Macroeconomics [antikvár]

PREFACE From the beginning, our goal has been to write a text which would answer the needs of stu-dents and instructors during a time when there is much doubt and questioning about many important topics in economics. To accomplish this goal, we believe that a beginning text should be (1) open-minded and searching for the best in all schools of thought where there is disagreement, (2) thorough and realistic in presenting matériaI that is generally accept-ed, and (3) flexible and oriented to a broad view in matters like international trade, eco-nomic development, and comparative economic systems. We have built these characteristics into our book. We believe that they make it an appro-priate text for the eighties. We alsó believe that they form the basis for the kind of "economic literacy" that sees the applicability of economic principles beyond the specific applications in any one text or any one period of time. ORGANIZATION Introductory Chapters The first six chapters provide the basic ground-work for all that is to come. In the first chapter, we present a broad overview of economics. It goes beyond explaining what microeconomics and macroeconomics are about, and considers alternative economic systems and several cri-teria for judging them. The next three chapters (2, 3, and 4) outline the methodology of eco- nomics, present scarcity as the economic prob-lem, and introduce the basic concepts of supply and demand. The last two chapters in this part give an overview of the "performers on the economic stage," with Chapter 5 focusing on the priváté sector (households and firms), and Chapter 6 on the public sector (government). Macroeconomics Keynesian models of macroeconomics became standard after World War II. But they were se-verely tested by inflation and stagflation during the I970s and I980s and to somé degree were found inadequate. The profession has re-sponded with critical reappraisals of old models and an imaginative search for new ones. Our aim is to offer a clear and unbiased explanation of the major modern approaches to macroeconomics. The Keynesian approach to the determina-tion of output and employment is presented in Part Two (Chapters 7 through 11). We use a simple yet inclusive circular flow diagram to integrate all expenditure streams—the international sector as well as domestic consumption, investment, and government purchases. In this way, international transactions and government purchases are included in our model from the beginning, and not simply added on to it. Monetary instruments are presented in Part Three (Chapters 12 through 14). These chapters include traditional monetárist models as well as modern viewpoints about the ability of money