ECONOMICS
Economics is not about money.
Economics is about choice.
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, brewer, or baker, that we expect our dinner but from their regard to their own interest
- Adam Smith
Fundamentals of Economics
Economics is a social science, and like all social sciences, it is a study concerned with the interaction of people. In the case of Economics, it is the study in which individuals, businesses, and nations interact with scarce resources. Scarcity is the basic economic problem. People have unlimited wants, but finite resources. Therefore, they must make choices.
Economists are concerned with how an economic system answers the three basic economic questions: "What to produce?", "How to produce?", and "For whom to produce?".
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is the study of economic decision by individuals,
households, businesses (firms)
We consider the impact of supply and demand; Elasticities; market structures; costs, revenue, and profit; and market failures.
Macroeconomics
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Macroeconomics is the study of
entire economics: All of the supply curves, all of the demand curves for all goods and services in an economy.
We consider the relationship between several macroeconomic goals:
Economic Growth
Unemployment
Inflation
International Economics​
International economics is the study of the interactions between economies.
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In this unit we look at:
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Comparative and Absolute advantage
Exchange Rates​
Protectionism versus Free Trade
Economics of Developing Nations
In this unit we apply International Economic concepts specifically tothe economics of less-developed nations
(formerly called third World Nations)
We look at poverty cycles and poverty traps, equity, and the role of commodity-based economies versus manufacturing industry-based economies