The correct use of national economic research methods allows macroeconomics to properly perform its functions.

The functions of macroeconomics are the same as those of economic theory as a whole: theoretical-methodological, methodological, prognostic and practical. But they also have their own specifics. It lies in putting the practical function first.

For a long time, since the time of A. Smith, it was believed that economic theory should simply describe phenomena occurring at the micro level. Economists believed that free enterprise and the play of market forces by themselves, spontaneously, automatically ensure economic development. State intervention in the economy was considered unacceptable. The state was required to observe the principle of laissez-faire, that is, the principle of non-intervention, allowing the economy to operate without any interference from the state. The role of the latter was reduced to the duties of a kind of “watchman”, protecting the country from invasion of its territory by enemies and maintaining internal order in it.

From this principle it followed that economics should only explain what is happening in the economy and not think about issues of its regulation, since in this regard it cannot offer anything more advanced than the market. In the 90s, with the beginning of “radical market reforms,” the principle of laissez-faire, which had long become an anachronism, was revived in Russia. The “reformers” adopted the slogan: “The market will put everything in its place.” As a result, the country was relegated to the rank of underdeveloped states, practically deprived of all types of national security, primarily economic.

Meanwhile, back in the mid-19th century, the English economist J. St. Mill pointed out the need to supplement the market mechanism with measures from the state. He noted that the market mechanism regulates and stimulates production well, but from a social point of view it does a very poor job of ensuring the distribution of the goods produced. As a result, the wealth of a few coexists with the poverty and misery of the majority of the population. This is why he considered it necessary for the state to intervene in distribution.

K. Marx went further. He criticized the idea of ​​​​the effectiveness of the market mechanism in relation to production, pointing out the need for a transition from spontaneous development to consciously directed development of the economy. The idea of ​​the presence of a planned principle in the economy was embodied in the USSR. The transition to a systematic development path allowed the country to move from sixth place in the world in terms of production volume to second place and in a short time turn into the second world superpower in terms of economic and military power. In the post-war period, following the example of the USSR, planning began to be used by many countries, including countries with market economies. Currently, it is difficult to find a country that would develop according to the laissez-faire principle. In developed countries, this principle has been replaced by the principle of directed development.

Western economic science associates the emergence of the practical function of macroeconomics with the name of D. Keynes, who back in the 30s. The 20th century substantiated the need for government intervention in the national economy while maintaining its market status and proposed specific options for such intervention. In the post-war period, Keynes' ideas were further developed. Particular emphasis was placed on the problem of dynamic equilibrium of the national economy and on the choice of means to ensure economic growth.

Thus, the status of macroeconomics as a science also changed. From a purely descriptive it has turned into a practical science. Along with the positive, it acquired a normative character. Macroeconomics not only gives a picture of the state of the national economy, but also indicates what the economy could be like if appropriate measures are taken within the framework of government economic policy.

The prognostic function of macroeconomics is closely related to the practical one.

This science is capable of making predictions regarding the possible state of the national economy in the future. For example, on the eve of 2002, economists made a forecast of the growth rate of the Belarusian economy in a given year, which is largely coming true. Forecasts are often variable in nature and are based on the principle “this will happen if...” For example, macroeconomics can quite accurately predict a decline in the rate of economic growth in a country when oil prices fall on the world market.

Finally, macroeconomics performs a methodological function, becoming the methodological basis for specific economic sciences dealing with issues of banking, finance, credit, money circulation, etc., as well as issues of state economic policy.

The separation of macroeconomics into a positive and normative part occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and continues to persist (see Appendix A).

Positive analysis involves a scientific explanation of the current situation and forecasting of further economic development. There are no value judgments here. The main thing is knowledge of the logic and patterns of economic development.

Positive analysis seeks to discover cause-and-effect relationships between economic phenomena, the degree of influence of certain structures on the general state of the economic system. When studying an economic phenomenon, quantitative analysis and a functional approach dominate.

In a positive analysis, the first place is, first of all, the diagnosis of the economic process. We receive specific answers to the questions: “what do we actually have?”, “what will we have in the near future?”

On the contrary, normative analysis often contains value judgments such as “is this good or bad”, “fair or unfair”, and touches on problems of social justice. Here they strive to answer the question “what should be?” From such positions they are trying to determine the future ideal state of the national economy.

In normative macroeconomics, they strive to prove what the situation should be, what ideal position one should strive for, taking into account common sense and the recommendations of economic science. Economic processes are assessed taking into account one or another social criterion. It is not so rare that the value system that acts as such a criterion follows from the dominant political, philosophical or religious worldview in society.

Thus, normative macroeconomics preserves the spirit of the Decembrists and reformers. At the present stage of development of economic science, a positive aspect of the normative approach to reality is that the system of basic assessments (criteria) is dominated not by emotions and ideological dogmas (as was the case until recently), but by theoretical conclusions that have been seriously tested by practice.

Modern macroeconomics does not have a single dominant theory. It is based on a number of theories that interact and complement each other and give practitioners freedom of choice, that is, the opportunity to determine the effectiveness of each theory themselves, depending on their subjective ideas, as well as taking into account the individual conditions, goals and priorities of the economic policy of a particular country.

To date, the following features of macroeconomics as a science have been clearly identified:

1. Approach to the economy as a set of enlarged elements, spheres, sectors, industries. Thus, macroeconomics considers not individual goods, but their aggregate in the form of gross national product, not money as such, but the money supply and monetary aggregates, not demand or supply in the market for individual goods, but aggregate demand and aggregate supply, etc.

2. Approach to the national economy as a sphere of social reproduction. This means that the processes studied by economics are considered as constantly renewed and interconnected with each other, being in a certain quantitative ratio. Accordingly, the economy is presented as a system in an equilibrium or nonequilibrium state.

3. Dynamic approach to considering the national economy. It involves taking into account the fact that the economy as a social system is in constant movement and change, its individual elements are transformed, and structural changes occur.

4. A statistical approach to analyzing the state of the national economy, involving the use and manipulation of data from national and international statistics. As a rule, we are talking about aggregated data characterizing, for example, the size of the gross national product or national income, money supply, etc. Statistics help to see especially clearly the dynamics of the national economy.

5. A socio-economic approach to the national economy, which requires consideration of not only economic, but also social issues and problems, for example, employment issues, unemployment problems, level and quality of life, etc.

6. Approach to the national economy as part of the world economy. This involves the widespread use of data not only on the national economy, but also on the world economy, consideration of issues of interaction of the national economy with the world economy, etc.

7. Identification of the state as a subject of macroeconomics, and the only subject capable of exerting a targeted and regulatory influence on the national economy. That is why a special object of study of macroeconomics as a science is the economic policy of the state.

Taking into account the noted features allows us to define the subject of macroeconomics as a science. The subject of macroeconomics is the system of economic relations and connections arising at the level of the national economy that determine its state and interaction with the world economy.

