...Differentiate between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Name Institution Differentiate between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics According to (Krugman, 2005), Microeconomics involves analysis of individual economic units such as households, demand, and supply and market equilibrium. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, includes analysis of aggregate economic variables such as national income, inflation, unemployment and interest rates. My primary objective in this paper, therefore, is to differentiate between macroeconomics and microeconomics. This fact alone cannot distinguish macro and microeconomics. Nevertheless, microeconomics and macroeconomics are interdependent. While analyzing macroeconomics an economist has to ask questions which affect the standards of living of an entire country. Such issues will be related to inflation, unemployment, national income, product markets, fiscal policies, international trade, economic growth and interest rates (Mankiw, 2007). On the other hand, an economist while analyzing Microeconomics will look at individual’s purchasing power, demand, supply, income, utility level, labor markets, production, consumption and opportunity cost. Macroeconomics is concerned with the national income and the gross domestic product while Microeconomics is concerned with the impact of an increase or decrease in a single economic variable (Krugman, 2005). Microeconomics works on the principle that prices of goods and services are determined by the...
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...Chapter 31: Open Economy Macroeconomics: Basic Concepts Principles of Economics, 7th Edition N. Gregory Mankiw Page 1 1. Introduction a. This another important chapter because its conclusions differ from those that you often read in the newspapers. b. We are shifting from a closed to an open economy. c. Closed economy is an economy that does not interact with other economies in the world. P. 660. d. Open economy is an economy that interacts freely with other economies around the world. P. 660. 2. The International Flows of Goods and Capital a. The Flow of Goods: Exports, Imports, and Net Exports i. Exports are goods and services that are produced domestically and sold abroad. P. 660. ii. Imports are goods and services that are produced abroad and sold domestically. P. 660. iii. Net exports are the value of a nation’s exports minus the value of its imports, also called the trade balance. P. 660. iv. Trade balance is the value of a nation’s exports minus the value of its imports, also called net exports. P. 660. v. Trade surplus is an excess of exports over imports. P. 660. vi. Trade deficit is an excess of imports over exports. P. 661. vii. Balanced trade is a situation in which exports equal imports. P. 661. b. Case Study: The Increasing Openness of the U.S. Economy, P. 661. i. Over the last 50 years, both exports and imports as a share of GDP have more than doubled due to improvements in (1) transportation, (2) telecommunications, (3) technological progress and (4) the movement...
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...The GDP is actually measured quarterly, but the number is then multiplied by four, so that the amount is in annual terms (Mankiw, 2010). In order for our team to understand this measure, we all agreed that it is necessary to first understand the concept of a final product. The GDP does not measure the market value of everything that is produced, because this would entail double counting. Each final product includes intermediate goods whose value is included in the value of the final product. Take, for example, a simple loaf of bread: the loaf is made from flour (and other ingredients), the flour is made from (say) wheat, and the wheat is grown from seeds. The value of the bread (the final product) includes the value of the flour, which includes the value of the wheat, which includes the value of the seeds. The GDP includes the market value of the bread — it does not then add the value of the flour, the value of the wheat and the value of the seeds. The value of a final product is also the value of the incomes of everyone involved in the production of both the final product and the intermediate goods that went into its production (Mankiw, 2010). Our next topic we elaborated on was the business cycle. The business cycle is the periodic but irregular up-and-down movements in economic activity, measured by fluctuations in real GDP and other macroeconomic variables. This cycle affects all sector of the economy though in varying way and degrees. The defining part of the business...
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...Growth and Productivity Michael Pintar ECN400 – Managerial Economics Colorado State University Global Campus Dr. John Speir November 11, 2012 Government Policies for Economic Growth and Productivity Government policy for promoting economic growth and productivity has tremendous bearing on our standards of living today and our future. Our policymakers’ ability to exercise proper fundamentals of economic growth determine the livelihood of our next generations (Mankiw, 2012). Whether policies encourage savings and investment, fund R&D, practice free trade, or promote education, the government has many tools and options for controlling our quality of life. Savings and Investment One method of boosting growth and raising standards of living is by government encouragement of savings and investment in an effort to raise capital. Unfortunately, the economic trade-off to achieve more capital requires reduced present day spending on goods and services in exchange for higher future consumption (Mankiw, 2012). To encourage savings, the government may consider a few principal actions: 1), raising current interest rates, thereby reducing demand for loanable funds and encouraging incentive to save, and / or 2), a tax reform intended for reduction of tax on interest income in conjunction with investment tax credits, providing incentive for greater household savings and investment by firms. Outward-Oriented Policy Policy created to impact economic growth and productivity...
