requires them to pit the principles of economic efficiency against economic equity when faced with the allocation of national resources related to disease control (cure) and prevention (vaccine). What criteria should be used in determining the allocation of scarce national resources from human capital to government expenditure?

• Students will examine the impact of governmental policies related to rent control in the city of New York and determine whether such policies have a net positive or negative effect on housing supply and rental prices in NYC.

• Students will examine the behavioral economic impact of third - party - payer systems as related to health care costs.

13

Unit 3: Factor Markets [CR1] [CR3] [CR5] [CR6] • Derived factor demand • Marginal revenue product • Hiring decisions in the markets for labor and capital • Market distribution of income


• Determine how many workers to hire and the firm's derived demand for labor. • Present, numerically and graphically, marginal revenue product. • Identify the factors affecting the demand for labor. • Define and describe share distribution of income, socioeconomic distribution of income, and the Lorenz curve.

Assessments: 1. Unit Examination (two day administration): multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, one long FRQ, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Advanced Placement Microeconomics, Unit 4 (Activities 4-1 to 4-7).

21st Century Life Skills: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Income: Credit and Debt Management Students will find out what kind of housing they can afford based on income levels (income percentage devoted to direct and incidental housing costs) and the trade-offs they are willing to make (if any) in order to secure a home purchase.

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Work and the Labor Market Who Gets What? The Distribution of Income


Colander, Economics Chapter 19, pp. 454 - 458 Chapter 20, pp. 460 - 463, 473 - 481

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to hiring, factors of production, and distribution of income. Examining multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.2.12.B.4

14

Ethical Decision Making/Character Education Students will discuss the account factors that determine prevailing wage and income gap in the United States and the impact(s) on the individual family, and society. Students will provide an affirmative debate constructive in answer to the question: What values (should) underlay the United States economic system: Freedom? Efficiency? Equity? Security? Stability? Growth? Unit 4: Market Failure and the Role of Government [CR4] [CR6]

• Externalities o Marginal social benefit and marginal social cost o Positive externalities o Negative externalities o Remedies

• Public goods o Public versus private goods o Provision of public goods

• Public policy to promote competition o Antitrust policy o Regulation

• Income distribution o Equity o Sources and measures of income inequality


• Explain the functional essence of externality and how it affects market outcome. • Describe three methods of dealing with externalities. • Define "public good" and explain the problem with determining a public good to society. • Explain how informational problems can lead to market failure. • Provide reason(s) and explanatory insight why government's solution to a market failure could worsen the situation (bi-partisan examples). • Explain the difference between the structure and performance methods of judging competition. • Provide a brief history of U.S. anti-trust efforts and legislation. • Discuss resolutions of recent antitrust cases: IBM, AT&T, and Microsoft. • Identify alternatives to antitrust policy that government can use to affect the competitive process. • Explain how the demand for labor is a derived demand. • Discuss real - world characteristics of the labor market in terms of market, political, and social forces. • Identify and describe three types of discrimination. • Summarize the statistical findings on income and wealth distribution. • Explain three problems in determining whether equal income distribution is fair.

15

• Provide three "side effects" of redistributing income. • Summarize U.S. tax and expenditure programs to redistribute income.

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Antirust Policy and Regulation


Economics Chapter 18, pp. 404 - 417, 422 - 425.

Lecture (Historical Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning, case examination of American monopoly (benefits?) and antirust prosecution. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.5 9.2.12.A.8 9.2.12.A.10 9.2.12.A.11 9.2.12.D.10

Work and the Labor Market



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities related labor demands and labor markets (with an emphasis on institutional and societal discrimination). Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.5 9.2.12.A.8 9.2.12.A.10 9.2.12.A.11

Market Failure versus Government Failure



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities related to market failure and governmental response and solution. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.5 9.2.12.A.8 9.2.12.A.10 9.2.12.A.11

16

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Who Gets What? The Distribution of Income (Revisited)



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to the contending principles of liberty and equality (as related to income). Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.10 9.2.12.F.7

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 21; Chapter 18 (404 - 417, 422 - 425); Chapter 19 (431 - 432, 443 - 446); Chapter 20 (464 - 473) Assessments:

1. Unit Examination (two day administration): multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, one long FRQ, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Informal and formal assessment of student understanding as observed in class discussion and debates on market failure, the perils and

potential of monopoly, wage and income inequality, and the merits and morality (for both producer and recipient beneficiary) of income redistribution.

