AP Macro ~40 hours
AP Macroeconomics Exam Prep Path
This is an unofficial editorial study guide — it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board. The path follows the standard AP Macroeconomics sequence: measurement, growth, the AD-AS model, fiscal and monetary policy, and the open economy. Each step combines a lesson, a simulator or calculator, and practice questions so you learn the models by using them. Draw every AD-AS and Phillips curve shift by hand at least once — the exam rewards diagrams that are labeled correctly and shifted for the right reason.
Steps
Step 1: Basic Concepts and Trade
Scarcity, opportunity cost, and comparative advantage — the micro foundations the macro course assumes.
Step 2: Measuring the Economy: GDP
What counts in GDP, real versus nominal, and the GDP deflator — with worked calculations.
Step 3: Unemployment and Inflation
How unemployment is measured, types of unemployment, price indexes, and the costs of inflation.
Step 4: Economic Growth and the Business Cycle
Long-run growth drivers and short-run fluctuations: the two stories macroeconomics tells.
Step 5: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
The central model: AD-AS equilibrium and how demand shocks, supply shocks, and policy move it.
Step 6: Fiscal Policy
Government spending and taxes as stabilization tools: multipliers, automatic stabilizers, and deficits.
Step 7: Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy
The money supply, the banking system, and how central banks move interest rates to stabilize the economy.
Step 8: The Phillips Curve
The short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment, and why expectations shift it.
Step 9: International Trade and Finance
How trade and capital flows connect economies, and what moves exchange rates.
Step 10: Full Exam Review
Mixed AP-style questions across all units, with emphasis on AD-AS and Phillips curve diagrams.