MB 540 - The Economy as a System

• Assignments: Varied throughout the term
• Interactivity: Discussion Boards
• Final Assessment: Final Project

• Explain Professor Boulding’s systems approach to viewing and describing society. 
• Describe the steps in economic policy making. 
• Compare and contrast capitalism as an economic system with a command-and-control system. 
• Describe the importance of supply and demand. 
• Be conversant with the four market models: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. 
• Define and understand the role of fiscal policy in stabilizing the economy, and understand the reasons , structure, functions, and responsibilities for the creation of the Federal Reserve. And further, understand the role of monetary policy in stabilizing the economy. 
• Explain the value of international trade via absolute advantage and comparative advantage, and appreciate the reasons why countries enjoy a comparative advantage. 
• Describe the economic and political reasons for restrictions on trade and potential consequences.