Principles of Economics 2e – Enhanced with Econblox Videos
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This course includes:
280+
Econblox videos
657
practice questions
81
engagement activities
2258
assessment questions
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Principles of Economics 2e Course Outline
What is economics?
Concepts Covered:
- Why is economics important?
- What are the differences between microeconomics and macroeconomics?
- How can economists use theories and models to understand economic issues?
- How are economies organized?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- How to Plot a Line
- Measuring Slopes
- Different Types of Slopes
- Intersection of Two Lines
- Curved Line: Slopes and Tangents
- Dividing by Fractions
- Compound Interest
- Present and Future Values of Money
- Calculating the Roof Costs Using Present Values
- Rational Economic Exchange
- Circular Flow of Income
How does scarcity affect economies?
Concepts Covered:
- How should individuals make choices based on budget constraints?
- How does production possibilities frontier influence social choices?
- What are the major objections to economic approaches to decision making?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Opportunity Cost Versus Choice
- Definition of Economics and Opportunity Cost
- Corporate Spending Choices
- Government Spending Choices
- Production Possibility Frontier – Plans and Fans
- Production Possibility Frontier – Apples and Ore
- Production Possibilities Frontier
- Selfish vs. Self-Interest
- Characteristics of Proposals
Why is the relationship between supply and demand important?
Concepts Covered:
- How does demand and supply affect markets for goods and services?
- How does demand and supply shift for goods and services?
- How are changes in equilibrium price and quantity a four-step process?
- What are price ceilings and price floors?
- How does demand and supply relate to efficiency?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Compilation – Demand Curve
- Movement Along the Demand Curve – Quantity Demanded Decrease
- Movement Along the Demand Curve – Quantity Demanded Increase
- Law of Demand
- Change in Demand – Increase
- Change in Demand – Decrease
- Compilation – Supply Curve
- Moving Along the Supply Curve
- Law of Supply
- Increase in Supply
- Decrease in Supply
- Increase or Decrease in Demand
- Number of Buyers Increases Demand
- Expectations Can Shift Demand
- Variables Shift Supply Curves – Input Prices
- Variables Shift Supply Curves – Technology
- Giffen Goods: Main Video
- Giffen Goods: Key Concept
- Compilation – Market Equilibrium
- Price As Control
- Increase or Decrease in Demand
- Increase or Decrease in Supply
- Demand Increase, Supply Increase
- Demand Decrease, Supply Decrease
- Demand Decrease, Supply Increase
- Demand Increase, Supply Decrease
- Opportunity Cost – Green Space
- Price Controls
- Price Floor
- Disequilibrium Pricing: Main Video
- Disequilibrium Pricing: Key Concept
- Producer Surplus Consumer Surplus
- Consumer Surplus, Producer Surplus
- Consumer Surplus – Western Omelet
- Price Discrimination: Main Video
- Price Discrimination: Key Concept
- Price Discrimination – Elasticity: Main Video
- Price Discrimination – Elasticity: Key Concept
What factors affect the labor and financial markets?
Concepts Covered:
- How do demand and supply work in labor markets?
- Who are the demanders and suppliers in a financial market?
- How does the market system serve as an efficient mechanism for information?
What is elasticity?
Concepts Covered:
- How is the price elasticities of demand and supply calculated?
- What are polar cases of elasticity?
- How does elasticity affect pricing?
- What are other areas affected by elasticity?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Price Elasticity
- Elastic Goods
- Inelastic Goods
- Unit Elastic Goods
- Compilation – Price Elasticity of Supply
- Perfectly Inelastic Supply
- Inelastic Supply
- Unit Elastic Supply
- Elastic Supply
- Perfectly Elastic Supply
- Tax Incidence
- How Taxes Affect Supply and Demand
- Tax and Elasticity of Demand, Perfectly Inelastic Demand
- Tax and Elasticity of Demand, Perfectly Elastic Demand
- Tax and Elasticity of Supply, Perfectly Elastic Supply
- Tax and Elasticity of Supply, Perfectly Inelastic Supply
- Tax That Affects Both Buyers and Sellers
- Three Types of Elasticity
- Income Elasticity of Demand
- Income Elasticity – Normal Goods
- Income Elasticity – Necessary Goods
- Income Elasticity – Luxury Goods
- Income Elasticity – Inferior Goods
- Income Elasticity of Demand
- Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand
- Cross-Price Elasticity & Substitute Goods
- Cross-Price Elasticity & Complementary Goods
How do consumers make choices?
