Economics covers how scarcity impacts choice and resource allocation. These themes are considered from various viewpoints, including the individual consumer, small businesses, national governments, and the global economy. Key topics include the laws of supply and demand, forms of business, government finances and influence, market types, economic systems, price, inflation, and unemployment. The course also connects to students’ prior knowledge of history and politics.

Honors Economics explores the principles of economic theories and relates them to “the ordinary business of life” (Alfred Marshall). Students will learn about scarcity and how studying scarce resources led to the disciplines of microeconomics and macroeconomics. An emphasis is placed on the individual’s role in the global economy, concentrating on contemporary economic and financial issues. Students in the honors course will also engage with pertinent economic models and higher-level graphing skills relevant to the field. Finally, the class will participate in the Florida Stock Market Challenge and learn the basics of investing.

Honors Seminar Economics gives students a fundamental understanding of microeconomics and macroeconomics at an advanced level. Students learn to graph and analyze supply and demand models, market structures, and externalities. Students will also analyze economic data and explore macroeconomic models, emphasizing the impact of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Through economic case studies, students will debate current economic issues and be challenged to think critically about how economics impacts their daily lives.

Microeconomics studies individuals and firms that attempt to explain the relationships between scarcity and choice, individual actions, business decision-making, and the production process and marginal analysis. Students will study optimality, irrationality, externalities, markets, and utility choice theory.

Macroeconomics studies the whole economy and attempts to explain the relationships between growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, trade, and other economic factors. Students learn the business cycle, aggregate demand and supply, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and several macroeconomic theories. The course concludes with a capstone project where students simulate a meeting of the Federal Reserve.

The first class will concentrate on the philosophy of entrepreneurship. We will ask questions such as: What is entrepreneurship, and can it be taught? From here we will go through the process of creating a business and consider ways to grow a successful business. The goal of the class is not to turn every student into a small business owner but instead to encourage an entrepreneurial way of thinking as they make everyday decisions.

This course expands on concepts from Entrepreneurship 1 by exploring some of the formal tools of venture development. We will cover the time value of money, the process of making a good business plan, and how to read and understand financial statements, among other topics.

This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of microeconomics and macroeconomics at an advanced level. Students will learn how to graph and analyze supply and demand models, market structures, and externalities. Students will also analyze economic data and explore macroeconomic models. An emphasis will be placed on the impact of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Through economic case studies, students will debate current economic issues and be challenged to think critically about how economics impacts their daily lives.

Microeconomics is the study of individuals and firms that attempts to explain the relationships between scarcity and choice, individual actions, business decision making, and the production process and marginal analysis. Students will study optimality, irrationality, externalities, markets, and utility theory of choice.

Macroeconomics is the study of the whole economy and attempts to explain the relationships between growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, trade, and other economic factors. Students will study the business cycle, aggregate demand and supply, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and several macroeconomic theories. The course will conclude with a capstone project where students simulate a meeting of the Federal Reserve.

This course provides a foundation for learning about financial markets. Students will explore the fundamentals of bonds, stocks, foreign exchange, options, and futures. A particular emphasis will be placed on how financial markets work and their impact on the economy. Students will also learn how to use fundamental and technical analysis to evaluate financial instruments. Current financial topics will also be covered such as cryptocurrency, meme stocks, and the increased role of technology in trading. In this interactive course, students will manage a mock portfolio to gain experience with investing.

Students will build upon the knowledge learned in Financial Markets I and apply those skills to the study of portfolio theory and application. Students will learn the basics of portfolio theory and management, taking a holistic view of financial markets. Topics such as risk management, diversification, and efficient markets will be discussed. Students will apply what they learn using a realistic investment simulator trading stocks, bonds, options, and futures in a mock portfolio with a concentration on portfolio management. Students will present their portfolios at the end of the semester, analyzing their performance. In addition, the class will be given the opportunity to manage a real portfolio of around $5,000 from the class of 2008. This course aims to be interactive and practical, leading to a lifetime of investing.