The subject of study of macroeconomics. Publishing house "Peter" — Electronic catalog What is not the subject of macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is a branch of economic science that studies the behavior of the economy as a whole in terms of ensuring conditions for sustainable economic growth, full employment of resources and minimizing inflation.

The subject of macroeconomic theory is the study of macroeconomic phenomena that are not associated with any one sector of the economy, but are related to all sectors of the economy and should receive a general (macroeconomic) explanation. Macroeconomics considers the behavior of the economy, considered as a whole: its ups and downs, the problems of inflation, unemployment. It should be noted that some macroeconomic issues relate to the economy of the country, and some may have implications for a number of countries (for example, global oil or financial crises). In this case, we are dealing with global macroeconomic analysis.

Macroeconomics considers both the change in output and employment in the long term (economic growth) and their short-term fluctuations, which form business cycles.

The main problems studied at the macroeconomic level are:

1) determination of the volume and structure of the national product and ND;

2) identifying the factors that regulate employment across the economy;

3) analysis of the nature of inflation;

4) study of the mechanism and factors of economic growth;

5) consideration of the causes of cyclical fluctuations and market changes in the economy;

6) study of foreign economic interaction of national economies;

7) theoretical substantiation of the goals, content and forms of implementation of the macroeconomic policy of the state.

Despite the existing division of issues into micro- and macroeconomic, it should be taken into account that these two components do not exist on their own, but are closely interconnected. A significant gap between these two sciences existed at the dawn of the emergence of macroeconomics and is gradually narrowing more and more. In fact, all modern macroeconomic concepts have a microeconomic justification, that is, they are based on certain behavioral microeconomic models, the results of which are aggregated and then examined at the macrolevel. The main problem area remains the theory of aggregation, which is also being actively developed. Aggregation is necessary not only in theory, but also in practice (when collecting and processing statistical data, which form the basis for empirical analysis). In macroeconomics, the following aggregate economic variables are considered: aggregate output, consumption, investment, exports and imports, price levels, and so on. It is also customary to consider the following aggregated markets: the goods market, the labor market, and the asset market.

The macroeconomic approach to the study of economic processes has a number of features:

· it is aimed at studying the principles of formation of aggregate indicators that characterize the level or trends in the development of the economy as a whole (national income, total employment and investment, price level). The main subjects of the economy (producers and consumers) are also considered as aggregated aggregates;

· in contrast to microeconomic analysis, in which the decisions of firms and consumers and their actions in individual markets were considered as independent, macroeconomics considers the interactions between subjects through a system of interconnected markets;

· the number of economic entities that determine the state and development of the economy (firms, households, the state, as well as entities of other countries) is expanding.

As a whole. It is designed to find out how the economy as a whole works, to analyze the conditions, factors and results of the development of the national economy of a single state.

The very concept of "macroeconomics" is associated with the Greek words "macro" - large, large and "economy" - the art of managing the economy. Thus, macroeconomics, as an integral part of economic theory, deals with large economic quantities and problems. The main differences between macro and micro analysis can be summarized in the following table.

Focusing on the most significant economic factors in the development of the economy, macroeconomics does not take into account the behavior of individual economic agents - firms, households. Macroeconomic analysis involves abstracting from the differences between individual markets and identifying key points in the functioning of an integral economic system.

Macroeconomics is one of the youngest and most promising branches of economic theory. As an independent scientific discipline, macroeconomics began to take shape in the 1930s. Its origin is associated with the name of the outstanding English economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). His main approaches to the study of macroeconomic processes are outlined in the work "" (1936). In this work, Keynes explored the main macroeconomic categories: national production volume, price level and employment, consumption, savings, investment and so on.

Many aspects of macroeconomics have been developed by such scientists as J.K. Galbright, E. Domar, S. Kuznets, V. Leontiev, G. Myrdal, P. Samuelson, I. Fisher, M. Friedman, E. Hansen, R. Harrod and others.

Main macroeconomic problems

The focus of macroeconomics is on the following main issues:

security;
general economic equilibrium and the conditions for achieving it;
macroeconomic instability, measurement and regulation methods;
determination of the results of economic activity;
state of the state budget and balance of payments of the country;
cyclical economic development;
optimization of foreign economic relations;
social protection of the population and others.

macroeconomic policy

Macroeconomics uses in its analysis aggregate or aggregate values that characterize the movement of the economy as a whole:

general price level
market rate of interest
level
level and

The main macroeconomic indicators are: gross national product, its growth rate, inflation rate and unemployment rate.

