Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Credits from this course qualify for general education purposes at Portland Community College and may be applied toward satisfying Associates Degrees at Portland Community College.  Books and other materials are at the discretion of each course instructor.  Prices for texts and/or other materials may be found at the Portland Community College bookstore. 

Upon successful completion, students should be able to:

1. Think critically and formulate independent and well-considered conclusions about economic issues and
   policies.
2. Effectively participate in the political process and the economy by utilizing an understanding of the historical
   evolution of economic systems, institutions and ideologies.
3. Understand different paradigmatic perspectives regarding the stability or instability of the macroeconomy.
4. Evaluate different public policy options for addressing macroeconomic issues and problems.
5. Make rational decisions based on rudimentary marginal analyses.

This course may include lecture and discussion formats utilizing faculty expertise, texts, supplementary reading materials, films, speakers, and other classroom aids at the discretion of the instructor.  Regular attendance and completion of assigned reading are essential to the successful completion of this course.  Instructors will teach in accordance with the goals and objectives listed in this Course Content Guide.  The course Content Guides are developed by college-wide subject area faculty and are approved by management. 

Traditional and nontraditional techniques will be used to assess student mastery of the content, competencies, and outcomes. These techniques can asses either product sor processes:

Products: multiple choice exams, essays, individual group projects, student demonstrations, research projects, other projects with
               specified rating criteria, and portfolios.

Processes: interviews, documented observations, web searches, journals, student self-evaluations.

• What macroeconomics tries to explain; an introduction to GDP growth and fluctuations.

• Macroeconomic measurement; Output, income, employment, and inflation.

• The economy in the long run; explaining trends in output, labor, and financial markets; economic growth.   

• The economy in the short run; explaining economic fluctuations.

• Economic policy; the role of the Federal Reserve; fiscal policy and the government budget.

• The international economy; exchange rates, the balance of payments; monetary and fiscal policy in an open economy

Skills and competencies

• Build a vocabulary of economic terms that will enable the student to find the daily reading of papers and periodicals easier and more meaningful.

• Develop the ability to summarize an argument, understand economic reports, and to discern between positive and normative statements.

• Develop the ability to acquire and analyze quantitative data and make mathematical computations using formulas.

• Develop the ability to use and apply theoretical models.

• Develop the ability to think clearly about policy tradeoffs.