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...of their problems on Singapore economy. It briefly describes what US debt ceiling is and the heavy borrowing of Greek government which has greatly contributed to the global debt crisis. It also explains on US debt problem and other aftershocks if the debt ceiling is not rise. Moreover, it explains the debts that Greece had incurred and what will happen if Greece defaults on its debts. Lastly, it further highlighted that the Singapore economy is affected by the two countries’ debt problems. Identify and discuss on the economics concepts and models that will be suitable for analysing the news article Macroeconomics model is concerned either with the economy as a whole or with major aggregates such as national income and output, price inflation, total consumption, investment spending and also, the unemployment rate which make up the economy (Stonecash, Gans & King Mankiw, 2005). From the model, each aggregate is...
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... School of Management BACHELOR OF MANAGEMENT Semester II, Academic Session 2012/2013 COURSE OUTLINE ATW108 – MACROECONOMICS ZAINON B HARUN Tel: ext. 2532 Room no. 122 h/p 019-577-2882 e-mail: zainon@usm.my DR TAJUL ARIFFIN MASRON Tel: ext 5158 Room no. 110 e-mail: taj.arif@yahoo.com OVERVIEW The ideas of economist and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful that is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) Two fundamentals facts together constitute the economizing problem and provide a foundation for economics: Society’s economic wants and Economic resources. Individuals and institutions have innumerable unfilled wants and creating unstable economic conditions. Macroeconomic is concerned with the behavior of the economy as a whole; instead of focusing on the factors that influence the production of particular products and the behavior of individual industries, it focuses on the determinants of total national output. Macroeconomic is concerned with the decision. Decisions to achieve the economic goals, Sustainable economic growth, full level of employment, economic efficiency...
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...Alfaisal University College of Business Master of Business Administration Professional Program MBA 513 Managerial Economics Course Syllabus Instructor: Dr Declan McCrohan © The College of Business, Alfaisal University, 2013. The materials contained in this document may only be used during the Alfaisal University MBA Program. Except as stipulated under national and international copyright laws, no part of this document may be copied, reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, or used for any commercial purpose without the written permission of the copyright owner. Contact Information and Class Times Instructor: | Dr Declan McCrohan | Address: | College of Business, Alfaisal University,PO Box 50927,Takhassusi StreetRiyadh 11533,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | | Email: | dmccrohan@alfaisal.edu | | Office: | +96612157717 | Consultation hours: | To be confirmed | Office: | College of Business, male section. | Class Times: | Cohort 1: Mon 9-12 Cohort 2: Sun 6-9pm Cohort 3: Mon 6-9pm | Venue: | Alfaisal University. Please check your personal academic timetables for the classroom location. | Course Instructor Dr Declan McCrohan graduated with a PhD in Applied Economics and a Masters degree in International Trade from Victoria University in Australia. His PhD research examined the impact of overseas students’ social networks on international trade flows. Dr McCrohan has extensive...
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...The Savers–Spenders Theory of Fiscal Policy By N. GREGORY MANKIW* The literature on the macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy and, in particular, of government debt is founded on two canonical models. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that both models are deficient and to propose a new model to take their place. The first canonical model is the Barro-Ramsey model of infinitely-lived families (Robert Barro, 1974). According to this model, the government’s debt policy redistributes the tax burden among generations, but families, who want to smooth their consumption over time, reverse the effects of this redistribution through their bequests. Government debt is completely neutral—a proposition called Ricardian equivalence. The second canonical model of government debt is the Diamond-Samuelson model of overlapping generations (Peter Diamond, 1965). In this model, people smooth consumption over their own lifetimes, but there is no bequest motive. When the government issues debt, it enriches some generations at the expense of others, crowds out capital, and reduces steadystate living standards. In this paper, I first discuss the facts that lead me to reject these canonical models. I then propose an alternative model and develop briefly its implications for fiscal policy. consumption over time. There is much reason to be skeptical about this assumption. A large empirical literature, starting with Robert Hall’s (1978) seminal random-walk theorem, has addressed...
