Download Microeconomics AP

Advanced Placement Course Audit
Aventa Learning
Course: AP Microeconomics
Part I: Course Explanation and Syllabus provide to students
AP Microeconomics is a one-semester course that focuses on how economic decisions are made by
individuals, firms, and organizational structures. Demand and supply analysis is developed to
demonstrate how market prices are determined, how those prices determine an economy’s allocation of
goods and services, how factors of production are allocated in the production process, and how goods
and services are distributed throughout the economy. Students evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
of economic decision makers by using the concepts of efficiency and equity. Students also analyze and
evaluate the effects of government intervention. Emphasis is placed on reasoned logical argument so
that we can use economics as a method and model for decision making.
Part II: Overview of all content units, assignments, and assessments
Unit 1
Chapter 1 begins with a discussion of the meaning and importance of economics. In
this first chapter, however, we will not plunge into problems and issues; instead we
consider some important preliminaries. We first look at the economic perspective—
how economists think about problems. Next, we state some of the benefits of
studying economics. Then, we examine the specific methods economists use to
examine economic behavior and the economy, distinguishing between
macroeconomics and microeconomics. Finally, the problems, limitations, and pitfalls
that hinder sound economic reasoning are examined. Chapter covers opportunity
costs and the Production Possibilities Curve. The concept of comparative advantage
is introduced as the basis for world trade followed by a discussion of foreign
currencies and international exchange rates. Restrictive trade practices are
examined, which leads to a discussion of multilateral trade agreements and free-trade
regions of the globe. Students conclude with an update of how well U.S. firms are
competing in an increasingly competitive global economy.
Discussions: 1) Getting to know you;
Quizzes: scarcity, models, PPC
Assignments: Student workbook practice exercises, participate in a “live” online
group discussion or review session.
Unit 2
Students are provided a basic, but rather detailed introduction to how markets operate
as well as an introduction to demand and supply concepts. Both demand and supply
are defined and illustrated; determinants of demand and supply are listed and
explained. The concept of equilibrium and the effects of changes in demand and
supply on equilibrium price and quantity are explained and illustrated. The chapter
also includes brief discussions of supply and demand factors in resource markets and
the importance of the ceteris paribus assumption. Students begin with a discussion of
the institutional framework of the American market system. Brief explanations are
given for these characteristics of the market system: private property, freedom of
enterprise and choice, the role of self-interest, competition, markets and prices, the
reliance on technology and capital goods, specialization, use of money, and the
active, but limited role of government. In the final section of the chapter, the authors
address the Four Fundamental Questions faced by every economy and explain how a
market economy answers each one. Students are then provided descriptive details
about both the private sector (households and businesses) and the public sector
(government) in our market economy. The goal is to understand households,
businesses, and governmental units as the primary decision makers in our economy.
The circular flow diagram has been expanded to show how the public sector interacts
with two parts of the private sector.
Discussions: 1) How clean is your room? 2) Do market work best?
Quizzes: supply and demand, equilibrium, circular flow
Assignments: Student workbook practice exercises, participate in a “live” online
group discussion or review session.
Unit 3
This Unit develops a number of crucial cost concepts that will be employed in the
succeeding three chapters to analyze the four basic market models. A firm’s implicit
and explicit costs are explained for both short- and long-run periods. The explanation
of short-run costs includes arithmetic and graphic analyses of both the total-, unit-,
and marginal-cost concepts. These concepts prepare students for both totalrevenue—total-cost and marginal-revenue — marginal-cost approaches to profit
maximization, which are presented in the next few chapters. The law of diminishing
returns is explained as an essential concept for understanding average and marginal
cost curves. The general shape of each cost curve and the relationship they bear to
one another are analyzed with special care. Students’ will develop the long-run
average cost curve and analyzes the character and factors involved in economies and
diseconomies of scale. The role of technology as a determinant of the structure of the
industry is presented through several specific illustrations. Market models are
introduced and explained. It is divided into six basic sections: the characteristics of
pure monopoly; the barriers to entry that create and protect monopolies; price and
output determination under monopoly; the economic effects of monopoly; price
discrimination under monopoly; and the regulation of monopolies. Pure competition
and pure monopoly are the exceptions, not the rule, in the U.S. economy. In this
chapter, the two market structures that fall between the extremes are discussed.
