CronovichChap-01new宏观经济学课件(1).ppt

Learning objectives This chapter introduces you to (1)the issues that macroeconomists study; (2)the tools that macroeconomists use; (3) some important concepts in macroeconomic analysis Important issues in macroeconomics Why are millions of people unemployed, even when the economy is booming? Why are there recessions? Can the government do anything to combat recessions? Should it?? Important issues in macroeconomics What is the government budget deficit? How does it affect the economy? Why does the U.S. have such a huge trade deficit? Why are so many countries poor? What policies might help them grow out of poverty? U.S. Gross Domestic Product in billions of chained 1996 dollars U.S. Gross Domestic Product in billions of chained 1996 dollars Why learn macroeconomics?为什么学习宏观经济学？ The macroeconomy affects society’s well-being（社会福利）. example: Unemployment and social problems Why learn macroeconomics? The macroeconomy affects your well-being. Unemployment and earnings growth Why learn macroeconomics? The macroeconomy affects your well-being. Interest rates and mortgage payments Why learn macroeconomics? The macroeconomy affects politics current events. Inflation and unemployment in election years Economic models（经济模型） …are simplified versions of a more complex reality irrelevant details are stripped away Used to （1）show the relationships between economic variables （2）explain the economy’s behavior （3）devise policies to improve economic performance Example of a model: The supply demand for new cars explains the factors that determine the price of cars and the quantity sold assumes the market is competitive: each buyer and seller is too small to affect the market price Variables: Q d = quantity of cars that buyers demand Q s = quantity that producers supply P = price of new cars Y = aggregate income（外生变量） Ps = price of steel (an input) （外生变量） The demand for cars shows that the quantity of cars consumers demand is related to the price of cars and aggreg