Many economists reduce the subject of macroeconomics to those problems arising from its basic definition: employment, inflation and economic growth. Others bring the number of major macroeconomic problems to 2-3 dozen. However, we should remember the great Aristotle, who called for looking for a “golden mean” in everything and avoiding extremes.

Therefore, we will highlight seven macroeconomic problems or the macroeconomic “magnificent seven”:

· National product;

· Employment (unemployment);

· Inflation;

· The economic growth;

· Economic cycle;

· Macroeconomic policy of the state;

· External interaction of national economies;

In its most general form, the content of a macroeconomics course boils down to the disclosure of the seven above-mentioned problems.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the object of macroeconomics research is constantly transforming, and therefore the range of macroeconomic problems that require ever new understanding is changing. Unlike microeconomics, the subject of study of which is very stable (and the structure of textbooks is quite established), macroeconomics cannot be considered a completely defining science. There are many different schools that interpret economic phenomena ambiguously. And although the Anglo-Saxon direction still dominates in the world of macroeconomic science, in recent decades the positions and authority of scientists from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, China and a number of other countries have significantly strengthened. There are attempts to create a domestic macroeconomic science.

The specifics of the subject of macroeconomics also explain the peculiarities of the method of studying it.

Related information.

Introduction

This manual contains lecture material on the normative discipline for higher educational institutions of economic profile "Macroeconomics". The relevance of the macroeconomics course lies in the fact that it is an integral component of the general economic training of bachelors in the field of knowledge “Economics and Entrepreneurship”. The role of macroeconomics is increasing as a result of the fundamentalization of higher education and in accordance with the requirements of the Bologna process.

The purpose of teaching this discipline is to form a system of knowledge about the mechanisms of functioning of the national economy on the basis of modern macroeconomic theories, substantiated by world and domestic science, and experience acquired by macroeconomic practice.

The objectives of the discipline are to study the theory of macroeconomic science, reveal its object, subject and method, highlight the main macroeconomic indicators and indicators of macroeconomic development, build basic equilibrium models, identify the mechanism of interaction between the components of macroeconomic policy.

The study of macroeconomics is based on the knowledge acquired by students in political economy, economic history and the history of economic thought, microeconomics, and statistics. In turn, macroeconomics is the theoretical foundation for the study of such disciplines as “Money and Credit”, “Finance”, “International Economics”, “National Economics”.

The subject of the academic discipline "Macroeconomics" is the mechanism of functioning of the national economy based on a combination of market self-regulation and government influence on economic processes.

As a result of studying the course of macroeconomics, students should develop knowledge about the basic principles of the functioning of the economy at the macro level, the prerequisites and patterns of the formation of equilibrium in the commodity, financial market and the market of factors of production, the conditions for the implementation of macroeconomic policy of the state, the principles of formation, implementation and stimulation of economic growth in accordance with the concepts schools of macroeconomics

Based on the knowledge gained, students should be able to adequately assess the macroeconomic situation in the country, analyze macroeconomic indicators of economic development that constitute the external environment of economic entities, compare the advantages and disadvantages of equilibrium and economic regulation models that are used in practice, evaluate the macroeconomic policy of the state and predict it possible consequences.

The main form of acquiring knowledge in the context of the implementation of Bologna standards of higher education are lectures, in which the student receives information about the phenomena and processes of economic life. This course of lectures will help systematize and organize the knowledge gained and will help with independent study of the discipline.

When compiling the manual, the authors proceeded from the requirements of the 2009 educational and professional program, although they do not agree with all of its provisions. In particular, we are talking about the structure and content of individual topics, which often turn out to be somewhat divorced from the European and American traditions of teaching macroeconomics.

Macroeconomics as a science

Macroeconomics is a theoretical science that studies the behavior of large groups of business entities and the national economy as a whole from the point of view of the market mechanism and government regulation.

Unlike microeconomics, which studies the economic behavior of individual (individual) economic entities (consumer or producer) in individual markets, macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole, examines problems common to the entire economy, and operates with such aggregate values ​​as gross domestic product, national income, aggregate demand, aggregate supply, aggregate consumption, investment, general price level, unemployment rate, government debt and the like.

The main problems which macroeconomics studies are: economic growth and its rates; economic cycle and its causes; employment level and unemployment problem; general price level and the problem of inflation; interest rate level and money circulation problems; the state of the state budget, problems of financing the budget deficit and public debt; the state of the balance of payments and exchange rate problems; problems of macroeconomic policy.

Understanding the role of macroeconomics in society means understanding its practical function. its basis is the main contradiction of society - the contradiction between limitless material needs and limited economic resources. Given the main contradiction, society cannot fully satisfy its needs, but it can influence the level of their satisfaction in order to increase it. The only way to solve this problem is to increase the efficiency of using available resources, that is, to increase the efficiency of the national economy, which manifests itself through an increase in the volume of production of goods and services per unit of resources. So, the practical function of macroeconomics is to produce knowledge with the help of which people will be able to constantly improve the efficiency of the economy and, on this basis, ensure an increase in the level of satisfaction of their material needs. It follows from this that object of macroeconomics is an economic system - a set of economic entities of the country, whose activities take place in the conditions of specific historical production relations, subject - cause-and-effect mechanism of functioning and development of the national economy.

Macroeconomics performs not only a cognitive, but also a normative (applied) function. The first is aimed at substantiating conclusions that characterize the current state of the national economy, the second is aimed at substantiating recommendations regarding ways to improve the efficiency of its functioning.

To perform its functions, macroeconomics must rely on certain methods, which together constitute its methodology.

Methodology of macroeconomic research is based on the formulation of an empirical problem, the identification of real facts, their generalization and the determination of principles or economic theories, which then become the basis for the development of economic policy of the state.

Macroeconomic analysis carried out at two levels:

1. Ex post (national accounting), which is based on the study of actually achieved parameters in order to timely adjust macroeconomic concepts.

2. Ex ante (predictive modeling) - forecasting economic processes for the future, modeling possible factors influencing the values ​​of macroeconomic indicators.

All macroeconomic processes are studied on the basis of building models. Macroeconomic models is a formalized description of economic processes and phenomena in order to identify the main relationships between them. To build a model, it is necessary to identify the essential, most important characteristics for each phenomenon under study and abstract from unimportant phenomena and factors. Consequently, the model is some simplified reflection of reality, which allows us to identify the main patterns of development of economic processes and develop options for solving such complex macroeconomic problems as economic growth, inflation, unemployment, and the like.

Macroeconomic models can be presented in the form of functions, graphs, diagrams and tables, which allow us to understand the interdependencies between macroeconomic quantities and cause-and-effect relationships between economic phenomena.

Models include two types of indicators: exogenous and endogenous.

Exogenous quantities - these are indicators that are specified from outside the model and are autonomous (independent).