The most important result of macroeconomic analysis is the development of macroeconomic policy.

macroeconomic policy is a system of measures and activities aimed at solving social and economic problems. The objective goal of macroeconomic policy is to maintain the efficiency of the economy, mitigate the contradictions of the reproduction process.

Objectives of macroeconomic policy are determined by the requirements of development that the changing reality puts in a given period of time. Therefore, depending on the state of economic development, not only the tasks of macroeconomic policy change, but also its types (economic growth, stabilization). Currently, the macroeconomic policy of countries with developed market economies is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

security sustainable economic growth, allowing to achieve a higher quality and standard of living of the population;
security high employment(with a small involuntary unemployment), which provides an opportunity for all individuals to realize their productive abilities and receive income depending on the quality and quantity of labor expended;
security social security guaranteeing a decent existence for the unemployed, the disabled, the elderly and children;
ensuring economic freedom, which provides economic entities with the opportunity to choose the field of activity and the model of economic behavior;
ensuring general economic security;
achievement of an optimal one, which ensures the establishment of a balance in international commodity and cash flows, the stabilization of the national currency.

Goals of macroeconomic policy (macroeconomics):

Maintaining a high level of national production, and a constant rate of economic growth, without recessions.
High Employment and Low Involuntary Unemployment
Implementation of rational market pricing to maintain price stability
The balance of exports and imports
Exchange rate stability

Problems that make up the subject of macroeconomics:

national production- measuring the national volume of production and implementing the necessary measures to maintain a constant rate of economic growth.
Employment— macroeconomic instability, cyclical development, unemployment
Price level– state intervention in economic development to reduce inflation and improve the welfare of citizens
Foreign economic development– cooperation with other countries

Macroeconomic policy instruments

The macroeconomic policy of the state is carried out by the Government and the Central Bank. The following tools are distinguished: fiscal, monetary, social and foreign economic.

The subject of macroeconomic theory

Definition 1

Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the general behavior of an economy in terms of maintaining stable economic growth, resource efficiency, and reducing inflation.

Definition 2

The subject of macroeconomic theory: the study of such phenomena of macroeconomics that do not belong to any one economic sector, but are associated with all sectors and require a general (macroeconomic) explanation.

The behavior of the economy in macroeconomics is considered as a whole: its ups and downs, inflationary problems, and unemployment are analyzed. Note that some macroeconomic issues may relate to the economy of a particular country, while others may affect the economies of a number of countries (for example, the global oil or financial crisis). In this case, it refers to global macroeconomic analysis.

Macroeconomic theory considers not only fluctuations in employment and output in the long term, but also their short-term changes that form the business cycle.

Problems studied by macroeconomics

At the macroeconomic level, the following groups of main problems are studied:

establishing the structure and volume of the national product;
identification of factors affecting the level of employment on an economy-wide scale;
study of the nature of inflationary processes;
analysis of factors and mechanisms of economic growth;
establishing the causes of fluctuations and changes in the conjuncture of the economy;
study of the interaction of the economies of individual countries at the external economic level;
substantiation of the content, forms and goals of the implementation of the state macroeconomic policy.

Remark 1

Despite the accepted division of micro- and macroeconomic issues, it should be borne in mind that these components do not exist on their own, but are closely interconnected with each other.

A significant gap between these two sciences appeared at the stage of the emergence of macroeconomics, today it is gradually shrinking. Most modern macroeconomic concepts are characterized by a microeconomic rationale, that is, they are based on certain behavioral microeconomic models, the results of which are then aggregated and examined at the macro level. The key problematic aspect so far can be called the actively developing theory of aggregation.

The need for aggregation exists not only in theory; in practice, it is also necessary to collect and process statistical data that form the basis for empirical analysis. Macroeconomics considers such aggregate variables as consumption, aggregate output, investment, imports and exports, price levels, etc. Macroeconomics also considers aggregate markets for goods, labor, and assets.

Macroeconomic approach

The specifics of the macroeconomic approach to the study of economic processes is expressed in the following:

The focus is on the study of aspects of the formation of aggregate data, which generally characterize the trends or the level of economic development (the level of national income, the volume of investment and employment, the value of prices). Consumers and producers, being the main subjects of the economy, are also analyzed as an aggregated set;
Consideration of the interactions of subjects through the prism of a system of interconnected markets, while microeconomic analysis considers the decisions (actions) of producers and consumers in a separate market as independent;
Expansion of the number of economic entities that determine the development and state of the economy (households, firms, the state and foreign entities).

