Course: Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Ashford
Focus: The Macro Perspective — Scarcity, the PPF, Circular Flow & Economic Models · Objective 1 · SLO A & B

📋 Module Overview Page — "Start Here" (Canvas: Page, published)

Week 1 — The Macro Perspective: Scarcity, the PPF & How Economists Model the Whole Economy

Welcome to macroeconomics! Before we can talk about GDP, inflation, or the Fed, we need the field's first toolkit — the same one every economist starts with, but aimed today at the whole economy rather than one buyer or one firm. You'll meet scarcity and opportunity cost, the production possibilities frontier (PPF) — now read as a story about an entire economy's idle or growing capacity — the circular-flow model, and the crucial difference between positive ("what is") and normative ("what ought to be") economics.

The big question: What does macroeconomics actually study, and how do economists model an entire economy's choices?

By the end of this week, you can:

• explain what macroeconomics studies (growth, inflation, unemployment, policy — the whole economy) and how that differs from microeconomics (individual choosers);
• compute an opportunity cost (in goods and in dollars) and read a PPF, including the macro-scale reading of a point inside the frontier (idle resources — a recession preview);
• describe the circular-flow model — how households and firms exchange in product and factor markets — and preview why leakages and injections (saving, taxes, trade) matter later in the course;
• tell a positive statement from a normative one — a skill that keeps every policy debate this term honest.

Do this, in order:

1. Read & watch — the Week 1 resources (≈40 min). → Readings & Resources page
2. Lecture Tutorial — work through scarcity, the PPF, the circular flow & positive/normative with your AI tutor (≈45 min). Due Sun, Sep 6. → submit the chat share link + summary
3. Practice Exercises — 6 quick reps, ungraded (≈15 min).
4. Quiz 1 — 10 questions, closed to AI (≈20 min). Due Sun, Sep 6.
5. Discussion 1 — "Can economics tell us whether the economy is 'doing well'?" Initial post Fri, Sep 4, replies Sun, Sep 6.
6. Assignment 1 — the opportunity-cost, PPF & positive/normative problem set (100 pts). Due Sun, Sep 6.
7. Workshop 1 — Graph & Model Workshop — build an economy's PPF on Desmos and read off its opportunity costs (50 pts). Due Sun, Sep 6.

A note before you start: macro rewards zooming out and thinking in trade-offs at the scale of an entire economy, not memorizing headlines. Every week we'll work a real example with every step shown, name the traps before you hit them, and have you catch an AI making classic macroeconomic mistakes. You've got this. 💪

📣 Welcome Announcement (Canvas: Announcement; available_from_offset_days = 0 — posts Mon, Aug 31)

Subject: Welcome to Macroeconomics — let's zoom out 👋

Hi everyone, and welcome to ECON 2!

Here's the whole course in one sentence: macroeconomics asks how an entire economy makes the same kinds of scarce-resource choices you make every day — just multiplied across millions of households, firms, and one very consequential central bank. You already know the individual version — spend or save, work or rest. This week we scale that instinct up to a whole economy and give it a toolkit.

This week, don't miss:

• The macro vs. micro zoom — this course studies growth, inflation, unemployment, and policy for the whole economy, not one shopper's grocery cart.
• The production possibilities frontier (PPF) — the same simple graph you may have seen before, but now read at the scale of a nation: a point inside the frontier isn't just "inefficient," it's a preview of what a recession looks like.
• The positive vs. normative distinction — the move that will keep every debate about inflation, unemployment, and the Fed honest all term.

Start with the Module Overview ("Start Here"), then the readings, then your AI Lecture Tutorial. Bring a question to our first class — the best ones come from the part that felt slippery.

See you in class,
Prof. Ashford