Endogenous quantities - these are indicators formed within the model.

The model allows us to show how changes in exogenous quantities (external impulse) affect changes in endogenous ones. For example, if the consumption function looks like:

C = C (D^),

Where WITH - the amount of total consumer spending; Bi - disposable income; 1¥ - wealth,

That Oi And Ui are exogenous quantities, and WITH - endogenous quantity.

This model allows us to examine how changes in disposable income and/or wealth change the amount of consumer spending. Thus, consumption acts as a dependent quantity (function), and disposable income and the amount of wealth act as independent quantities (function argument). In different models, the same quantity can be both exogenous and endogenous. Thus, in the consumption model, consumer spending (WITH) act as an endogenous (dependent) quantity, and in the aggregate demand model AD = WITH + I + G + X they are an exogenous (independent) quantity, i.e., a variable that determines the amount of total output and total income. The exception is government variables, which, as a rule, are exogenous (government purchases of goods and services, tax rates, the amount of transfers, the discount interest rate, the required reserve ratio, the monetary base).

An important feature of macroeconomic variables is that they are divided into two groups: flow indicators and stock indicators. Flow - this is the quantity for a certain period. In macroeconomics, the unit of time is usually the year. Flow indicators include: total output, total income, consumption, investment, state budget deficit (surplus), exports, imports, etc. All of them are calculated every year, that is, received per year. Stock - this is the quantity at a certain point in time, that is, on a certain date, for example, on January 1, 2009. Indicators of stocks include national wealth, personal wealth, capital stock, number of unemployed, productive capacity, public debt and the like.

Macroeconomic indicators can also be classified into absolute and relative. Absolute indicators measured in monetary (value) terms. The exception is the number of employed and unemployed, which are measured in number of people. Relative indicators measured in percentages or relative values. Relative indicators include: unemployment rate, deflator (general price level), inflation rate, economic growth rate, interest rate, tax rate.

The results of macroeconomic modeling largely depend on the period that the model covers. Therefore, in macroeconomics, two periods are distinguished: short-term and long-term. Short term is a period of time during which market regulators are unable to adequately respond to disturbances in aggregate demand and/or aggregate supply and restore full employment in the economy. Long term - this is the period of time during which market regulators are able to adequately respond to disturbances in aggregate demand and/or aggregate supply and thereby restore full employment in the economy.

The economy as an integral system presupposes the presence of equilibrium in all market processes that characterize its functioning. An illustration of equilibrium can be a diagram of economic circulation.

- circulation of goods, resources and income between macrosubjects and macromarkets. A simple model of economic circulation is presented in Fig. 1.1.

Figure 1.1 - Economic circuit

Model characteristics:

1. A simple model involves two macro-subjects: households and firms. Such an economy is called private because there is no public sector, and closed because there is no foreign economic sector.

2. From macromarkets, the simple model represents only commodity and resource markets, which form the real sector of the economy, since there is no financial market.

3. In Fig. Figure 1.1 shows the circulation of real flows, which cover the movement of goods and resources (clockwise). Cash flow reflects the movement of income and expenses (counterclockwise). The equilibrium of the economy is manifested in the fact that the real flow is quantitatively equal to the money flow.

4. The complete model of economic circulation takes into account the role of the state, which takes part of the goods and resources from the real flow, and taxes from the monetary flow, returning the services of government agencies, transfers and subsidies to the real flow. The foreign sector takes export goods from the real flow of a given country and adds imported ones, and adds funds received from exports to the cash flow and takes funds spent on paying for imports.

The main problem of macroeconomics is achieving and maintaining a stable equilibrium between macroeconomic objects.

Macroeconomic balance means the balance of macro-objects and proportionality between production and consumption, resources and their use, supply and demand, material and financial flows.

Macroeconomic equilibrium This is the ideal state of the economy. In practice, there are always separate disequilibrium markets. However, this does not detract from the importance of the category “macroeconomic equilibrium”, since the economy is constantly moving towards it. The following types of market equilibrium are distinguished:

1. Partial (microeconomic) equilibrium - balance of individual and industry markets for goods or product groups, for example, the oil market, the grain market, the computer market.

2. General economic equilibrium - equilibrium is established at a certain point in time. This equilibrium is an integral interconnected system formed by all market processes on the basis of free competition. It is the sum of the equilibrium states of individual commodity markets.

3. Real macroeconomic equilibrium - equilibrium established in the market under conditions of imperfect competition and the influence of external factors. This equilibrium takes into account the fact that in modern conditions imperfect competition prevails in most industrial markets, which complicates the operation of the market mechanism for balancing supply and demand. The economic system is also influenced by the state, which is designed to help restore perfect competition in the market.

Starting from Fr. Quesnay (1758) and today economists are engaged in modeling macroeconomics. The simplest macroeconomic models include:

1. Commodity market equilibrium model, or Say’s model:

LB = LB, (1.1)

Where LB - total (aggregated) supply; LB - total (aggregated) demand.

2. National accounts model. She states that the volume of total national expenditures is equal to the country's national income:

LE = N , (1.2)

Where LE - total costs; N - national income.

3. Equilibrium model of savings and investments. If part of the income received is not consumed, but is saved, then Say’s law and the equilibrium of the commodity market are not violated, provided that the savings are provided in full to the business sector in the form of investments. The banking system can be an intermediary in this process. The equilibrium of savings and investments is established due to fluctuations in the interest rate as the price of financial market resources.

B = I , (1.3)

where is national savings; I - total investments.

4. Equilibrium model of cash and material flows. This model is based on the basic equation of monetarism:

M-V = P b, (1.4)

Where M - average annual mass of money in circulation;

V - velocity of money circulation, defined as the number of revolutions of a monetary unit during the year;

IN - real GDP;

G - the general price level, calculated as a GDP deflator.

The left side of equation (1.4) represents the cash flow, and the right side represents the real flow. If there is excessive growth of money, this affects the right side through an increase in the deflator. Consequently, the main cause of inflation for monetarists is an increase in the money supply.

Along with the simplest models, the author's models of macroeconomic equilibrium are also used. They differ in the direction of aggregation of objects and the goals that the authors set when studying macroeconomic processes. The main author's models of macroeconomics include:

1. Model of economic circulation Fr. Quesnay (1758), which describes simple reproduction using the example of the French economy.

2. K. Marx’s model of simple and expanded social reproduction, which divides the economy into two divisions and models the movement of cash and commodity flows between them.

3. Model of general economic equilibrium under conditions of free competition by L. Walras.

4. V. Leontiev’s “input-output” model, which in matrix form shows the intersectoral balance of the formation, distribution and use of the national product.

5. J. Keynes's model of short-term macroeconomics, which formulates the conditions for balancing total expenses and total income in the national economy.

