Course Overview: This course focuses on a study of the way in which individuals, households, businesses, and the government participate in the operation of the economy. The primary objective of this course is to teach students the basic tool kit of economic concepts that will enable them to make better choices in the marketplace and the voting booth and therefore become better consumers and citizens. Students study the concepts of scarcity, supply and demand, markets, business firms, competition, labor, agriculture, monopolies, and government policy. An analysis of contemporary economic problems like social welfare, competition in the market place and profit will be emphasized. This course also scrutinizes how economic decisions are made in the marketplace. Through the study of international trade, international finance and globalization this course addresses the manner in which national economies compete on a global scale. Through a variety of exercises, students analyze how firms use the forces of economics to compete and earn a profit.