Monopolistic competition contains a considerable amount of competition mixed with a
small dose of monopoly power. Oligopoly, in contrast, implies a blend of greater
monopoly power and less competition.
Discussions: 1) Pure Competition and Monopoly Comparison 2) South African AIDS
patent article.
Quizzes: costs, pure competition, monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition
Assignments: Student workbook practice exercises, participate in a “live” online
group discussion or review session
Unit 4
The basic analytical tools involved in resource pricing are the demand and supply
concepts of earlier chapters. Students focus on resource demand, followed by
resource demand with resource supply in explaining the prices of human and property
resources. The two most basic points are closely related. First the MRP = MRC rule
for resource demand is developed. Most students will recognize that the rationale
here is essentially the one underlying the MR = MC rule of previous chapters, but that
the orientation now is in terms of units of input rather than units of output. Second, the
MRP = MRC rule is applied under the assumption that resources are being hired
competitively to explain why the MRP curve is the resource demand curve. Building
on the resource demand analysis, students are provided a detailed supply and
demand analysis of wage determination in a variety of possible labor market
structures. Though the analysis may seem rigorous, it is little more than an
application of supply and demand tools.
Discussions: 1) “Do athletes make too much money?”
Quizzes: demand and supply of resources, MRC=MRP, wage determination
Assignments: Student workbook practice exercises, participate in a “live” online
group discussion or review session
Unit 5
Students cover the economic functions of government, some facts about government
expenditures and taxes, and the growth of the public sector. We extend and deepen
our understanding of government’s role in a market-oriented economy. In the
process, we identify some of the problems the government faces in carrying out its
economic functions. This chapter includes a study of public choice theory, an
economic analysis of government decision making, and selected topics related to
public expenditures and tax revenues. The theoretical discussion includes an
examination of the inefficiency of voting outcomes, interest-group influence, political
logrolling, and the paradox of voting outcomes. The median-voter model is
considered. Also examined is public sector failure, or the failure of public decisions to
promote the general welfare. Attention is then focused on how public goods are
financed. The ability-to-pay vs. the benefits-received principles of taxation are
evaluated. Progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes are defined and illustrated
with examples. The concepts of tax incidence and efficiency loss are also reviewed.
This chapter concludes with a discussion of the structure of the U.S. tax system.
Discussions: 1) “Applications of market failure.” 2) The mystery of why most of the
Buffalo disappeared.
Quizzes: economic functions of the gov’t, voting, interest groups, tax systems
Assignments: Student workbook practice exercises, participate in a “live” online
group discussion or review session
Part III: Required Texts
th
McConnell et al., Microeconomics: Principles, Problems, and Policies, 16 Edition (McGraw Hill
2004). ISBN: 007298273X
rd
Morton, AP Microeconomics: Student Activity, 3 Edition, (Nat’l Council on Economics, 2003). ISBN:
1561835684
Part IV: Other details required for audit
This course contains opportunities for student and instructor feedback. Examples of interaction are;
graded assignments, quiz and exam results, individualized instruction, live group discussion, and live
review sessions. The entire course is designed with maximizing student performance in preparation for
the College Board AP Exams in the spring.
Curricular
Requirements
The course provides
instruction
in basic economic
concepts.
Sample From Aventa’s AP Microeconomics Course
Unit 1
Chapter 1, The Nature and Method of Economics
Chapter 2, The Economizing Problem
Chapter 6, The United States in the Global Economy
Topics:
• The Economics Perspectives
• Why Study Economics?