6. Model of an equilibrium economy under Neumann expansion. Since equilibrium is the ideal state of the economy, in practice it is often disrupted by crises that periodically occur in the economy. A market economy develops unevenly, with periods of growth followed by recessions. Fluctuations in the economy that are systematic are called economic cycles. In the process of cyclical fluctuations, market conditions change, i.e., the ratio of aggregate demand and aggregate supply.

Economic cycles have the following characteristics:

1) cycle duration:

Centennial cycles;

Long waves, or Kondratieff cycles (40-60 years);

Construction cycles, or Blacksmith cycles (17-18 years);

Large business cycles, or Juglar cycles (8-10 years);

Small business cycles, or Kitchin cycles (3-4 years);

Seasonal short-term fluctuations in business activity and short-term industry fluctuations;

2) phases of the cycle (Fig. 1.2). Modern modeling of the business cycle identifies two phases and two turning points. The main phase is economic growth, which, under certain conditions, turns into “overheating” of the economy, after which a decline in production occurs. If a decline lasts less than 6 months, it is called a recession. A fall lasting from 6 to 12 months is called a recession, over 12 months is called depression;

3) the amplitude of cyclical fluctuations means the speed of rise and depth of decline during the business cycle. Different sectors of the economy react differently to cyclical fluctuations, namely:

Production of consumer staples varies least over the cycle;

Figure 1.2 - Cycle phases

Consumer goods and services with a higher elasticity of demand have a wider amplitude of cyclical fluctuations (durable goods - televisions, refrigerators, microwave ovens, etc.);

Significant fluctuations in market conditions are observed in the production of investment goods and construction;

4) macroeconomic indicators at different phases of the cycle have different directions of action. According to this criterion, they distinguish:

pro-cyclical indicators - decrease during recession and increase during recovery, for example, real GDP, employment level;

anticyclical (countercyclical) - increase during a recession and decrease during a recovery, for example, the volume of inventories in the economy;

acyclic indicators - their level does not depend on cyclical fluctuations, for example, grain yields in agriculture;

5) during the business cycle, the relationships between demand and supply of goods, total income and expenses of the economy change. Under such conditions, macroeconomic instability arises. The main form of macroeconomic instability is:

In the phase of economic recession - an increase in the unemployment rate, an increase in the number of unemployed;

During the recovery phase, increased inflation may be observed, due to the business optimism of entrepreneurs, which is manifested by the intensification of the investment process and the involvement in production of expensive goods - the name of an economic boom or overheating of the economy, which precedes a cyclical contraction;

6) to smooth out cyclical fluctuations with Keynesian theory, depending on the phase of the business cycle, appropriate measures of short-term countercyclical regulation of the economy are taken:

During the cyclical recession phase, anti-crisis regulation is applied, which in macroeconomics is called stimulating (expansion) economic policy;

To eliminate macroeconomic instability in the context of an economic boom, the state uses anti-inflationary regulation, which is called contractionary or restrictive (from the word “restriction”, which means tough measures) economic policy.

In recent decades, governments of developed countries are increasingly turning to the neoclassical concept of state regulation of the economy, which consists in the fact that the time horizon of regulation is carried out not on a short-term cyclical basis, but on a medium- and long-term basis. For example, in the USA, tax reforms were carried out (in 1986, 2002), which oriented the economy towards long-term growth in line with the theoretical concept of Arthur Lafer.

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Subject, object, methods, functions of macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is an important part of economic theory. As an independent branch of economic science, it was formed approximately 60 years later than microeconomics, namely in the 30s of the 20th century. The term “macroeconomics” was first used in an article in 1933 by the famous Norwegian scientist, mathematical economist, one of the founders of econometrics, and Nobel Prize laureate Ragnar Frisch.

The emergence of macroeconomics is usually associated with work John Maynard Keynes(1883 - 1946) "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money"(1936), where the author drew attention to the peculiarities of the manifestation of the interrelations of economic processes at the macro level and proved the need for state regulation of a market economy. Modern macroeconomics is rich in significant theoretical developments. The achievements of economists form the basis of the economic doctrines of states. Scientists such as M. Friedman, F. Modigliani, R. Solow, J. Toynbee, S. Kuznets, V. Leontiev and many others who considered macroeconomic problems became Nobel laureates

Macroeconomics today is based on a number of theories that complement each other and give practitioners the opportunity to choose, that is, to determine the effectiveness of each theory themselves, depending on their own subjective ideas, as well as taking into account the individual conditions, goals and priorities of the economic policy of a particular country

Unlike microeconomics, which studies mainly the behavior of an individual economic entity, macroeconomics examines the results and consequences of the joint economic activity of all participants, considers the national economy as a whole, and analyzes complex or aggregate indicators that characterize the movement of the economy as a whole.

Macroeconomics – a branch of economic science that studies the functioning of the national economy as a whole from the point of view of ensuring sustainable economic growth, full employment of resources, minimizing the level of inflation and balance of payments.

Subjects of the national economy are:

1) household sector whose activities are aimed at satisfying their own needs. They are economically active in that they offer factors of production, consume part of the income received, and save part;

2) business sector- the totality of all firms in the country that strive for maximum profit. Their economic activity manifests itself in the demand for factors of production. They offer the results of their activities and are investors in the national economy;

3) government sector. The state produces and purchases public goods in order to optimize the functioning of the national economy, collects taxes, pays transfers, and forms the supply of money;

4) foreign sector– a set of economic entities abroad and state. foreign institutions. The influence of the foreign sector on the economy is carried out through the mutual exchange of goods, services, capital, and national currencies.

The totality of these entities constitutes the national economy.

Object of study is an aggregate indicator. Therefore, M-ka is the science of aggregate behavior in economics. It studies the dominant trends in the economy, leaving out partial changes affecting individual households and firms. The object of macroeconomics is the national economy of a country, taking into account its corresponding type, that is, a historically defined economic system.

Subject macroeconomic theory is the behavior of macroeconomic entities at the level of the economy as a whole, that is, the mechanism of functioning of the economic system.

Functions of macroeconomics:

1) theoretical-cognitive - studying persistent cause-and-effect relationships in the economic mechanism and building models of economic processes at the macro level. The appearance is one, the essence is another. To know the essence, science is necessary.

2) practical - development of practical recommendations for improving the economic system in order to more efficiently use available resources and better meet public needs.

3) Worldview (educational) function - the formation of a new type of economic, scientific thinking and modern worldview of man, to rid the public and the individual. consciousness from bias, misconceptions and dogmas.

4) Methodological - serves as a guiding principle in relation to sectoral and functional economic sciences

There are positive and normative M-ku.

Positive M designed to clarify the content of macroeconomic phenomena and processes and the behavior of economic entities in these conditions.

Normative economics– a set of ideas about what the economy should become.

