Course Description¶
Title: Introduction to Economics Subtitle: An Interactive Intelligent Textbook with Simulations
Overview¶
This course provides an introduction to fundamental economic concepts and principles for high school students. It covers both microeconomics and macroeconomics concepts.
The course is built around the use of interactive micro-simulations (MicroSims) that students interact with to learn economic principles. For example, as students adjust the "Price" slider they can see how price changes alter the demand for a product.
Our goal is to create many real-world scenarios showing how students can use economics principles in their daily lives. This includes helping students understand how personal finance strategies are impacted by concepts such as inflation and stock market volatility.
Why This Class Is Important for High School Students¶
Economics provides many ways to help students understand the world around them and become better critical thinkers. Although we study simple models, we also focus on helping students develop strong systems thinking skills and understand the role of statistics, data science, causality, psychology, and human behavior when building economic models. We draw on extensive case studies for both students who live in large cities and rural areas. A big part of this class helps students become better at detecting misinformation in social media and becoming skeptical about claims that are not backed up by a strong understanding of economic principles.
One of the major weaknesses of prior economics textbooks is that they put too much focus on the creation and distribution of physical goods. In today's digital economy, we also focus on the distribution of electronic information products such as internet search and social networks, and the rules such as network effects that govern the winner-take-all economics of modern culture.
Target Audience¶
The ideal audience is high school students who have completed an Algebra-1 course. Although we don't depend heavily on complex mathematics, we have many optional learning paths for students to apply algebra and pre-calculus topics. There are even some optional examples that use basic calculus for advanced students.
Prerequisites¶
No prior economics knowledge required. Algebra-1 completion recommended.
Topics Covered¶
Foundations of Economics¶
- What is economics and why it matters
- Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost
- Economic systems (market, command, mixed)
- The role of incentives in decision-making
- Economic models and their limitations
- Systems thinking in economics
Microeconomics¶
- Supply and demand fundamentals
- Market equilibrium and price discovery
- Elasticity of demand and supply
- Consumer behavior and utility
- Production and costs
- Market structures (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition)
- Market failures and externalities
- Public goods and common resources
Macroeconomics¶
- Measuring the economy (GDP, unemployment, inflation)
- Business cycles and economic fluctuations
- Money, banking, and the Federal Reserve
- Fiscal policy (government spending and taxation)
- Monetary policy (interest rates and money supply)
- International trade and comparative advantage
- Exchange rates and global markets
Personal Finance and Applied Economics¶
- Budgeting and saving strategies
- Compound interest and time value of money
- Credit, debt, and borrowing decisions
- Investment basics (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
- Risk and diversification
- Inflation's impact on purchasing power
- Career economics and human capital
Digital Economy¶
- Network effects and platform economics
- Winner-take-all markets
- Information goods and marginal costs
- Digital advertising and attention economics
- Sharing economy and gig work
- Cryptocurrency and blockchain basics
Critical Thinking and Media Literacy¶
- Identifying economic misinformation
- Correlation vs. causation in economic claims
- Reading and interpreting economic data
- Evaluating policy proposals
- Understanding statistical manipulation
Topics NOT Covered¶
This introductory course does not cover the following advanced topics:
Advanced Mathematical Economics¶
- Multivariate calculus optimization
- Econometric regression analysis
- Game theory proofs and Nash equilibrium derivations
- General equilibrium theory
- Dynamic stochastic models
Specialized Fields¶
- Behavioral economics (covered only briefly)
- Environmental economics and carbon markets
- Health economics
- Labor economics (beyond basics)
- Development economics
- Economic history in depth
Advanced Finance¶
- Options and derivatives pricing
- Portfolio theory and CAPM
- Corporate finance and valuation
- Technical stock analysis
- Cryptocurrency trading strategies
Policy and Political Economy¶
- Detailed tax policy analysis
- Social Security and Medicare economics
- Housing policy
- Immigration economics
- Political economy and public choice theory
International Topics¶
- International finance and currency crises
- Trade agreements and WTO
- Emerging market economics
- Economic sanctions
Learning Objectives by Bloom's Taxonomy (2001 Revised)¶
Level 1: Remember¶
Students will be able to:
- Define key economic terms (scarcity, opportunity cost, supply, demand, equilibrium, GDP, inflation)
- List the characteristics of different market structures
- Identify the components of GDP
- Recall the functions of money
- Name the tools of fiscal and monetary policy
- State the law of supply and the law of demand
Level 2: Understand¶
Students will be able to:
- Explain why scarcity forces economic choices
- Describe how prices coordinate economic activity in markets
- Summarize the causes and effects of inflation
- Interpret supply and demand graphs
- Explain the relationship between interest rates and borrowing
- Describe how network effects create winner-take-all markets
- Paraphrase the concept of comparative advantage
Level 3: Apply¶
Students will be able to:
- Use supply and demand models to predict price changes
- Calculate opportunity costs in decision-making scenarios
- Apply the concept of elasticity to real-world pricing decisions
- Compute compound interest for savings and loan scenarios
- Use economic indicators to assess current economic conditions
- Apply marginal analysis to personal and business decisions
- Demonstrate budgeting principles in personal finance scenarios
Level 4: Analyze¶
Students will be able to:
- Analyze how changes in one market affect related markets
- Compare and contrast different market structures
- Differentiate between correlation and causation in economic claims
- Examine the trade-offs in economic policy decisions
- Analyze the impact of technology on market competition
- Distinguish between short-run and long-run economic effects
- Break down the components of economic news stories
Level 5: Evaluate¶
Students will be able to:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies
- Assess the validity of economic arguments in media
- Judge the trade-offs between efficiency and equity
- Critique economic models and their assumptions
- Evaluate personal financial decisions using economic principles
- Assess the credibility of economic predictions and forecasts
- Appraise the costs and benefits of government intervention
Level 6: Create¶
Students will be able to:
- Design a personal budget based on economic principles
- Construct supply and demand models for new scenarios
- Develop investment strategies based on risk tolerance
- Create presentations explaining economic concepts to peers
- Formulate policy proposals to address economic problems
- Build simple economic simulations using interactive tools
- Propose solutions to market failure scenarios