3. Money market in the classical model. The Quantity Theory of Money and the General Price Level.

4. Functions of consumption and savings. Average and marginal propensity to consume and save.

5. Investments. Investment demand function. Factors that determine the amount of investment. The paradox of thrift.

6. The concept, goals and instruments of fiscal (tax) policy. Stimulating and restraining fiscal policy.

7. Discretionary fiscal policy. Public procurement multiplier. Curve Laffer.

8. Non-discretionary fiscal policy (built-in stabilizers).

9. Essence and types of budget deficit, methods of its financing.

10. Public debt, its types and socio-economic consequences. regulation of the public debt.

11. Concept, goals and main instruments of monetary policy. Creation of "new money" by the banking system.

12. Monetary policy instruments: open market operations, change in the discount rate, regulation of the reserve requirement. Direct and indirect tools.

13. Aggregate supply in the short and long term.

14. Monetarism. The basic equation of monetarism. Laws of money circulation.

15. Stabilization policy: concept, goals and tools. Problems of implementation of the stabilization policy.

16. Employment policy, its directions and methods. Employment policy in the Republic of Belarus.

17. Anti-inflationary policy, its directions and methods. Anti-inflationary policy in the Republic of Belarus.

18. Macroeconomic policy in a small open economy with a fixed and floating exchange rate.

19. The essence and causes of the cyclical development of the economy. Business cycles and economic growth.

20. Essence, types, indicators and factors of economic growth. Theories of economic growth.

21. Social policy: content, directions, principles and levels.

22. Level and quality of life of the population. The income of the population. Factors that determine the income of the population.

23. The problem of inequality in the distribution of income. The problem of poverty. Lorenz curve and Ginny coefficient.

24. Ensuring social justice. Models of social policy.

25. Mechanism and main directions of social protection. Social policy in the Republic of Belarus.

26. Transformational economy: main features and characteristics.

27. The concept of transitions to a market economy and their implementation in individual countries.

28. Main directions of market reforms. The role and functions of the state in the transformational economy.

29. Belarusian model of transition to the market and its main features. State programs of social and economic development. State programs of social and economic development.

30. Dynamics of macroeconomic indicators in the Republic of Belarus.

1. The subject of macroeconomics. Features of macroeconomic analysis. macroeconomic models.

Macroeconomics as a science studies the national economy as a whole, considering as objects of analysis the behavior of aggregated economic agents (aggregate consumer, aggregate producer, state) interacting in aggregated labor markets, goods and services, and money.

Macroeconomics - a science that studies the functioning of the economy as a whole, the economic system as a whole, the work of economic agents and markets; set of economic phenomena.

Subject macroeconomics is the national economy as a whole. It examines the results of the joint activities of all economic agents, the focus is on such generalizing indicators of the functioning of the economy as gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation, the state budget and the country's balance of payments, economic growth rates.

Macroeconomic analysis is carried out using macroeconomic models that demonstrate functional relationships between aggregated macroeconomic indicators. This allows us to give a formalized description of macroeconomic phenomena and processes.

An aggregate indicator is an abstraction that allows you to mentally combine phenomena with similar individual traits into a whole.

The macroeconomic approach to the study of economic processes has a number of features:

It is aimed at studying the principles of formation of aggregate indicators that characterize the level or trends in the development of the economy as a whole (national income, total employment and investment, price level). The main subjects of the economy (producers and consumers) are also considered as aggregated aggregates;

Unlike microeconomic analysis, in which the decisions of firms and consumers and their actions in individual markets were considered independent, macroeconomics considers the interactions between actors through a system of interconnected markets;

The number of economic entities that determine the state and development of the economy (firms, households, the state, as well as subjects of other countries) is expanding.

Macroeconomic models are formalized (logically, graphically and algebraically) descriptions of various economic phenomena and processes in order to identify functional relationships between them.

Any model is a simplified, abstract reflection of reality. With the help of models, a set of alternative ways to control the dynamics of employment levels, output, inflation, investment, consumption, interest rates, exchange rate, and other internal (endogenous) economic variables are determined, the probabilistic values of which are established as a result of solving the model.

External (exogenous) variables, the value of which is determined outside the model, are often the main instruments of the government's fiscal policy and the monetary policy of the Central Bank - changes in government spending, taxes, and money supply.

With the help of models, the multivariance of methods for solving economic problems is provided, which makes it possible to achieve the necessary alternativeness and flexibility of macroeconomic policy.