This activity is meant to follow a lesson about world or international agriculture. It gives the students an understanding of exports, imports, and trade embargos by using M&M’s as agricultural products. By Katie Griffith, Nebraska Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources educator

Recognizing that a course in economics may seem daunting to some students, we have tried to make the writing clear and engaging. Clarity comes in part from the intuitive presentation style, but we have also integrated a number of pedagogical features that we believe make learning economic concepts and principles easier and more fun. These features are very student-focused. The chapters themselves are written using a “modular” format. In particular, chapters generally consist of three main content sections that break down a particular topic into manageable parts. Each content section contains not only an exposition of the material at hand but also learning objectives, summaries, examples, and problems. Each chapter is introduced with a story to motivate the material and each chapter ends with a wrap-up and additional problems. Our goal is to encourage active learning by including many examples and many problems of different types.

Principles of Macroeconomics 2e covers the scope and sequence of most introductory economics courses. The text includes many current examples, which are handled in a politically equitable way. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of economics concepts. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to increase clarity, update data and current event impacts, and incorporate the feedback from many reviewers and adopters.Changes made in Principles of Macroeconomics 2e are described in the preface and the transition guide to help instructors transition to the second edition.

By the end of this section you will be able to:

Explain how exchange rate shifting influences aggregate demand and supply
Explain how shifting exchange rates also can influence loans and banks

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain the aggregate supply curve and how it relates to real GDP and potential GDP
Explain the aggregate demand curve and how it is influenced by price levels
Interpret the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model
Identify the point of equilibrium in the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model
Define short run aggregate supply and long run aggregate supply

In this chapter, you will learn about:
Macroeconomic Perspectives on Demand and Supply
Building a Model of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
Shifts in Aggregate Supply
Shifts in Aggregate Demand
How the AD/AS Model Incorporates Growth, Unemployment, and Inflation
Keynes’ Law and Say’s Law in the AD/AS Model

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain merchandise trade balance, current account balance, and unilateral transfers
Identify components of the U.S. current account balance
Calculate the merchandise trade balance and current account balance using import and export data for a country

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain real GDP, recessionary gaps, and inflationary gaps
Recognize the Keynesian AD/AS model
Identify the determining factors of both consumption expenditure and investment expenditure
Analyze the factors that determine government spending and net exports

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Contrast traditional economies, command economies, and market economiesExplain gross domestic product (GDP)Assess the importance and effects of globalization

In which John Green discusses the strange and mutually beneficial relationship between a republic, the city-state of Venice, and an Empire, the Ottomans--and how studying history can help you to be a better boyfriend/girlfriend. Together, the Ottoman Empire and Venice grew wealthy by facilitating trade: The Venetians had ships and nautical expertise; the Ottomans had access to many of the most valuable goods in the world, especially pepper and grain. Working together across cultural and religious divides, they both become very rich, and the Ottomans became one of the most powerful political entities in the world. We also discuss how economic realities can overcome religious and political differences (in this case between Muslims and Christians), the doges of Venice, the sultans of the Ottoman empire, the janissaries, and the so-called slave aristocracy of the Ottoman Empire, and how money and knowledge from the Islamic world helped fuel and fund the European Renaissance. Also, there's a They Might Be Giants joke.

Chapters:
Introduction
Venice
Venetian Trade
Piazza San Marco
Venetian Imports, Exports, & Economy
Venetian Government
The Ottomans
Ottoman Sultans
An Open Letter to Ottoman Eunuchs
The Ottomans' and Venetians' Relationship
Credits