文档介绍：CHAPTER 2
Measuring the Macroeconomy
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions
What key data do macroeconomists look at?
How are key macroeconomic data estimated and calculated?
What is the difference between “nominal” and “real” values?
How are stock market values related to interest rates?
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions
How are interest rates related to the price level and the inflation rate?
How is unemployment related to total production?
What is right--and what is wrong--with the key measure of economic activity, real GDP?
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Importance of Data
Economists use quantitative data to examine and understand behavior
prices
quantities
values
Data can be used in two ways
make quantitative forecasts
test economic theories
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Most Important Macroeconomic Data
real GDP
the unemployment rate
the inflation rate
the interest rate
the level of the stock market
the exchange rate
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Table - The Six Key Economic Variables
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Exchange Rate
The nominal exchange rate is the relative price of two different currencies
determined in the foreign exchange market
Example
equals $
$ equals
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Exchange Rate
Domestic exporters earn foreign currency when they export products
need to trade the foreign currency for dollars
Foreign producers earn dollars when . residents import their products
need to trade the dollars for foreign currency
*
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Figure - The Market for Foreign Excha