There are two types of macroeconomic analysis: analysis ex post and analysis ex ante . Macroeconomic analysis ex post or national accounting, i.e. statistical data analysis, which makes it possible to evaluate the results of economic activity, identify problems and negative phenomena, develop economic policies to solve and overcome them, and conduct a comparative analysis of the economic potentials of different countries. Macroeconomic analysis ex ante, i.e. predictive modeling of economic processes and phenomena based on certain theoretical concepts, which makes it possible to determine patterns of development of economic processes and identify cause-and-effect relationships between economic phenomena and variables. This is macroeconomics as a science.

Essay

course: Macroeconomics

topic: Macroeconomics as an economic science

Introduction

Macroeconomics, as one of the components of economic theory, is the science of the behavior of the economy as a single whole. She studies the causes of cyclical fluctuations and the relationship between the dynamics of production volumes, inflation and unemployment.

Macroeconomics is based on microeconomic phenomena and processes. And this means that:

Macroeconomic indicators are the result of a summary of the economic performance of individual households and firms; macroeconomic patterns reflect trends in mass behavior at the micro level;

When constructing macroeconomic models, one starts from the assumption that households and firms make optimal microeconomic decisions;

Macroeconomic processes are the result of the interaction of economic agents and the economic policy of the state.

Economic policy is the purposeful influence of the state on production, income, employment, inflation and other macroeconomic parameters by changing the money supply, the level of taxes and government spending.

Macroeconomic factors (such as the level of market interest rates, inflation, unemployment, and the like) influence households' decisions about savings, investments, and consumer spending, which, in turn, determines the size and structure of aggregate demand. Therefore, micro- and macroeconomic processes are closely interconnected.

Unlike microeconomics, macroeconomics uses aggregate values ​​in its analysis: gross domestic product (and not the output of an individual firm), the average price level (and not the prices of specific goods), the market interest rate (and not the interest rate of an individual bank), the inflation rate , employment, unemployment and the like.

The main macroeconomic indicators are:

Real GDP growth rate;

Inflation rate;

Unemployment rate.

1. Subject and functions of macroeconomics

Modern economic theory includes two components: political economy and economics (economics).

The term “political economy” dates back to the book of the French economist, mercantilist Antoine Montchretien, Sieur de Watteville, “Treatise of Political Economy” (1615). The emergence of the term “economics” (economics) is associated with the name of the English economist of the second half of the 19th century. Alfred Marshall. Initially, economics had one component - microeconomics; since the 30s XX century, with the birth of Keynesianism, another component of it appeared - macroeconomics. Thus, economics is currently divided into microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Microeconomics is the science of decision making by rational actors, studying the behavior of individual economic actors. The concept of “microeconomics” is interpreted ambiguously. Some economists believe that microeconomics deals with individual firms, decision making, and the motives of behavior of entrepreneurs. Other authors argue that microeconomics studies not only the problems of an individual firm, household, but also the industry, as well as issues of resource use, pricing of goods and services.

Macroeconomics is the study of the overall level of national output, unemployment and inflation; it deals with the properties of the economic system as a whole, studies the factors and results of the development of the country's economy as a whole.

Macroeconomics began to emerge as an independent scientific field in the early 1930s. XX century, while the formation of microeconomics dates back to the last third of the 19th century (L. Walras, K. Menger, A. Marshall). The foundations of macroeconomics were laid by John Maynard Keynes.

J. Keynes in his book “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936) proved the possibility of the existence in a market economy of a stable state of high unemployment and underutilized production capacity, but at the same time, the correct fiscal and monetary policy of the state can affect production , thereby reducing unemployment and reducing the duration of economic crises. Consequently, Keynes substantiated the need for state regulation of the economy as a whole. Keynesian economic theory became dominant in the field of macroeconomics and public policy.

From the post-war period until the 60s. any analysis of macroeconomic policy was based on Keynesian postulates. The ideas formulated by Keynes were developed by his followers - J. Hicks, A. Hansen, P. Samuelson.

However, new theoretical developments have undermined the former significance of Keynesian macroeconomic theory. The most significant criticism of Keynesianism was presented by the monetarist movement, led by M. Friedman.

The term “macroeconomics” was introduced into scientific circulation relatively recently, but the macroeconomic analysis of general economic trends itself has been central for many centuries. Thus, the French economist-physiocrat F. Quesnay, in his work “Economic Table” (1758), for the first time in economic science, made an attempt to analyze social reproduction from the point of view of determining the balance proportions between the natural and value elements of the social product. Certain aspects of macroeconomic analysis are contained in the work of the English economist D. Hume in his monetarist approach to the balance of payments. The macroeconomic approach to the analysis of social reproduction was used by K. Marx in his model, which he outlined in the 2nd volume of Capital (1885), in which he proceeded from the correspondence between the natural material and value structures of the total social product.

Macroeconomics pursues specific goals and uses appropriate tools.

The goal system includes the following elements:

High and growing level of national production, i.e. the level of real gross domestic product (GDP);

High employment with low involuntary unemployment;

Stable price levels combined with the determination of prices and wages through the interaction of supply and demand in free markets;

Achieving a zero balance of payments balance.

The first goal is that the ultimate goal of economic activity is to provide the population with goods and services. The aggregate measure of national production is gross domestic product (GDP), which expresses the market value of final goods and services.

The second goal of macroeconomic policy is high employment and low unemployment. The unemployment rate fluctuates during the economic cycle. During the depression phase, the demand for market power decreases and the unemployment rate increases. During the recovery phase, the demand for labor increases and unemployment decreases. However, meeting everyone's need for decent work is an elusive goal.

The third macroeconomic goal is price stability in the presence of free markets. A common measure of the general price level is the consumer price index (CPI), which takes into account the costs of purchasing a fixed set of “baskets” of goods and services.

The fourth goal concerns an open economy and means achieving overall economic equilibrium at the level of full employment with a zero balance of payments.

The relationship between the main macroeconomic goals determines the main macroeconomic goal, which reflects the main task of macroeconomic policy, the implementation of which comes in two forms:

Intermediate macroeconomic goals;

Tactical macroeconomic goals.

The former regulate the values ​​of key macroeconomic variables, the latter carry out transformations of the national economy.

The state has at its disposal appropriate tools that it can use to influence the economy.

A policy instrument is an economic variable under government control that contributes to the achievement of one or more macroeconomic goals.

The following macroeconomic policy instruments are distinguished.

Fiscal policy, meaning the manipulation of taxes and government spending to influence the economy. The first component of fiscal policy—taxation—impacts the overall economic situation in two ways:

Reduces disposable income or expendable income of households. For example, taxes reduce the amount of money the population spends on goods and services, resulting in a reduction in aggregate demand for the good, which causes a fall in GDP;

Influences the prices of goods and factors of production. Thus, an increase in income taxes causes a decrease in incentives for firms to invest in new capital goods.

Money-credit policy carried out by the state through the country's monetary, credit and banking systems. Regulation of the money supply affects interest rates and thereby the economic environment. For example, a tight money policy raises interest rates, reducing economic growth and increasing unemployment. Conversely, cheap money policies cause economic growth and a reduction in unemployment.

