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AP Macroeconomics

College-level macroeconomics covering economic measurement, national income, monetary and fiscal policy, and international economics. Aligned to the College Board AP Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description.

14 Units

45-60 minutes per unit

What You Will Learn

College Board Aligned

All AP Macroeconomics CED units — from basic economic concepts through international trade and finance.

Graph-Based Analysis

Master AD-AS, Phillips Curve, loanable funds, and foreign exchange models — the language of macro.

College Credit Potential

A qualifying AP exam score can earn 3 college credits (Intro Macroeconomics equivalent).

All Units

Basic Economic Concepts

Explore the foundational principles of economics: scarcity, opportunity cost, the production possibilities frontier, and why nations trade based on comparative advantage.

•Define scarcity and explain how it forces individuals and societies to make choices
•Calculate opportunity cost and apply it to real-world decisions
•Analyze a production possibilities frontier to identify efficiency, tradeoffs, and economic growth
+1 more objectives

Supply and Demand

Master the market model: how supply and demand interact to set equilibrium prices, how price controls distort markets, and how elasticity measures sensitivity to price changes.

•Identify the determinants of demand and supply and explain how they shift the respective curves
•Determine equilibrium price and quantity and predict how shocks change them
•Analyze the effects of price ceilings and price floors on market outcomes
+1 more objectives

Economic Indicators and Measurement

Learn how economists measure the size and health of an economy through GDP, the price level (CPI), and the unemployment rate — and why each measure matters and what it misses.

•Define GDP and explain what is and is not included in its calculation
•Distinguish between nominal and real GDP and explain why the distinction matters
•Calculate and interpret the consumer price index (CPI) and inflation rate
+1 more objectives

National Income and the Circular Flow

Trace money and goods through the circular flow model, calculate GDP using three methods, and understand how national income accounting reveals the structure of an economy.

•Trace the flow of income and expenditure through the circular flow model with households, firms, government, and the financial sector
•Calculate GDP using the expenditure approach and identify the four components
•Explain the income approach to GDP and the concept of value added
+1 more objectives

Aggregate Demand

Build the aggregate demand model, understand why the AD curve slopes downward, identify what shifts it, and analyze the multiplier effect that amplifies initial spending changes.

•Explain the three effects that cause the AD curve to slope downward
•Identify the determinants of aggregate demand and predict how changes in them shift the AD curve
•Calculate the spending multiplier and explain its economic logic
+1 more objectives

Aggregate Supply and Macroeconomic Equilibrium

Develop the aggregate supply model in both short-run and long-run forms, understand the sources of macroeconomic shocks, and analyze how the economy self-adjusts toward long-run equilibrium.

•Distinguish between the short-run aggregate supply (SRAS) curve and long-run aggregate supply (LRAS) curve
•Identify the determinants of SRAS and LRAS and predict the direction of shifts
•Analyze the short-run and long-run macroeconomic equilibrium and identify recessionary and inflationary gaps
+1 more objectives

Examine how government spending and taxation can stabilize the economy, the debate between discretionary and automatic stabilizers, and the long-run consequences of deficits and national debt.

•Distinguish between expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy and identify appropriate scenarios for each
•Compare the effectiveness of government spending changes vs. tax changes using the multiplier analysis
•Explain automatic stabilizers and how they reduce economic volatility without deliberate action
+1 more objectives

Money and Banking

Explore the functions and forms of money, how fractional reserve banking creates money through the deposit expansion process, and how the money supply is measured.

•Identify the three functions of money and explain why each is necessary
•Distinguish between M1 and M2 measures of the money supply
•Explain how fractional reserve banking works and how it creates money
+1 more objectives

Monetary Policy

Understand how the Federal Reserve controls the money supply and interest rates to stabilize the economy, and analyze the mechanism through which monetary policy affects output and prices.

•Identify the structure and mandate of the Federal Reserve System
•Explain the three traditional tools of monetary policy and how each affects the money supply
•Trace the transmission mechanism from a Fed action to changes in real GDP and the price level
+1 more objectives

The Phillips Curve

Explore the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment in the short run, why the long-run Phillips Curve is vertical, and how inflationary expectations destabilize the short-run tradeoff.

•Describe the short-run Phillips Curve and the tradeoff it depicts between inflation and unemployment
•Explain why the long-run Phillips Curve is vertical at the natural rate of unemployment
•Analyze how changes in inflationary expectations shift the short-run Phillips Curve
+1 more objectives

The Loanable Funds Market

Model the market for borrowing and lending, understand how the real interest rate is determined, and analyze how government deficits crowd out private investment through the loanable funds market.

•Explain the supply and demand for loanable funds and the factors that shift each
•Determine the real interest rate as the equilibrium price in the loanable funds market
•Analyze the crowding out effect of government budget deficits
+1 more objectives

Economic Growth

Examine the sources of long-run economic growth — capital accumulation, labor force growth, and technological progress — and analyze why growth rates differ so dramatically across countries.

•Identify the sources of economic growth and explain how each shifts the LRAS curve
•Explain the role of capital accumulation, human capital, and technology in productivity growth
•Apply the Rule of 72 to understand the power of compound growth
+1 more objectives

International Trade

Analyze the gains from international trade based on comparative advantage, examine how tariffs and quotas affect markets and welfare, and understand the balance of payments accounts.

•Apply the theory of comparative advantage to explain why countries trade and what they export
•Analyze the effects of tariffs and quotas on price, quantity, consumer surplus, producer surplus, and deadweight loss
•Explain the structure of the balance of payments accounts (current account and financial account)
+1 more objectives

Foreign Exchange and Currency Markets

Understand how currency exchange rates are determined in foreign exchange markets, why currencies appreciate and depreciate, and how exchange rates connect monetary policy, trade, and capital flows.

•Explain how exchange rates are determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange market
•Identify the factors that cause currency appreciation and depreciation and predict their effects on trade
•Analyze the relationship between exchange rates, trade balances, and capital flows
+1 more objectives

AP Macroeconomics. College-level course aligned to College Board CED. Replaces standard Economics with PFL.