4. Advanced Placement Microeconomics, Unit 5 (Activities 5-1 to 5-7) Ethical Decision Making/Character Education Students will consider the best way to provide for both national economic efficiency (and competitiveness) and consumer protection. Students will be asked to apply a cost benefit analysis to the anti-trust statutory / regulatory presence of consumer protection and the attendant costs of doing business in the United States. Students will evaluate the impact on national economic competitiveness vis-à-vis global competitors. Students will debate the relative merits of public-goods, income redistribution, social-insurance programs, Social Security, workers’ compensation, public-assistance program, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, etc.

17

21st Century Life Skills: Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Creativity & Innovation Students will consider the role and responsibilities of civil government during times of economic contraction and crisis. Students will debate the merits of governmental activism versus restraint in the context of which will better minimize and shorten the debilitating effects of a poor economy on the individual, the family, the firm, and the economy as a whole. Students will draft a position paper detailing the proper governmental response to a severe downturn in the U.S. economy that is based on historical models and relevant economic data. Students will consider the great divide in economics: Keynesians versus The Chicago School and will read an apposite sampling of the “literature of the field.” From John Maynard Keynes versus Friedrich Hayek, from Milton Friedman versus Paul Krugman, students will partake in an economic (transitioning to macroeconomic) “battle royal” to determine the best policy path in pursuit economic growth and stability.

18

Macroeconomics The complimentary end and design of the AP course in macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole. The course will focus on such factors as inflation, unemployment, business cycles, and growth. The course will provide aggregate considerations (a totality of view) of national income, price level determination, financial sector(s), government spending and monetary policies, government redistribution policies, government regulatory efforts as authorized by statutory and administrative law, as well as international trade. Unit 1 Topics

• Basic Economic Concepts [CR1] [CR8] [CR9] o Scarcity, choice, and opportunity costs o Production possibilities curve o Comparative advantage, specialization, and exchange o Demand, supply and market equilibrium o Macroeconomic issues: business cycle, unemployment, inflation, growth

• Measurement of Economic Performance [CR2] o National income accounts

Circular flow Gross domestic product Components of gross domestic product Real versus nominal gross domestic product

o Inflation measurement and adjustment Price indices Nominal and real values Costs of inflation

o Unemployment Definition and measurement Types of unemployment Natural rate of unemployment

• Economic Growth [CR6] o Definition of economic growth o Determinants of economic growth

Investment in human capital Investment in physical capital Research and development, and technological progress

o Growth policy

19

Objectives: Students will be able to … • Explain why scarcity and choice are the basic problems in economics. • Explain how to make decisions by comparing marginal costs and marginal benefits. • Define opportunity cost and explain its relationship to economic reasoning. • Determine and discuss the impact of scarcity on human decision-making and economic activity. • Demonstrate opportunity cost with the production possibility curve. • State the principal of increasing marginal utility cost. • Relate the concept of comparative advantage to the production possibility curve. • Define market economics. • Explain the difference between the long-run framework and the short-run framework. • Summarize and explain relevant statistics about growth, business cycles, unemployment, and inflation.. • Explain the benefits and costs of growth. • Identify the four phases of the business cycle. • Explain how unemployment is measured and explain some microeconomic categories of unemployment. • Define and explain the [potential] causes of inflation. • Identify two important costs of inflation. • Define GDP and list the four expenditure components of aggregate output. • Calculate GDP without double - accounting. • Distinguish between and explain real GDP and nominal GDP. • Describe the shortcomings of using GDP. • Define growth and relate it to living standards. • Identify and explain five determinants of growth. • Identify and explain five policies related to growth policies.