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...Recession in America…Again I. Summary On June 13, 2014, The New York Times published an article entitled, “The Economic Damage of Recession.” This article explains the damages a recession could pose on the economy of America. Gross Domestic Product or GDP, for short, can be used to measure the efficiency of a country’s economy. GDP is broken in to two categories, nominal and real. Nominal GDP is not adjusted for inflation and real GDP is adjusted for inflation. The real GDP declined by 1%. The economy was actually estimated to grow by .01% in this period but instead declined for the first time in three years. This decline could signal the start of a recession, which is defined as negative growth in two consecutive quarters. The last recession to hit America was in December 2009 and lasted approximately 18 months. The article also states that consumers of countries which experience negative growth in two consecutive years will change their spending habits. Consumers follow the media, if the media defines the country as being in a state of recession; the consumer will adjust their spending habits further more hurting the economy. A declining GDP can have significantly negative effects on the unemployment rate and consumer price index or CPI. If this decline continues America could be facing another recession in 2014. II. Relation to Economic Concepts The article ties in to many economic concepts. First, it describes Real GDP and how it is used to measure...
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...that all material in this coursework which is not my own work has been acknowledged and I am fully aware of the consequences of plagiarism. Signed | For Academic Registrar use only | Outline Introduction 3 I. Analyses of Key Macroeconomic Indicators 3 1. Growth Rate 4 2. Productivity growth 5 3. Output Gap 6 4. Unemployment Rate 6 5. Inflation Rate 8 6. Trade 8 II. Interrelationships between key macroeconomic indicators 9 1. Growth and Unemployment, Okun's Law 9 2. Inflation-Unemployment Tradeoffs, the Philip curve 10 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 11 Introduction Over the years a great deal of works have been devoted to improve the economic performance of one of the sub-Saharan African country, located in the territory of Northern Rhodesia, Zambia. The country gained independence from the British in 1964, and started to operate and be counted as a separate economy. This empirical study analyses the available annual data on key macroeconomic indicators of Zambia for the period from 2000 to 2012 years, and explains the interrelation between these indicators with the help of important macroeconomic theories. I. Analyses of Key Macroeconomic Indicators As it is noted in macroeconomic textbooks, the nation's overall macroeconomic performance matters, not its own sake but because many individuals experience its consequences. The assumption that these connections between the overall economy and the lives of individuals are reflected in data...
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...Mankiw, Macroeconomics 8e Chapter 3 1. The returns to scale in the production function Y = K0.5L0.5 are: A. decreasing. B. constant. C. increasing. D. subject to wide fluctuations. 2. If a production function has two inputs and exhibits constant returns to scale, then doubling both inputs will cause the output to: A. reduce by half. B. stay the same. C. double. D. quadruple. 3. If the supplies of capital and labor are fixed and technology is unchanging, then real output is: A. fixed. B. determined by demand. C. uncertain. D. subject to wide fluctuations. 4. If a production function has the property of diminishing marginal product, then doubling: A. all of the inputs will less than double the output. B. all of the inputs will double the output. C. all of the inputs will more than double the output. D. one of the inputs will reduce its marginal product. 5. Consider the following production table: Assuming that the production function displays constant returns to scale, what is the marginal product of labor when labor and capital are both equal to 1,000? A. 1 B. 5 C. 10 D. 20 6. Consider the following production table: By how much does the marginal product of labor decrease as labor input increases from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3? A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 7. Euler's theorem implies that if a production function exhibits constant returns to scale, then: A. economic profit is zero. ...
