One of the most popular study sites used by AP students is Quizlet and for good reason! Quizlet combines the classic flashcard studying method with unique, fun games to learn vocabulary. However, the number of resources provided by Quizlet
can make it challenging to find the best decks for each AP Macroeconomics Unit. For that reason, here are the most comprehensive Quizlet decks for effective studying! Vocabulary is critical for understanding different concepts, laws, and theories.
Unit 1 is unique in AP Econ because it is the same among both AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics (except for a few topics, but for the most part they’re the same). Unit 1 covers just what it says it does - basic economic concepts. In AP Macro, you’ll be introduced to the ideas of opportunity cost, comparative and absolute advantage, and supply and demand before delving into the macroeconomy!
Scarcity: the basic economic problem; it is a lack of needed or wanted resources relative to the demand for the resources.
Opportunity Cost: what you give up when you make a choice
Supply and Demand: a model that brings together buyers and sellers
Unit 2 is your first official jump into macroeconomics! I always call this unit “Macro Measures”, since the primary goal of this unit is to understand how we measure the economy and what these different indicators of economic health mean. You’ll focus on three main indicators: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, and unemployment. With these tools, you’ll be able to understand the cycle of the economy from recessionary periods into growth periods and in between.
Gross Domestic Product: the dollar value of all final goods and services produced in a country’s border in one year
Unemployment Rate: the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed
Inflation: a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.
Unit 3 covers three primary topics: the aggregate demand-aggregate supply model of the economy (commonly known as ADAS), Keynesian economics and the multiplier effect, and fiscal policy. These graphs and mathematical models help explain how the economy reacts to certain stimuli and how it adjusts both in the short run and in the long run.
Aggregate Supply and Demand: The total supply and total demand in an economy at a particular period of time and a particular price threshold
Fiscal Policy: Changes in government spending (G) and tax collections (T) implemented by the government with the aim of either increasing or decreasing aggregate demand to achieve the macroeconomic objectives of full employment and price-level stability.
Multiplier: The increase in total spending in an economy resulting from an initial injection of new spending
From fiscal policy in unit 3, we move into monetary policy in unit 4. The financial sector of the economy deals with banks run by a country’s central bank. In the United States, this is the Federal Reserve. Unit 4 covers everything you need to know about how the banking system works, such as what money is, how loans and deposits work, fractional reserve banking, and markets for money and loanable funds.
Federal Reserve: The central bank of the United States
Monetary Policy: Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.
Interest Rates: The price paid for the use of money, or the price that borrowers pay to lenders for purchasing power in the future
By this point in the course, you’ll have learned both fiscal policy and monetary policy, the two primary ways that the government/the Fed acts to affect the economy whether through expansionary or contractionary policy. In unit 5, you’ll look at how these stabilization policies work in the long run, examining trade-offs between unemployment and inflation and economic growth.
Phillips Curve: short run displays a trade off between inflation and unemployment
Quantity Theory of Money: the general price level of goods and services is directly proportional to the amount of money in circulation, or money supply
Crowding Out Effect: a decrease in investment that results from government borrowing
Unit 6 is all about one thing: trade. You’ll learn how trade between countries is facilitated and return once again back to unit 1 with the law of comparative advantage. Along with this, you’ll learn about how different currencies interact in the foreign exchange (FOREX) market and its interactions with interest rates and prices.
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AP Macro Unit 7 by Rece_Roper (Note: What is now Unit 6 was once Unit 7 in AP Macro! Units 5 and 6 in the old curriculum were combined)
Current Account: balance of payments on goods and services plus net international transfer payments and factor income
Financial Account: the difference between its sales of assets to foreigners and its purchases of assets from foreigners during a given period
Exchange Rate: a measurement of the value of one nation's currency relative to the currency of other nations