This set of macroeconomics course materials prepares students to apply economic thinking and analysis in the context of national economies, monetary and fiscal policy, and variables and indicators of macroeconomic health. Students will learn about the key macroeconomic indicators of GDP, unemployment, and inflation, then how to apply these concepts to analyze economic policy and behavior. Content coverage includes choice and scarcity; supply and demand; elasticity; applications of supply and demand; elasticity; GDP and economic growth; unemployment and inflation; the aggregate demand-aggregate supply model; Keynesian economics and neoclassical economics; the income-expenditure model; fiscal policy; money and banking; monetary policy; policy applications; globalization and trade; exchange rates and international finance.

To provide a rich, engaging learning experience, course materials include not only complete content, but also well-aligned assignments and quizzes, online problem sets, interactive learning activities, and more.

This course is based on OpenStax Principles of Economics, enriched with additional significant contributions by the Lumen Learning team and subject matter experts including Steven Greenlaw, Clark Aldrich, Jennifer Pakula, Veronika Dolar, Michael Fusillo, Sophie Haci, Shawn Kilpatrick, and Melissa Walker.

Course Improvements

Based on student learning data and faculty feedback, we have made improvements to address these difficult topics, as well as general improvements to the course as a whole:

• Improved course organization
• Try It embedded practice questions
• “Learn By Doing” pages for even more practice
• “Watch It” embedded videos that explain and reiterate key concepts throughout the course
• Interactives that explain complicated graphs in a step-by-step process
• Discussions and assignments for every module
• Problem Sets for every module

Lumen OER courses apply learning science to engage students and better support the learning process. Lumen materials aim to deliver an active learning experience. They include text, images, videos, assessments, directed feedback, practice questions, simulations, and other interactives that invite students to apply their knowledge, improve their understanding, and perform better. Term over term, Lumen’s Waymaker courseware makes it possible to use learning data to identify where content improvements are needed. We work collaboratively with faculty and subject matter experts to develop and test iterative, continuous improvements aimed at increasing efficacy and learning.