Income Policy- this is the desire of the state to contain inflation through policy measures: either direct control over wages and prices, or voluntary planning for increases in wages and prices.

Income policy in Western economic literature is the most controversial. Thirty to forty years ago, this policy was considered effective in combating inflation. Currently, many economists consider it not only ineffective, but also harmful, because it does not reduce inflation. Therefore, most developed countries use it in emergency situations.

Foreign economic policy. International trade increases efficiency and economic growth, and improves the standard of living of the population. An important indicator of foreign trade is net exports, which is the difference between the value of exports and the value of imports. If exports exceed imports, there is a surplus; if imports exceed exports, there is a trade deficit.

Trade policy includes tariffs, quotas, and other regulatory instruments that either encourage or restrict exports and imports. Regulation of the foreign sector is carried out by coordinating macroeconomic policies in different economic regions, but mainly through the management of the foreign exchange market, since foreign trade is influenced by the country's exchange rate.

Macroeconomics as a science performs the following functions:

theoretical-cognitive;

practical;

ideological and educational;

methodological.

Macroeconomics performs a theoretical-cognitive function when it explains the patterns of development of the national economy, processes and phenomena of the economic life of society. It makes it possible to understand why some countries are developing rapidly while others are lagging behind; why in some periods prices are relatively stable, while in others there are high rates of inflation; why all countries face recessions and depressions. Macroeconomics, which performs a theoretical-cognitive function, is called positive macroeconomics. The theoretical-cognitive function of macroeconomics is aimed at identifying the patterns inherent in the functioning of the economic system, which is based on the commodity form of production and pluralism of ownership.

Macroeconomics is not limited to a simple description of economic patterns: its theoretical-cognitive function is complemented by a practical function. Its essence lies in the fact that macroeconomics produces recommendations for economic policy. Macroeconomics helps government officials solve quite a lot of complex issues that arise before them. For example, such as: is it worth raising taxes to cope with the deficit; is it advisable to increase the minimum wage; whether the government should control commercial banks a little more tightly; Is it worth maintaining the hryvnia exchange rate? Advice to political leaders on such issues is provided by professional macroeconomists who serve as advisers to presidents and prime ministers. If these advisers have deep knowledge and can offer productive solutions, then economic policy interventions are well thought out and produce the desired results.

Closely related to the theoretical, cognitive and practical functions of macroeconomics is its ideological and educational function. Its content is the formation of economic thinking, economic psychology and economic culture of people. To appreciate the importance of this function, just read a newspaper or listen to a news broadcast. In the media we often come across such headlines: “Ukraine’s gross domestic product began to grow in 2000,” “Lack of net investment in the oil and gas complex,” or “GDP deflator in the US economy is growing slower than the CPI.” If we are not familiar with the language of macroeconomics, then these titles will seem nonsense. Studying macroeconomics makes it possible to understand this language, which is needed by all members of society. Older citizens who live on pensions are interested in the rate at which prices will rise. University graduates looking for work are worried about whether the national economy will resume growth and whether firms will hire workers. Voters need to know the state of affairs in the national economy in order to make the right decisions. The study of macroeconomics makes it possible to understand why Ukraine, rich in black soil and other resources, has not yet been able to provide a decent life for the majority of its citizens and what needs to be done to achieve the level of well-being that exists in developed countries. Macroeconomics helps to form a new economic culture that meets the realities of a market economy. Its main features are the desire to save, economical housekeeping, discipline, responsibility for the results of one’s work, etc.

Finally, macroeconomics performs a methodological function. The scientific ideas she formulated about the functioning mechanism of the national economy and the understandable categorical apparatus are used by other economic sciences - sectoral and functional.

2. Methodological foundations and principles of macroeconomics

If the subject of a scientific discipline answers the question of what it studies, then the method answers how this science is studied.

A method is understood as a set of methods, techniques, forms of studying the subject of a given science, i.e. specific tools for scientific research.

Macroeconomics, like other sciences, uses both general and specific methods of study.

General scientific methods include:

Method of scientific abstraction;

Method of analysis and synthesis;

Method of unity of historical and logical;

System-functional analysis;

Economic and mathematical modeling;

A combination of normative and positive approaches.

At the same time, each science uses its own specific research methods and has its own terms and principles. For example, in chemistry the concept of a molecule is used, in physics - a quantum, in mathematics - an integral, a radical, etc. Macroeconomics uses its own concepts, the main ones of which are called categories. Along with the development of macroeconomics, some categories die out, others are modified. In other words, the categories are historical in nature.

The main specific method of macroeconomics is macroeconomic aggregation, which is understood as the unification of phenomena and processes into a single whole. Aggregated values ​​characterize market conditions and their changes (market interest rate, GDP, GNP, general price level, inflation rate, unemployment rate, etc.).

Macroeconomic aggregation extends to economic entities (household, firms, government, abroad) and markets (goods and services, securities, money, labor, real capital, international, currency).

Widely used in macroeconomics economic models– formalized descriptions (logical, graphic, algebraic) of various economic phenomena and processes to detect functional relationships between them. Macroeconomic models allow us to abstract from minor elements and focus on the main elements of the system and their interrelations. Macroeconomic models, being an abstract expression of economic reality, cannot be comprehensive, therefore in macroeconomics there are many different models that can be classified according to various criteria:

By the degree of generalization (abstract theoretical and concrete economic);

According to the degree of structuring (small-sized and multi-sized);

From the point of view of the nature of the relationship of elements (linear and nonlinear);

By degree of coverage (open and closed: closed - for studying a closed national economy; open - for studying international economic relations);

By taking into account time as a factor determining phenomena and processes (static - the time factor is not taken into account; dynamic - time acts as a factor, etc.).

There are many different models in macroeconomics: the circular flow model; Keynes cross; model IS – LM; Baumol–Tobin model; Marx's model; Solow model; Domar model; Harrod model; the Samuelson-Hicks model, etc. All of them act as a common toolkit, without having any national characteristics.

In each macroeconomic model, it is extremely important to select factors that would be significant for the macroanalysis of a specific problem in a specific period of time.

In each model there are two types variables:

a) exogenous;

b) endogenous.

The first ones are introduced into the model from the outside; they are specified before the model is built. This is the background information. The latter arise within the model in the process of solving the proposed problem and are the results of its solution.

When building models, we use four types functional dependencies:

a) definitional;

b) behavioral;

c) technological;

d) institutional.

Definitional(from lat. Definitio– definition) reflect the content or structure of the phenomenon or process being studied. For example, the aggregate demand in the goods market is understood as the total demand of households, the investment demand of the business sector, the demand of the state and abroad. This definition can be represented as an identity:

Y = C + I + G + NE.