Concepts Covered:
- What are consumption choices?
- How can changes in income and prices affect consumption choices?
- What are labor-leisure choices?
- How do intertemporal affect financial capital markets?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Diminishing Marginal Utility: Main Video
- Diminishing Marginal Utility: Key Concept
- Diminishing Marginal Utility Thanksgiving Dinner
- Diminishing Marginal Utility Food and Clothes
- Diminishing Marginal Utility: Key Concept
How does cost affect industry structure?
Concepts Covered:
- How does explicit and implicit costs affect accounting and economic profit?
- How is the structure of costs designed for the short run?
- How is the structure of costs designed for the long run?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Costs of Production
- Total Cost Definition
- Average Costs and Returns to Scale
- Marginal Product
- Production Curve
- Diminishing Marginal Product
- Marginal Cost and Average Fixed Cost
- Marginal Cost Definition
- Marginal Cost Example
- Average Fixed Cost
- Declining Average Cost: Main Video
- Declining Average Cost: Key Concept
What makes perfect competition?
Concepts Covered:
- Why does perfect competition matters?
- How does perfectly competitive firms make output decisions?
- How are entry and exit decisions made for the long run?
- Why is efficiency important in perfectly competitive markets?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Four Market Structures
- Oligopoly Example – Home Improvement Market
- Four Market Structures
- Market Structures – Market Power
- Market Structures Entry Barriers
- Characteristics of the Four Market Structures
- Four Markets Characteristics
- Perfect Competition Characteristics
- Perfect Competition – Introduction
- Perfect Competition – Four Scenario Introduction
- Long-Run Equibrium
- Perfect Competition – Profit Scenario
- Pig Farm Cost Summary
- Profit Scenario Break-even Point
- Profit Scenario Graphs
- Profit Scenario
- Perfect Competition: Loss Scenario No Shutdown
- Loss Scenario – No Shutdown
- Loss Scenario Graphs
- Shutdown Scenario
- How Price Affects the Firm’s Decision in Perfect Competition
- Loss Scenario – Shutdown
- Market Supply and Demand Curves
- Market Supply and Demand
- Market Demand Curve in Perfect Competition
What is a monopoly?
Concepts Covered:
- How are monopolies formed?
- How does a profit-maximizing monopoly choose outputs and prices?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- An Introduction to Monopoly
- Monopoly Definition
- Market Structures – Monopoly
- Natural Monopoly Low Average Cost
- Natural Monopoly Definition
- Natural Monopoly Google & Utilities
- Natural Monopoly
What is the difference between monopolistic competition and oligopoly?
Concepts Covered:
- What is monopolistic competition?
- What is oligopoly?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Visiting Chick-Fil-A – Monopolistic Competition
- Introduction to Monopolistic Competition
- Monopolistic Competition Definition
- Short-Run Profits
- Ebb and Flow of Monopolistic Competition
- Monopolistic Competition – Market Growth
- Dynamics of Monopolistic Competition
- Monopolistic Competition – Equilibrium
- Short-Run Profit Cost Curves
- Price Collusion
- Oligopoly Introduction
- Oligopoly Definition
- Oligopoly Features
- Regulation and the U.S. Airline Industry
How does monopoly relate to the antitrust policy?
Concepts Covered:
- What are corporate mergers?
- How is anticompetitive behavior regulated?
- How are natural monopolies regulated?
- What is the great deregulation experiment?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Oligopoly – Airlines Versus OPEC
- How Collusion Affects Price
- OPEC Versus Airline Industry
How does environmental protection relate to negative externalities?
Concepts Covered:
- What are the economics of pollution?
- What is command-and-control regulation?
- What are examples of market-oriented environmental tools?
- What are the benefits and costs of U.S. environmental laws?
- What are examples of international environmental issues?
- What is the tradeoff between economic output and environmental protection?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Negative Externalities in Production
What are the positive externalities in public goods?
Concepts Covered:
- Why does the private sector under invests in innovation?
- How can governments encourage innovation?
- What are public goods?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Public Goods
- Differences Between Public and Private Goods
- Free Rider Problem
Why are unions, discrimination, and immigration issues in the labor markets?
