文档介绍：User SONPR:Job EFF01417:6264_ch01:Pg 0:23907#/eps at 100% *23907* Fri, Nov 9, 2001 11:52 AM
part I
Introduction
User SONPR:Job EFF01417:6264_ch01:Pg 1:21266#/eps at 100% *21266* Fri, Nov 9, 2001 11:52 AM
CHAPTER ONE
The Science1 of Macroeconomics
The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday
thinking.
— Albert Einstein
1-1 What Macroeconomists Study
Why have some countries experienced rapid growth in es over the past
century while others stay mired in poverty? Why do some countries have high
rates of inflation while others maintain stable prices? Why do all countries expe-
rience recessions and depressions—recurrent periods of falling es and ris-
ing unemployment—and how can government policy reduce the frequency and
severity of these episodes? Macroeconomics, the study of the economy as a
whole, attempts to answer these and many related questions.
To appreciate the importance of macroeconomics, you need only read the
newspaper or listen to the news. Every day you can see headlines such as IN-
COME GROWTH SLOWS, FED MOVES BAT INFLATION, or
STOCKS FALL AMID RECESSION these macroeconomic
events may seem abstract, they touch all of our lives. Business executives forecast-
ing the demand for their products must guess how fast consumers’ es will
grow. Senior citizens living on fixed es wonder how fast prices will rise.
Recent college graduates looking for jobs hope that the economy will boom and
that firms will be hiring.
Because the state of the economy affects everyone, macroeconomic issues play
a central role in political are aware of how the economy is doing,
and they know that government policy can affect the economy in powerful
a result, the popularity of the incumbent president rises when the econ-
omy is doing well and falls when it is doing poorly.
Macroeconomic issues are also at the center of world politics. In recent years,
Europe has moved tow