WGU-C201 Comprehensive Study Guide|2026 Graded A+

C201 Comprehensive Study GuideDefinition of microeconomics- Microeconomics is the study of how individuals and businesses make decisions about money, resources, and prices.Difference between change in quantity demanded vs. change in demand (cause + graph shift vs. movement)Quantity Demanded Caused by: A change in price of the product Graph: Movement along the same demand curve Think: Price changes → you move up or down the curveDemand Caused by: Anything other than price — like:IncomeTastes/preferencesNumber of buyersPrice of related goods (substitutes or complements)Expectations Graph: The entire demand curve shifts left or right Think: Something other than price changes → whole curve movesDifference between change in quantity supplied vs. change in supplyQuantity Supplied Caused by: A change in the product’s own price Graph: Movement along the same supply curve Think: Price changes → suppliers move up or down the curveSimple example:If the price of shirts goes up, producers make more shirts.️ Movement up the same supply curve (quantity supplied changes).Supply Caused by: Anything other than price, like:TechnologyCost of resourcesNumber of sellersTaxes or subsidiesExpectations about the futureNatural events Graph: The entire supply curve shifts left or rightMarket StructuresPure competition- A market with many sellers, all selling the exact same product.Monopolistic competition- A market with many sellers, but each sells a product that’s slightly different.Oligopoly- A market controlled by a few large companies.Monopoly- A market with only one seller.Economic SystemsCapitalism- People and businesses own everything and make their own decisions. Goal Profit.Socialism- The government owns some major industries, but people can still own small businesses. Goal: fairness and equal access to servicesCommunism- The government owns all property and businesses.There is no private ownership.Mixed economies- A combination of capitalism + government involvement. The U.S. → mostly capitalist, but the government provides services like public schools and Social Security.Definition of macroeconomics- Macroeconomics is the study of the BIG picture of the economy as a whole, not small businesses. Four stages of the business cycle- Expansion – Peak – Contraction Recession- ThroughTotal productivity- Total productivity is how much output (goods/services) a company produces compared to all the inputs it uses (like labor, materials, machines).GDP and its importance GDP is the total value of all goods and services a country produces in one year. It tells you how big a country’s economy is. High GDP = economy doing well Low GDP = economy slowing downInflation vs. deflation: Prices go up over time, and Prices go down over time.CPI - CPI = prices for shoppers (you and me)PPI- prices for producers (businesses)Four types of unemploymentFrictional – temporarily in between jobs Structural- Skills no longer match employer needs Cyclical – Job loss due to economy being bad Seasonal – Job only exists during certain times of the yearMonetary policy - when the Federal Reserve controls the money supply and interest rates to help the economy. Goal to stabilize the economy.