• Economic Methodology
• Pitfalls to Sounds Reasoning
• The Foundation of Economics
• Economics: Employment and Efficiency
• Unemployment, Growth, and the Future
• Economic Systems
• The Circular Flow Model
• International Linkages
• The United States and World Trade
• Specialization and Comparative Advantage
• The Foreign Exchange Market
• Government and Trade
• Multilateral Trade Agreements and Free-Trade Zones
• Global Competition
Unit 2
Chapter 3, Individual Markets: demand and Supply
Chapter 4, The Market System
Chapter 20, Elasticity of Demand and Supply
Chapter 21, Consumer Behavior and Utility Maximization
Topics:
• Markets
• Demand
• Supply
• Supply and Demand: Market Equilibrium
• Application: Government-Set Prices
• Characteristics of the Market System
• The Market System at Work
• Price Elasticity of Demand
• Price Elasticity of Supply
• Cross Elasticity and Income Elasticity of Demand
• A Closer Look at the Law of Demand
• Theory of Consumer Behavior
• Utility Maximization and the Demand Curve
• Applications and Extensions
The course provides
Unit 3
Chapter 22, The Costs of Production
students with
instruction in the
nature and functions
of product markets.
Chapter 23, Pure Competition
Chapter 24, Pure Monopoly
Chapter 25, Monopolistic competition and Oligopoly
Topics:
• Economic Costs
• Short-Run Production Relationships
• Short-Run Production Costs
• Long-Run Production Costs
• Four Market Models
• Pure competition: Characteristics and Occurrence
• Demand as Seen by a Purely Competitive Seller
• Profit Maximization in the Short Run
• Marginal Cost and Short-Run Supply
• Profit Maximization in the Long Run
• Pure Competition and Efficiency
• An Introduction to Pure Monopoly
• Barriers to Entry
• Monopoly Demand
• Output and Price Determination
• Economic Effects of Monopoly
• Price Discrimination
• Regulated Monopoly
• Monopolistic Competition
• Price and Output in Monopolistic Competition
• Monopolistic Competition and Efficiency
• Product Variety
• Oligopoly
• Oligopoly Behavior: A Game-Theory Overview
• Three Oligopoly Models
• Oligopoly and Advertising
• Oligopoly and Efficiency
The course provides
students with
instruction in factor
markets.
Unit 4
Chapter 27, The Demand for Resources
Chapter 28, Wage Determination
Topics,
• Significance of Resource Pricing
• Marginal Productivity Theory of Resource Demand
• Determinants of Resource Demand
• Elasticity Resource Demand
• Optimal Combination of Resources
• Marginal Productivity Theory of Income Distribution
• Labor, Wages, and Earnings
• General Level of Wages
• A Purely Competitive Labor Market
• Monopsony Model
• Three Union Models
• Bilateral Monopoly Model
• The Minimum-Wage Controversy
• Wage Differentials
• Pay for Performance
The course provides
students with
instruction in market
failure and the role of
Unit 2
Chapter 5, The U.S. Economy: Private and Public Sectors
Topics:
government.
• Households as Income Receivers
• Households as Spenders
• The Business Population
• Legal Forms of Businesses
• The Public Sector: Government's Role
• Government Finance
• Federal Finance
• Sate and Local Finance
Unit 5
Chapter 30, Government and Market Failure
Chapter 31, Public Choice Theory and the Economics of Taxation
Topics:
• Public Goods
• Externalities
• Information Failures
• Revealing Preferences through Majority Voting
• Government Failure
• Apportioning the Tax Burden
• tax Incidence and Efficiency Loss
The course promotes
understanding of
economic decisionmaking and its
factors, such as
marginal analysis and
opportunity costs.
The course teaches
how to generate,
interpret, label, and
analyze graphs,
charts, and data to
describe and explain
economic concepts.
Unit 1
The primary course objective is the study of the behavior of individual components
of the economy. Topics include:
• Scarcity
• Opportunity Cost
• Production Possibilities Curve
• Implicit and Explicit Costs
• Marginal Analysis
• Demand and Supply
All Units
The Activities Forum is an assignment in every unit that requires students to draw
and label graphs. Students practice this skill frequently in the course. Unit exams
also require students to demonstrate their knowledge of analyzing graphs.