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...Thesis A Proposed Re-start for Italy Without the Euro Department of Economics April 10, 2014 Preface By adopting the Euro as its official currency, Italy lost the independence to conduct monetary policy and is now facing a stagnant economy. Italy’s main source to reduce their high debt (over 120% of their GDP) is through fiscal policy and Italians have been experiencing steep increases in their taxes ever since the Euro was introduced. The Italian society has been experiencing an increase in unemployment, especially for the youth. It is quite challenging for young Italians to find job. After graduating from a university, the average Italian will most likely end up with a job as a waiter/waitress, electrician, taxi driver, or for the lucky ones, take over the family business. If Italy dropped Euro as its official currency and regain monetary independence, monetary policy could be implemented by the central bank of Italy (Banca D’Italia) in order to stimulate the economy by increasing the supply of Lire in the country to stimulate the economy, decrease unemployment, depreciate the currency to improve exports, increase consumption, and reduce the national debt. Background Italy’s economy is industrially diversified, mostly dominated by private corporations in the north. On the other hand, the so-called Mezzogiorno region (southern region) is mostly agricultural and unfortunately well-fare dependent as the unemployment rate is higher than the north. The Italian...
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...Is the assumption of rational expectations sufficient to ensure policy neutrality? Expectations play a vital role in determining the behaviour of the economy. How agents respond to a policy decision is critical to understanding the size and direction of the economy. For example agents make decisions to buy/sell stocks depending on their expectations of future profits or future interest rates. Therefore policy makers should take into account the expectations of people who make choices that affect future outcomes. In addition to agents’ expectations of future, we need to consider what information is available to the agent and based on what kind of knowledge does the agent make a decision at the first period (t). Previously economists modelled expectations on recent past information available to agents which the agents than used to adapt to the current situation; this form of adaptive expectations behaviour means that agents learn from past experience to expect future event, which means that adaptive expectations will be useful when future events are the same as past. Let’s look at a simple example of adaptive expectations (AE) first to lay the foundation for the other important and more relevant assumption of rational expectations (RE). If we had an inflation rate today of 3%, agents who use AE will forecast that next period’s inflation rate as 3%. So, with this basic example of AE we would have π ’ π t − 1 Where inflation expected is equal to the lagged inflation rate....
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...GROUP 7 | SECTION-D | PGP-16 | IIM-Kozhikode | IMPACT OF THE RIGHT TO WORK PROGRAMME | MACROECONOMICS | Ankur ZutshiGokul ManeanLohakare AmolPragyaSatadal BiswasTanmoy Chatterjee | 186196206216226236 | Right to Work The Right to Work, according to the Article 39 of the Indian Constitution under the ‘directive principles of state policy’, states that everyone should be given the right to an adequate means to livelihood. In order to guarantee the basic rights like right to life, right to education, right to food in a country where approximately thirty percent of the population is below the poverty line and the only economic assets it owns is labor power, value-adding profitable employment is very important. NREGA The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (5th September 2005), according to the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice – ‘An Act to provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’. The Panchayat or program officer validates applications at the village level, and the government provides a valid applicant with an employment within five kilometers and fifteen days. NREGA, UPA’s brainchild, started in two hundred districts in February 2006, spread...
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...Part A Question (a) According to the Statistics Department for the month of November, exports to the US, China and Asean region rose 11.0%, 5.4% and 7.8% respectively. For the same period, there is a decline of 16.2% and 11.3% in sales to Japan and European Union respectively. From the above statement, we can conclude that the importance of Malaysia’s trading partners have shifted from Japan and European Union to US, China and Asean region (Chong 2013). Question (b) Malaysia’s manufactured exports has been relying on imports especially capital goods such as machinery and transport equipment. The THREE (3) ways on how the economy can reduce imports are as follow: 1) Import Substitution Policy Import substitution policy is a policy that promotes the replacement of foreign imports with domestic production. By implementing this policy, Malaysia attempts to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of industrialised products until they reach a level of development when they are able to compete in the global market (Wikipedia 2013). According to Lee (2005), this type of industrial policy accompanied by tariff protection, import restrictions and sometimes government procurement favouring locally produced products is targeted at government investments such as Proton (car) and Perwaja (steel). Another long-term solution for import substitution policy is through encouragement of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Malaysia. Malaysia is a politically stable...
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