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Economic Growth, Business Cycles, Unemployment, and Inflation



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to issues of economic growth, the business cycle, unemployment and inflation. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.A.4 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.1 9.1.12.F.5

20

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS The Production Possibilities Model, Trade, and Globalization


Economics Chapter 25

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to issues of productive capacity, benefits of trade, and global cooperation and competition. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.A.4 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.1 9.1.12.F.5

Growth, Productivity, and the Wealth of Nations


Economics Chapter 26

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to issues of economic growth, productivity, and the foundational sources of national wealth. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.A.4 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.1 9.1.12.F.5

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; selected chapters / excerpts from P.J. O'Rourke's Eat the Rich *Teacher's Note: the curriculum / audit does deviate from the topic ordering of the Macroeconomics Summary Outline. Section VI is listed as III as it provides a more sequential method of presentation based on the class text.

21

Assessments: 1. Unit Examination (two day administration): multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, one long FRQ, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Informal and formal assessment of student understanding as observed in class discussion on the historical and present - day macroeconomic

performance of the United States and what policies have mitigated the effects of the business cycle, lowered unemployment, stabilized prices, and promoted economic growth. (These concepts will be revisited and reinforced during class treatment and consideration of chapters 31 and 32).

4. Advanced Placement Macroeconomics, Unit 1 (Activities 1-2 to 1-10), Unit 2 (Activities 2-1 to 2-6), Unit 6 (Activities 6-1 to 6-3) 21st Century Life Skills: Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Creativity & Innovation Students will consider the role and responsibilities of civil government during times of economic contraction and crisis. Students will debate the merits of governmental activism versus restraint in the context of which will better minimize and shorten the debilitating effects of a poor economy on the individual, the family, the firm, and the economy as a whole. Students will draft a position paper detailing the proper governmental response to a severe downturn in the U.S. economy that is based on historical models and relevant economic data. Unit 2 National Income and Price Determination [CR3] [CR8] [CR9]

• Aggregate demand o Determinants of aggregate demand o Multiplier and crowding-out effects

• Aggregate supply o Short-run and long-run analyses o Sticky versus flexible wages and prices o Determinants of aggregate supply

• Macroeconomic equilibrium o Real out put and price level o Short and long run o Actual versus full-employment output o Business cycle and economic fluctuations

22

Objectives: Students will be able to … • Explain the shape of the aggregate demand curve. • Explain the shape of the short-run aggregate supply curve and describe what factors shift the curve. • Explain the shape of the long-run aggregate supply curve. • Show the effects of shifts of the aggregate demand and aggregate supply curves on the price level and output in both the short run and the

long run. • Explain how dynamic feedback effects could destabilize the economy.

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Economic Growth, Business Cycles, Unemployment, and Inflation



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to issues of economic growth, the business cycle, unemployment and inflation. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.1.12.A.1 9.1.12.A.4 9.1.12.B.1 9.1.12.F.1 9.1.12.F.5

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 27 Assessments:

1. Unit Examination (one day): multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Advanced Placement Macroeconomics, Unit 3, Activities 3 - 1 to 3 - 9

21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problems Solving Students will read apposite excerpts of J.M. Keynes’s The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money and Milton Freidman’s A Monetary History of the United States. Students will examine a chart detailing rates of unemployment and inflation 1930 – 1980 (“Effects of Changing Monetary Policies of the Fed") … to determine potential and pitfall of short-run and long-run growth strategies. Students will write an argumentative essay in support of the Keynes or Friedman model. This theme will be revisited and expanded during consideration and treatment of Chapter 31: Monetary Policy.

23

Unit 3 Financial Sector [CR4] • Money, banking, and financial markets

o Definition of financial assets: money, stocks, bonds o Time value of money (present and future value) o Measures of money supply o Banks and creation of money o Money demand o Money market and the equilibrium nominal interest rate

• Loanable funds market o Supply of and demand for loanable funds o Equilibrium real interest rate o Crowding out

• Central bank and control of the money supply o Tools of central bank policy o Quantity theory of money o Real versus nominal interest rates


