Macro or Micro?

Study Notes

Macroeconomics: A Study of an Economy as a Whole

Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.
Macroeconomists study topics such as GDP, unemployment, national income, price indices, output, consumption, inflation, saving, investment, energy, international trade, and international finance.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17 has a target to enhance global macroeconomic stability through policy coordination and coherence as part of the 2030 Agenda.
Macroeconomics descended from the once divided fields of business cycle theory and monetary theory.
Keynes' theory is a new theory of economics that explains why markets might not clear, which evolved into a group of macroeconomic schools of thought known as Keynesian economics.
Monetarism fell out of favor when central banks found it difficult to target money supply instead of interest rates as monetarists recommended.
New classical macroeconomics further challenged the Keynesian school and introduced rational expectations to macroeconomics.
New Keynesian economists responded to the new classical school by adopting rational expectations and focusing on developing micro-founded models that are immune to the Lucas critique.
The AD-AS model has become the standard textbook model for explaining the macroeconomy.
The IS-LM model gives the underpinnings of aggregate demand and answers the question "At any given price level, what is the quantity of goods demanded?".
The neoclassical growth model of Robert Solow has become a common textbook model for explaining economic growth in the long-run.
In ecological economics, macroeconomic models replace the circular flow of income diagram with a more complex flow diagram reflecting the input of solar energy, which sustains natural inputs and environmental services.Macroeconomics: A Summary
Macroeconomics is concerned with the study of the economy as a whole, including topics such as GDP, inflation, and unemployment.
Economic growth is driven by advances in technology, capital accumulation, and better education.
Business cycles can cause short-term drops in output, called recessions, and economists look for macroeconomic policies to prevent them and promote long-term growth.
Unemployment is measured by the percentage of workers without jobs in the labor force, and is broken down into several types related to different causes.
Inflation and deflation are measured by changes in price indexes, and central bankers use monetary policy to stabilize prices and avoid negative consequences.
Macroeconomic policy is implemented through fiscal and monetary policy, with a focus on limiting the effects of the business cycle to achieve price stability, full employment, and growth.
Monetary policy is implemented by controlling the money supply through mechanisms such as buying or selling bonds, and can be ineffective in situations such as a liquidity trap.
Fiscal policy is the use of government revenue and expenditure to influence the economy, and can be implemented through automatic stabilizers.
Economists usually favor monetary over fiscal policy because it is implemented by independent central banks and suffers shorter lags.
Macroeconomics is distinct from microeconomics, which studies the behavior of individual consumers and firms in specific markets, and is used to analyze topics such as minimum wages, taxes, and monopolies.

Description

Test your knowledge of macroeconomics with this quiz! From GDP and inflation to fiscal and monetary policy, this quiz covers the essential topics of macroeconomics. See how well you understand the economy as a whole, and challenge yourself with questions on different schools of thought and models used in macroeconomics. Whether you are studying economics or simply interested in the subject, this quiz is a great way to test your knowledge and learn more about the fascinating world of macroeconomics.