Behavioral – show the preferences of economic actors. So, the consumption function C = C(Y) and saving function S = S(Y) .

Technological– characterize technological dependencies in the economy, reflect the connection determined by production factors, the level of development of productive forces, scientific and technological progress. An example is a production function showing the relationship between volume and factors of production:

Y = f(L, N, K),

Where Y- volume of production, L– labor, N - Earth, K – capital.

Institutional– express institutionally established dependencies; determine the connections between certain economic indicators and government institutions that regulate economic activity. For example, the amount of tax revenue (T) there is a function (Y) and the established tax rate (ty) :

T =ty X Y.

It should be noted that the time factor plays a greater role in macroeconomics than in microeconomics. Therefore, in macroeconomics, importance is attached to the “expectations” of economic actors.

The problem of expectations was first put forward by the Swedish economist, Nobel Prize winner in economics (1974) G.K. Myrdal (1898-1987).

Economic expectations are divided into two groups:

Expectations ex post;

Expectations ex ante.

Expectations ex post – assessment by economic entities of the acquired experience, actual assessments, assessments of the past.

Ex ante expectations are forecast estimates of economic entities.

In macroeconomics there are three basic concepts for forming expectations.

The concept of static expectations. According to this concept, economic agents expect in the future what they encountered in the past. For example, if last year prices grew by 3% per month, then this year their growth will also be 3%.

The concept of adaptive expectations, according to which economic actors adjust their expectations taking into account mistakes made in the past.

The concept of rational expectations. An approach according to which the forecasts of economic entities for the future are formed as the optimal result of processing all the information at their disposal, including about the government’s current economic policy. The concept of rational expectations arose in the 70s. XX century. R. Lucas is considered its founder.

The authors of the concept of rational expectations argue that both the concept of static expectations and the concept of adaptive expectations provide a simplified interpretation of the mechanism for the formation of assessments by rational subjects. However, the concept of rational expectations does not give an unambiguous answer about the number of models for forming assessments of the future.

In macroeconomics, a distinction is made between positive and normative approaches.

Positive approach is an analysis of the actual functioning of the economic system.

The combination of positive and normative approaches makes it possible for macroeconomic research, despite the high level of scientific abstraction, to serve as a theoretical basis for the development of state economic policy.

3. Formation and development of macroeconomics

Macroeconomic science has gone through a significant historical development path. The first macroeconomic theory is considered to be the teaching of the representative of the French school of physiocrats F. Quesnet (1694 - 1774). In his "Economic Table" he analyzed the movement of the total social product from the standpoint of a certain system of natural and cost proportions of social reconstruction.

In the XIX century. K. Marx (1818 - 1883) developed schemes for simple and extended reconstruction, and L. Walras (1834 - 1910) explored the theory of general equilibrium. A significant contribution to the development of macroeconomic science was made by the English economist J. M. Keynes (1883 - 1946). His teaching is directed against the ideas of the classical economic school, which substantiated the model of a free market economy as an equilibrium self-regulating system. Macroeconomics is one of the youngest economic sciences. She reached her maturity in the 30s of the twentieth century. during the global economic crisis, when it acquired the ability to influence economic practice. Macroeconomic science dates back to the 14th century. In 1576, the Frenchman Jean Bodin justified inflation as a result of a change in the relationship between the quantity of money and goods. This theory became the basis of modern monetary theory.

The studies of the English economist V. Petty, who was the first to carry out calculations and assess the national income of England and France, also had a macroeconomic focus. V. Petty examined the impact on the economy and division of income associated with improving the taxation system in the country.

Macroeconomic analysis acquired further development in the 18th century. in the works of the physiocrats. Francois Quesnet developed a macroeconomic model of economic circulation - the “Economic Table” (in 1758). This table displayed a general picture of the circulation of goods and services for the main sectors of the economy and classes of society and gave an idea of ​​the mechanism of functioning of the economy as a whole. But it had its shortcomings.

According to the classical theory, the market's ability to self-regulate to achieve the so-called natural order in the economy is ensured with the help|through| pricing mechanism. A. Smith considers two prices: 1. Natural, which covers expenses and gives an average rate of profit. 2. Market, that is, the actual price at which the product is sold on the market. The regulating role of prices is carried out as follows: If demand is higher than supply, and the market price deviates upward from the natural one, then in the industry where this product is produced, profit is higher than the average rate, then capital is moved to a more profitable industry from the natural one, and if demand is lower than supply , the market price is less than the natural one, and the profit is below the average level, then capital is withdrawn from the low-income industry. This ensures equilibrium in the economy, that is, a distribution of resources between individual sectors that meets social needs... that is, the market, through the price mechanism, automatically ensures the achievement of macroeconomic equilibrium. An opposite approach to assessing the regulatory capabilities of the market is proposed by the theory of K. Marx. He developed two models of economic circulation. He came to the conclusion that in conditions of constant accumulation of capital, the rate of profit tends to decrease (the law of the tendency of the rate of profit to decrease). As a result, the process of economic circulation is slowed down, production is reduced, a crisis arises and people become impoverished, which ultimately destroys the capitalist market system. J. Keynes proved that the economy can be in equilibrium with underemployment and government intervention is needed to eliminate it. Before government intervention, Keynes considered financial and monetary policy, and chose aggregate demand as the object of influence. In the book “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936), Keynes showed that the state, by influencing certain macroeconomic indicators, can effectively regulate the economy.

During the new global economic crisis of the 70s. XX century It turned out that government intervention in the economy does not always give a positive result and that the government’s influence on aggregate demand during an economic recession does not ensure an increase in production, but only generates inflation. For the first time, such a phenomenon as stagflation arose, that is, when there is a simultaneous decline in production and rising prices. “Neoclassical theory”, which arose in the 70s, began to develop intensively. XIX century On the one hand, it was a reaction to Marxism with its criticism of capitalism, and on the other, an attempt to incorporate a number of new provisions into neoclassical theory. This theory has many different directions. Welfare theory introduced the scientific concept of “public goods”, “external effects”, “monopolies”, where state assistance is needed. A neoclassical school has emerged which includes a number of theories that contradict the Nainsian one.

Modern macroeconomics does not have a single dominant theory. It is based on a number of theories that interact and complement each other and give practitioners the opportunity to choose, that is, to determine the effectiveness of each theory themselves, depending on their subjective ideas, as well as taking into account the individual conditions, goals and priorities of the economic policy of a particular country.

Conclusion

Thus, macroeconomics is a section of modern economic theory that studies the economy as a whole, as well as its most important components (business, public sector, etc.).

The subject of macroeconomic theory is the study of macroeconomic phenomena that are not associated with any one sector of the economy, but are relevant to all sectors of the economy and should receive a general (macroeconomic) explanation. It should be noted that some macroeconomic issues relate to the economy of a country, and some may have consequences for a number of countries (for example, global oil or financial crises).