• Explain why the financial sector is central to almost all macroeconomic debates. • Identify and define financial assets. • Show graphically how the long - term interest rate is determined. • Explain what money is and provide three functions of money. • Explain how banks create money. • Calculate the simple money multiplier and the money multiplier. • Explain why people hold money and how the short-term interest rate is determined by the money market. • Distinguish sound finance from functional finance. • List six assumptions of the AS / AD model that lead to potential problems with the use of fiscal policy. • Identify and describe the operation of the Loanable Funds Market. • Define and demonstrate graphically the Crowding Out effect. • Explain how monetary policy works in the AS / AD model. • Summarize the structure and duties of the Fed. • Describe how the Fed changes the supply of money primarily through open market operations. • Define Federal funds rate and discuss how the Fed uses it as an intermediate target. • State the Taylor Rule and explain its relevance to monetary policy. • Define the yield curve and explain how its shape reflects the limit of the Fed's ability to control the economy. • Contrast and calculate nominal interest rates and real interest rates. • Explain the advantages and disadvantages of expansionary and contractionary monetary policies.

24

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS The Financial Sector and the Economy



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to the financial sector's impact on macroeconomic debate(s) and transactional activities. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.6 9.2.12.E.1 9.2.12.E.2

The Modern Fiscal Policy Dilemma I


Colander, Economics Chapter 35, pp. 818 - 827

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to finance. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.6 9.2.12.E.1 9.2.12.E.2

Monetary Policy • Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions


Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to the operations of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and Monetary Policy. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities, www.reffonomics.com Videos: The Fed Today and The Drawing Board: Independent Federal Reserve.

9.2.12.B.8

25

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 30; Chapter 35, pp. 818 - 827; Chapter 31 Assessments:

1. Unit Examination multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Advanced Placement Macroeconomics, Unit 4 (Activities 4-1 to 4-9, Unit 5 (Activity 5 - 7). Unit 5 (Activities 5-1 to 5-9)

21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problems Solving In order to apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies during structured learning experiences, students will research (using library resources and the internet) and write an expository essay in answer to the essential question: How does the United States government’s control of the money supply affects the functions and performance of the nation’s economy? At chapter’s end, as a culminating experience, students will write an argumentative essay is support of national monetary policy that will best secure the nation’s long-term fiscal health and stability. Students will read “Struggling to Make Sense of Quantitative Easing” from 18 November 2010 from The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704104104575622391315727432.html) and debate the merits of this policy branded as “irrational and ill-judged” to “a respectable and sound monetary tool.” Students will examine the historical record (as employed in the United States and other countries) of this policy to determine its soundness as a hedge against economic stagnation and decline. Students will try to determine what amount, if any, is the optimal (or safe) percentage of national debt to be purchased internally by the government. Students will debate the wisdom of Congress’s 1977 “dual mandate” that directed the Federal Reserve “to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment (emphasis added) stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.” Does this provision demanding “maximum employment” place the Federal Reserve squarely in the realm of politics as opposed to insulating it and maintaining its purported independence? Unit 4 Stabilization Policies [CR5]

• Fiscal and monetary policies o Demand-side effects o Supply-side effects o Policy mix o Government deficits and debt

• The Phillips curve o Short-run and long-run Phillips curves o Demand-pull versus cost-push inflation o Role of expectations

26

Objectives: Students will be able to … • Explain how automatic stabilizers work. • Define and distinguish the terms deficit, surplus, and debt. • Distinguish between a passive deficit and a structural debt. • Differentiate between real and nominal deficits and surpluses. • Explain why the debt needs to judged relative to assets. • Describe and explain the historical record for U.S. deficits and debt. • State some of th distributional effects of inflation. • Explain how inflation expectations are formed. • Differentiate between long-run and short-run Phillips curves. • Define and describe demand - pull and cost - push inflation.

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS Building Fiscal Policies into Institutions


Colander, Economics Chapter 35, pp. 827 - 832

Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to fiscal policy and automatic stabilizers. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.F.2 9.2.12.F.4 9.2.12.F.7

Deficits and Debt • Quiz / Exam • Text Based Concepts and Activities: Lessons and Worksheets • AP Objective and Free Response Question(s) • Q & A / Discussions


Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to government debt and deficit spending. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.