Concepts Covered:
- What is the Theory of Labor Markets?
- What role do Wages and Employment play in an Imperfectly Competitive Market?
- What are unions?
- What is a bilateral Monopoly?
- How does employment discrimination happen?
- Why does immigration matter?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- The Firm’s Hiring Decision
- Marginal Product
- Marginal Product Definition
- Marginal Revenue Product Definition
- Marginal Product and Hiring
- Why Wages Vary
- Compensating Wage Differential
- Compensating Wage Differential
What are the problems with poverty and economic inequality?
Concepts Covered:
- Where is the poverty line drawn?
- What is the poverty trap?
- What is the safety net?
- What are the measurements and causes of income inequality?
- How do government policies help reduce income inequality?
How does information and risk relate to insurance?
Concepts Covered:
- What is the problem with imperfect information and asymmetric information?
- Why does insurance have imperfect information?
What role does financial markets play in society?
Concepts Covered:
- How do businesses raise financial capital?
- How do households supply financial capital?
- How is personal wealth accumulated?
What is public economy?
Concepts Covered:
- How does voter participation affect costs of elections?
- What are special interest politics?
- What are flaws in the democratic system of government?
What is the macroeconomic perspective?
Concepts Covered:
- How is the size of the economy measured?
- How are nominal values adjusted to real values?
- How is the real GDP tracked over time?
- How is GDP compared across countries?
- How well does the GDP measure the well-being of society?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Calculating GDP
- Size of the U.S. GDP
- Two Methods for Calculating GDP
- GDP Formula Y= C + I +G + Nx
- Calculating GDP – Value Added Method
- How Housing Contributes to GDP
- GDP vs. GNP
- Unreported Activity and GDP
- Benefits of Allowing Cross-border Trade
- Capital Stock and Flow Variables
- Capital and Physics Capital
- Calculating Net Investment
- Stock and Flow Variables – Bathtub analogy
- How Investment Increases GDP
- Saving and Investment
- Definition of Investment in Economics
- How Investment and Saving work
- Connecting Saving and Investment
- Nominal Vs. Real Quantities
- Comparing Years
- Comparing Movie Box Office Takes
What is economic growth?
Concepts Covered:
- Why has economic growth only occurred relatively recently?
- How is labor productivity related to economic growth?
- What are the components of economic growth?
- What is economic convergence?
How does unemployment affect an economy?
Concepts Covered:
- How is the unemployment rate defined and computed?
- What are the key patterns of unemployment?
- What causes change in unemployment over the short run?
- What causes change in unemployment over the long run?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Population: Employment and Unemployment
- Calculating the Size and Composition of the Civilian Labor Force
- Calculating Labor Participation Rate
- Calculating the Unemployment Rate
- Real GDP and Unemployment
- Unemployment and the Recessionary Gap
- Three Types of Unemployment
- Unemployment Formula
- Cycilcal Unemployment in a Recessionary Gap
What is inflation?
Concepts Covered:
- How is inflation tracked?
- How are changes in the cost of living are measured?
- How do the U.S. and other countries experience inflation?
- Why is there confusion over inflation?
- What is indexing, and what are its limitations?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- GDP Deflator vs. CPI
- GDP Deflator and the CPI
- How to Calculate the CPI
- Using the CPI to Compare Prices
- Key Concept – Calculate the GDP Deflator
- Comparing the GDP to CPI
- Interest Rates vs. Bond Prices
- Three Motives for Holding Money
- Opportunity Cost and Low Interest Rates
- Why Interest Rates and Bond Prices Change
What defines international trade?
Concepts Covered:
- How are trade balances measured?
- What are the historical and international contexts for trade balances?
- How are trade balances related to flows of financial capital?
- What is the national saving and investment identity?
- What are the pros and cons of trade deficits and surpluses?
- What is the difference between level of trade and the trade balance?
What is the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model?
Concepts Covered:
- What are macroeconomic perspectives on demand and supply?
- How do economists build models of aggregate demand and aggregate supply?
- What happens when there are shifts in aggregate supply?
- What happens when there are shifts in aggregate demand?
- How does the AD/AS model incorporate growth, unemployment, and inflation?
- How does the AD/AS model incorporate Keynes’ law and Say’s law?