Main problems that macroeconomics studies are: economic growth and its rates; economic cycle and its causes; employment level and unemployment problem; general price level and the problem of inflation; interest rate level and money circulation problems; the state of the state budget, the problem of financing the budget deficit and the problem of public debt; the state of the balance of payments and exchange rate problems; problems of macroeconomic policy.

Macroeconomics and microeconomics are closely related and interact with each other. Microeconomics underlies macroeconomics. A significant gap between these two sciences existed at the dawn of macroeconomics and is gradually narrowing.

Unlike microeconomics, which studies the economic behavior of individual (individual) economic entities (consumer or producer) in individual markets, macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole, studies problems common to the entire economy, and operates aggregate values such as gross domestic product, national income, aggregate demand, aggregate supply, aggregate consumption, investment, general price level, unemployment rate, public debt, etc.

Macroeconomics also considers the following aggregate markets: the goods market, the labor market, the money market and the securities market.

Macroeconomics, as a branch of science that emerged from general economic theory, operates with all typical economic methods.

The general methods of macroeconomics include the following: the method of induction and deduction, the method of analogy, the method of scientific abstraction, the method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete, the method of analysis and synthesis, the method of combining the historical and logical in the study.

Specific methods of macroeconomics include: aggregation, macroeconomic modeling and the equilibrium principle.

List of used literature

1. Macroeconomics. 2nd ed. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2008 – 544 p.: ill. – (Series “Textbook for Universities”).

2. Macroeconomics: growth and development: Navch. Posyb. – K.: VD “Professional”, 2006. – 272 p.

3. Agapova T.A., Seregina S.Φ. Macroeconomics: Textbook / Ed. ed. A.V. Sidorovich. - M.: Business and service, 2000. - Ch. 1.

4. Course of economic theory: Textbook / Ed. ed. M.N. Chepurina. - Kirov: ASA, 1999. - Ch. 2.

6. Microeconomics and macroeconomics: Help. for students of economics specialist. closing illuminate: U 2 hours / S. Budagovska, O. Kilievich, I. Lunina and in.; For zag. ed. S. Budagovskaya. – K.: View of Solomiya Pavlichko “Fundamentals”, 2003. – 517 p.

Macroeconomics performs the following functions:

Cognitive: macroeconomics not only describes macroeconomic phenomena and processes, but reveals patterns and dependencies between them, explores cause-and-effect relationships in economics, the study, analysis and explanation of economic processes and phenomena.

Practical: knowledge of macroeconomic dependencies and connections allows us to assess the current situation in the economy and show what needs to be done to improve it, and, first of all, what politicians should do, i.e. allows you to develop recommendations for economic policy.

Prognostic: knowledge of macroeconomics makes it possible to foresee how processes will develop in the future, i.e. make forecasts, assess prospects for economic development, identify future economic problems.

Ideological: The study of macroeconomics allows us to form a certain worldview on various economic issues that affect the interests of the entire society.

There are two types of macroeconomic analysis: ex post analysis and ex ante analysis. Macroeconomic analysis ex post or national accounting - statistical data analysis, which allows you to evaluate the results of economic activity, identify problems, develop economic policies to solve them, and conduct a comparative analysis of the economic potential of different countries. Macroeconomic analysis ex ante , those. predictive modeling of economic processes and phenomena based on certain theoretical concepts, which makes it possible to determine patterns of development of economic processes and identify cause-and-effect relationships between economic phenomena and variables.

This is macroeconomics as a science.

1.3. Methods of macroeconomic analysis. Aggregation. In its analysis, macroeconomics uses the same methods as microeconomics. To such general methods of economic analysis include: abstraction, the use of models to study and explain economic processes and phenomena; » a combination of deduction and induction methods;

using the “other things being equal” principle conditions and etc. . Features of macroeconomic analysis

is that its most important method is aggregation

The study of economic dependencies and patterns at the level of the economy as a whole is possible only if we consider populations or aggregates. Aggregation.

- reduction (combination) of many disparate economic indicators into a single whole, into an aggregate. Aggregation allows you to highlight:

1) macroeconomic entities, macroeconomic markets, macroeconomic indicators (population) is a macroeconomic entity whose goal of economic activity is to maximize utility. Households are: a) owner of economic resources(labor, land, capital and entrepreneurial ability). By selling economic resources, households receive income, most of which they spend on consumption (consumer spending) and therefore act b) main buyer of goods and services. Households save the remaining part of their income and are therefore c) the main saver, those. ensure the supply of credit funds in the economy.

2) Firms (enterprise) is a macroeconomic entity whose goal of economic activity is profit maximization. Firms act: a) buyer of economic resources, with the help of which the production process is ensured, b) the main producer of goods and services in economics. Firms pay the proceeds from the sale of produced goods and services to households in the form of factor income. To expand the production process and compensate for the wear and tear of capital, firms need investment goods (primarily equipment), so firms are c) investors, those. buyers of investment goods and services. To finance their investment expenses, firms use borrowed funds, so they act d) main borrower in economics, i.e. show demand for credit funds.

Households and firms form private sector economy

3) State (a set of government institutions) is a macroeconomic entity whose main task is to eliminate market failures and maximize public welfare. Therefore, the state acts: a) producer of public goods; b) buyer of goods and services to ensure the functioning of the public sector and the performance of its many functions; V) redistributor of national income(through the tax and transfer system); d) depending on the state of the state budget -

lender or borrower in the financial market. The private and public sectors form closed

4) economy External world – unites all other countries of the world and is a macroeconomic agent that interacts with a given country through international trade (export and import of goods and services) and movement capital

Adding the foreign sector to the analysis allows you to get open economy.

Market aggregation makes it possible to distinguish three macroeconomic markets:

1. Market of goods and services (real market) The patterns of formation of demand and supply of goods and services, the ratio of aggregate demand and aggregate supply allow us to obtain the value of the equilibrium level of prices for goods and the equilibrium volume of their production.

2. Financial market (debt market) is a market where financial assets (cash, stocks and bonds) are bought and sold. This market is divided into two segments:

A) money market. Its study allows us to obtain the equilibrium interest rate, which is the “price of money” (the price of credit), and the equilibrium value of the money supply, as well as consider the influence of money on the market for goods and services.

b) stocks and bods market. Stocks and bonds are bought and sold here.

Buyers of securities are primarily households who spend their savings to generate income (dividends on stocks and interest on bonds). The sellers (issuers) of shares are firms, and the sellers of bonds are firms and the state. Firms issue stocks and bonds to raise funds to finance their investment expenditures and expand output, while the government issues bonds to finance government budget deficits. Market of production factors

. In macroeconomic models it is represented by the labor market. Labor market equilibrium allows us to determine the equilibrium quantity of labor in the economy and the equilibrium “price of labor” - the wage rate. Analysis of disequilibrium in the labor market allows us to identify the causes and forms of unemployment.

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