FirstClass Workspace, SmartBoard activities, www.reffonomics.com www.usdebtclock.org/

9.2.12.F.2 9.2.12.F.4 9.2.12.F.7

27

Inflation and the Phillips Curve



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to theories of inflation and its effects (unemployment and growth). Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.B.5

Readings: Colander, Economics - Chapter 27

Assessments: 1. Unit Examination multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Advanced Placement Macroeconomics, Unit 4 (Activities 4-1 to 4-9) Unit 5 (Activity 5-7), Unit 5 (Activities 5-1 to 5-9)

21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving With a federal debt soon to be in excess of $17 trillion (as of August 16, 2013) and unfunded liabilities (by 2060) in excess of $100 trillion, students will examine four different plans (or approaches) that attempt to deal with the continued growth of annual federal deficits and overall debt: The Moment of Truth REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND REFORM, December 2010 (Alan Simpson & Erskine Bowles), http://bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/debt-initiative/about (Alice Rivlin & Pete Domenici), The President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/ 2011/09/19/president-s-plan-economic-growth-and-deficit-reduction-0 (Jack Lew) and http://roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/ (Paul Ryan). Students will use an interactive game "You Fix the Budget" http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html in order to determine and propose cuts to the federal budget. Debate: Is debt that national debt a danger to the long-term economic viability and stability of the United States? Students will debate the issue and draft an affirmative or negative construction in support of their claim. Sources: Paul Krugman [Dwindling Deficit Disorder http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/opinion/krugman-dwindling-deficit-disorder.html? & "Nobody Understands Debt" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/krugman-nobody-understands-debt.html ] and Michael Tanner [http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/339188/debt-deniers-fantasy-michael-tanner ]

28

Unit 5 Open Economy: International Trade and Finance [CR7] [CR8]

• Balance of payments accounts o Balance of trade o Current account o Financial account (formerly known as capital account)

• Foreign exchange market o Demand for and supply of foreign exchange o Exchange rate determination o Currency appreciation and depreciation

• Imports, exports, and financial capital flows • Relationships between international and domestic financial and goods markets


• Describe the balance of payments and the trade balance, and relate them to supply and demand for currencies. • Present the current account of the United States. • Describe the financial account (or capital account). • List and explain the fundamental determinants of exchange rates. • Explain how a country influences its exchange rate by using monetary or fiscal policy. • Explain how a country stabilizes or fixes its exchange rate. • Differentiate fixed, flexible, and partially flexible exchange rates, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. • Explain the importance of currency appreciation, depreciation, and stabilization. • Describe the paths through which monetary policy affects the trade balance. • Explain the paths through which fiscal policy affects the trade balance. • Summarize the reasons why governments try to coordinate their monetary and fiscal policies. • Define imports, exports, and capital flows. • Describe the relationship between international and domestic financial and goods markets

29

Topic/Content Skills Assessments Resources Instructional Method Tech Infusion NJCCCS International Financial Policy



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to international financial policy and exchange rates. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.7 9.2.12.F.3

Macro Policy in a Global Setting



Lecture (Theme / Concept Introduction), group work activities including problem based learning related to international an domestic goals of American trade. Examine multiple choice and free response questions.


9.2.12.A.7 9.2.12.F.3

Assessments:

1. Unit Examination multiple - choice / objective AP - style questions, two short - answer FRQs. 2. Deconstruct multiple choice /objective and Free Response questions to assess student understanding / content mastery and provide

preparatory instruction for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3. Advanced Placement Macroeconomics, Unit 7 (Activities 7-1 to 7-5)

21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Students will read two contending opinions regarding Chinese currency manipulation and the resultant trade advantages enjoyed by the world's second largest economy and closest rival to the United States. Students will draft a policy position paper on how best to deal with ChinaEdward Lazear: Chinese 'Currency Manipulation' Is Not the Problem : An analysis of trade patterns with the U.S. and Europe shows that the yuan's value has not affected the numbers. Wall Street Journal … www.online.wsj.com/article Taking On China New York Times March 15, 2010 , OP-ED By Paul Krugman

advanced placement microeconomics and macroeconomics course description...

Documents