What is the Keynesian Perspective?
Concepts Covered:
- What is the Keynesian analysis of aggregate demand?
- What are the building blocks of Keynesian Analysis?
- What is the Phillips Curve?
- How are market forces defined by the Keynesian Perspective?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Circular Flow of Income
- Four-Sector Model Resources and Markets
- Four-Sector Model Productive Saving
- Four-Sector Model Government Spending
- Four-Sector Model International Trade
- Four-Sector Model Productive Uses of Outflows
- Inflationary Gap Without Government Intervention
- How an Inflationary Gap Develops
- Spending Multiplier
- Definition of Spending Multiplies Calculate the Marginal Propensity to Consume
- Calculate the Marginal Propensity to Consume
- How Money Spent Ripples Through the Economy
- Calculate the Spending Multiplier
What is the Neoclassical Perspective?
Concepts Covered:
- What are the building blocks of Neoclassical Analysis?
- What are the policy implications of the Neoclassical Perspective?
- How do we balance Keynesian and Neoclassical models?
How are money and banking approached at a Macroeconomic Level?
Concepts Covered:
- How is money defined by its functions?
- How is money measured?
- What is the role of banks?
- How do banks create money?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Fractional Reserve Banking
- T-accounts
- Money Creation Through Fractional Reserve Banking
- Money Supply and the Money Multiplier
- Assumption Underlying the Money Multiplier Example
- How the System Creates Money
- Simple Money Multiplier Definition
- Recap of Assumptions
- The U.S. Money Multiplier
Why are monetary policy and bank regulation important?
Concepts Covered:
- What are the roles of the Federal Reserve and central banks in the U.S. economy?
- How are banks regulated?
- How does a central bank execute monetary policy?
- How does monetary policy affect economic outcomes?
- What are the pitfalls for monetary policy?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Money Supply
- Money Supply Definition
- Open Market Operations – Increasing the Money Supply
- Open Market Operations – Decreasing the Money Supply
- Monetary Policy
- Three Ways the Red Controls Monetary Policy
- How Quantitative Easing is Implemented
- How Monetary Policy Effect Economies
- Effect of Lower Interest Rates
- Interest Rates Affect International Money Flow
- Lower Interest Rates Increase Asset Prices
- Money Demand
- What is Money Demand
- Two Types of Assets
- Opportunity Cost of Holding Money
- Show Leather Costs
- Money Demand Curve Shifts
- Money Demand Curve Summary
What are exchange rates and international capital flows?
Concepts Covered:
- How does the foreign exchange market work?
- What do demand and supply shifts in foreign exchange markets look like?
- What are the Macroeconomic effects of exchange rates?
- What are exchange rate policies?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Currency Exchange Rates
- Equilibrium at Intersection of Supply and Demand
- Effect of Interest Rates on Currency Exchange Rates
- Government Spending Affects Exchange Rates
- Fixed Exchange Rates
How do government budgets affect fiscal policies?
Concepts Covered:
- How do governments define spending priorities?
- What are taxes?
- What is the federal deficit, and how does it relate to the national debt?
- How can fiscal policy be used to fight recession, unemployment, and inflation?
- What are automatic stabilizers?
- What are the practical problems with discretionary fiscal policy?
- What is the question of a balanced budget?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Fiscal Policy – Government Spending
- Effect of Government Spending
- Finding the Optimum Spending Level
- How Wise Government Spending Helps
- Tex Multiplier
- How Tax Reduction Ripples Through the Economy
- Calculate the Simple Tax Multiplier
- Multiplier Effect Dependent Upon Income
- Fiscal Policy – Taxation
- Reducing Government Spending to Reduce Inflation
- Increasing Taxes to reduce Inflation
- Finding the Right Balance of Taxation
- Effect of Reducing Taxes
- Unintended Effect of Temporary Tax Relief
- Fiscal Deficit vs. Debt
- How a Fiscal Deficit or Surplus is Created
- Definition of Fiscal Debt
- How Fiscal Deficits Increase Fiscal Debt
- How Much Government Debt Can We Afford?
- Population Pyramids
- Building the Population Pyramid
- Population Pyramid Changes 1945 to 2065
- Population Pyramid Changes 1965 to 2015
- Solutions to the Population Pyramid
- Population Pyramid 1945 to 2010
- Solutions to the Population Pyramid Problem
What are the impact of government borrowing?
