What macroeconomics topics are covered in this free Principles of Macroeconomics course?

The course covers scarcity, economic models, trade, supply and demand, GDP, CPI, growth, unemployment, money, inflation, and aggregate demand and supply.

How does the course explain why countries benefit from international trade?

It explains comparative advantage: countries can gain by specializing in goods they produce at a lower opportunity cost and trading with each other.

What is the difference between GDP and the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

GDP measures the value of final goods and services produced in an economy, while CPI measures changes in the cost of a typical basket of consumer goods and services.

Free Course Image Principles of Macroeconomics

Free online course Principles of Macroeconomics

Duration of the online course: 14 hours and 24 minutes

4.33

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Build macroeconomics skills fast with a free online course: understand GDP, inflation, unemployment, supply and demand, and policy decisions—ideal for students.

In this free course, learn about

Ten principles of economics: trade-offs, incentives, marginal thinking, and market vs govt roles
Scarcity, opportunity cost, and how scarcity forces choices in all economies
Economic thinking and modeling: circular-flow diagram, PPF, assumptions, and trade-offs in simplification
Gains from trade via comparative advantage, specialization, and the idea of mutually beneficial exchange
Supply and demand: equilibrium, shifts vs movements, and price-taking in perfect competition
Determinants of demand including how expectations about future prices shift current demand
International trade basics: free trade rationale, efficiency gains, and why economists support openness
Measuring a nation's income: GDP definition, components, and what is excluded from GDP
Cost of living measurement: CPI purpose, inflation calculation, and common limits of the CPI
Production and growth: drivers of productivity, economic growth, and using the Rule of 72 for doubling time
Financial system role: linking saving to investment and how markets/institutions allocate capital
Unemployment measurement: labor force concepts and why the rate can miss discouraged/underemployed workers
Monetary system and inflation: Fed tools (open market ops) and Quantity Theory cause of inflation
AD-AS and stabilization policy: SRAS meaning, why AD slopes down, and monetary vs fiscal policy effects

About the free online course

Macroeconomics helps you make sense of the news you hear every day: rising prices, interest-rate decisions, unemployment reports, trade disputes, and debates about economic growth. This free online course builds a clear foundation for understanding how an economy works, why outcomes can change over time, and how individual decisions connect to national trends. You will develop the ability to read economic indicators with confidence and explain the forces behind common headlines, from inflation shocks to recessions and recoveries.

Starting with core economic principles and the idea of scarcity, the course shows how economists think: using simplified models to focus on what matters, then testing those models against real-world behavior. You will learn how trade can make people and countries better off, and why markets rely on prices and incentives to coordinate decisions. From there, you will connect micro-level intuition to big-picture outcomes through tools used across macroeconomics, including measures of national income, the cost of living, and the drivers of long-run prosperity.

As you move deeper, you will strengthen practical understanding of major metrics and institutions: what GDP captures and what it misses, what the CPI measures and why it matters, and how savings and investment flow through the financial system. The course also clarifies why unemployment statistics can be misleading, how money is created and managed, and why inflation is closely linked to money growth in the long run. These ideas help you interpret policy discussions and understand why different choices create trade-offs.

Finally, you will bring everything together with the aggregate demand and aggregate supply framework to see how economies fluctuate in the short run and why policy can influence output and prices. Interactive exercises throughout help you check your understanding and build exam-ready confidence, making this course a strong fit for school study, college preparation, or anyone looking to improve economic literacy for careers, business decisions, or informed citizenship.

Course content

Video class: Chapter 1: Ten Principles of Economics 53m
Exercise: The concept of scarcity in economics primarily refers to which of the following?
Video class: Chapter 2: Thinking Like an Economist 23m
Exercise: In the context of economic modeling explained in the text, what is the purpose of using a simplified model like the circular flow diagram or the production possibilities frontier?
Video class: Chapter 3: The Gains From Trade 1h11m
Exercise: What principle explains why two countries, such as the US and Mexico, can both benefit from trading even if one of them can produce all goods more efficiently than the other?

Video class: Chapter 4: Supply and Demand - Part 1 48m
Exercise: In a perfectly competitive market, what is typically true about prices?
Video class: Chapter 4: Supply and Demand - Part 2 1h03m
Exercise: In the context of determinants of demand, how can consumer expectations about future prices influence current demand for a product?
Video class: Chapter 9: International Trade 1h01m
Exercise: What is the primary economic rationale for supporting free trade according to most economists?

Video class: Chapter 23: Measuring the Income of a Nation 52m
Exercise: Which of the following components is NOT a part of the calculation for Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
Video class: Chapter 24: Measuring the Cost of Living 52m
Exercise: What does the Consumer Price Index (CPI) aim to measure?
Video class: Chapter 25: Production and Growth 57m
Exercise: What is the rule of 72 used for in economics?

Video class: Chapter 26: Saving, Investment and the Financial System 50m
Exercise: What is one role of the financial system in an economy?
Video class: Chapter 28: Unemployment 56m
Exercise: What is the main reason why the unemployment rate might not fully capture the actual state of unemployment in the economy?
Video class: Chapter 29 - The Monetary System 1h01m
Exercise: In the context of the Federal Reserve's role in the United States, what is a primary tool it uses to manage the money supply?

Video class: Chapter 30 - Money Growth, and Inflation 1h12m
Exercise: What is the fundamental cause of inflation according to the Quantity Theory of Money discussed in this chapter?
Video class: Chapter 33: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply 1h43m
Exercise: What does the short-run aggregate supply curve represent in the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model?
Video class: Chapter 34: The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy 35m
Exercise: What is the primary reason the aggregate demand curve slopes downward?

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