Concepts Covered:
- How does government borrowing affect investment and the trade balance?
- What is the relationship between fiscal policy, investment, and economic growth?
- How does government borrowing affect private saving?
- How does fiscal policy affect the trade balance?
How is Macroeconomic policy implemented around the world?
Concepts Covered:
- Why are economies around the world so diverse?
- How can countries improve their standards of living?
- What are the causes of unemployment around the world?
- What are the causes of inflation in various countries and regions?
- What are the implications of trade balance in the foreign market?
How are commerce and trade handled at the international level?
Concepts Covered:
- What are absolute and comparative advantages?
- What happens when a country has an absolute advantage in all goods?
- How is intra-industry trade between similar economies handled?
- What are the benefits of reducing barriers to international trade?
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Opportunity Cost in International Trade
- Production Possibilities Frontier
- Benefits of International Trade
- How Comparative Advantage is Calculated
- Autarky vs. Specialization
- Comparative Advantage – Main Video
- Competitive Advantage – Key Concept
What is globalization and protectionism?
Concepts Covered:
- What is protectionism?
- What are the effects of international trade on jobs, wages, and working conditions?
- What are the arguments in support of restricting imports?
- How is trade policy enacted globally, regionally, and nationally?
- What are the tradeoffs of trade policy?
Appendix A: The Use of Mathematics in Principles of Economics
Appendix B: Indifference Curves
Concepts Covered:
- Includes the following Econblox videos:
- Indifference Curves
- Indifference Curves Summary
- How to Plot Indifference Curves
Professionally-produced Econblox Video Series
About the videos
Principles of Economics 2e – Enhanced with Econblox
280+ short Econblox videos supercharge The Principles of Economics 2e course, energizing students with the theory and practical application of introductory economics. It’s simple to use these mobile-optimized, HD videos, animations, and quizzes. Already embedded in the course, these essential visual learning tools can improve results and make students smile. Responsive multiple-choice quizzes make it easy to measure progress. Closed-captioned videos improve student accessibility.
About the creators:
Producers
Jay Moulton, PEng, MBA, Harvard Business School
Louise Kierans, BA Economics, McGill University
Contributing Economists
Jodi Beggs, PhD, Harvard University Greg Brock, PhD, Georgia Southern University Joe Calhoun, PhD, Florida State University Alejandro Cañadas, PhD, Mount Saint Mary’s University Marilyn Cottrell, Brock University Karl Einolf, PhD, Indiana Tech Tawni Ferrarini, PhD, Lindenwood University Shelby Frost, PhD, Georgia State University Shailendra Gajanan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh David Gray, PhD, University of Ottawa Alan Hochstein, PhD, Concordia University Mark Leclair, PhD, Fairfield University Bridget O’Shaughnessy, PhD, McMaster University Christopher Ruebeck, PhD, Lafayette College Eesha Sen Choudhury, PhD, McGill University Robert Sonora, PhD, Fort Lewis College Noreen Templin, Ed.D., Butler Community College Tamara Woroby, PhD, Towson University
About the book
Principles of Economics 2e
Principles of Economics 2e covers the scope and sequence of most introductory economics courses. The text includes many current examples, which are handled in a politically equitable way. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of economics concepts. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to increase clarity, update data and current event impacts, and incorporate the feedback from many reviewers and adopters.
About the authors:
Senior Contributing Authors
Steven A. Greenlaw, University of Mary Washington
Timothy Taylor, Macalester College
Timothy Taylor, Macalester College
David Shapiro, Pennsylvania State University
Contributing Authors
Eric Dodge, Hanover College
Cynthia Gamez, University of Texas at El Paso
Andres Jauregui, Columbus State University
Diane Keenan, Cerritos College
Craig Richardson, Winston-Salem State University
Ralph Sonenshine, American University
Dan MacDonald, California State University San Bernardino
Amyaz Moledina, The College of Wooster
Cynthia Gamez, University of Texas at El Paso
Andres Jauregui, Columbus State University
Diane Keenan, Cerritos College
Craig Richardson, Winston-Salem State University
Ralph Sonenshine, American University
Dan MacDonald, California State University San Bernardino
Amyaz Moledina, The College of Wooster
