This two-volume text represents a common sense approach to basic macroeconomics. Economics, far from being the dismal science, offers us valuable lessons that can be applied to our everyday experiences. At its heart, economics is the science of choice and a study of economic principles allows us to achieve a more informed understanding of how we make our choices; whether these choices occur in our everyday life, our work environment, or at the national or international level. Volume two, Policies and Perspectives, delivers clear statements of essential economic principles, supported by real-world examples and uncluttered by extraneous material; the goal is to provide a concise readable primer that covers the substance of macroeconomic theory and policy. The text uses a single unifying tool-aggregate demand and aggregate supply analysis-to probe differing perspectives on macroeconomic policies. The text looks at fiscal policy and short-run stabilization; the financial sector and monetary policy; the international sector; and the sources of economic growth.

This two-volume text represents a common sense approach to basic macroeconomics. Economics, far from being the dismal science, offers us valuable lessons that can be applied to our everyday experiences. At its heart, economics is the science of choice and a study of economic principles allows us to achieve a more informed understanding of how we make our choices; whether these choices occur in our everyday life, our work environment, or at the national or international level. Volume one, Elements and Principles, delivers clear statements of essential economic principles, supported by easy to understand examples, and uncluttered by extraneous material; the goal is to provide a concise readable primer that covers the substance of macroeconomic theory. The text looks at opportunity cost; the rationale for trade and exchange rates; the economist's basic demand and supply model; the efficient operation of competitive markets; important tools used to measure the macroeconomy; and the causes and effects of inflation and unemployment.

This book, produced in two volumes, takes an integrative approach to the study of macroeconomics. In that respect, the book brings the different strands of macroeconomics together into a single approach under which economic agents strive to make rational choices but, while doing so, sometimes misconstrue the data available to them. The result is imbalances between aggregate supply and aggregate demand that can cause economic contractions. These imbalances may be self-correcting, or they may become long-lived and require government intervention through the exercise of corrective monetary and fiscal policy. Volume I examines economic behavior on the assumption that economic agents correctly interpret the data before them. It thus takes a "micro foundations" approach, under which aggregate supply equals aggregate demand. Volume II allows for the possibility of myopia on the part of economic agents and for the resulting economic malperformance that can result from this myopia. It examines the short-run disparities between aggregate supply and aggregate demand that can result from ill-informed choices of individual economic agents or from a misdiagnosis of economic data by policy makers. It concludes with a review of recent U.S. economic policy. The book aims to correct a good number of misconceptions that bedevil economic policymaking-among them the idea that protracted economic contractions necessarily call for increased government spending and lower taxes. It challenges the common understanding that government deficits raise interest rates and "crowd out" private investment.

This book, produced in two volumes, takes an integrative approach to the study of macroeconomics. In that respect, the book brings the different strands of macroeconomics together into a single approach under which economic agents strive to make rational choices but, while doing so, sometimes misconstrue the data available to them. The result is imbalances between aggregate supply and aggregate demand that can cause economic contractions. These imbalances may be self-correcting, or they may become long-lived and require government intervention through the exercise of corrective monetary and fiscal policy. Volume I examines economic behavior on the assumption that economic agents correctly interpret the data before them. It thus takes a “micro foundations” approach, under which aggregate supply equals aggregate demand. Volume II allows for the possibility of myopia on the part of economic agents and for the resulting economic malperformance that can result from this myopia. It examines the short-run disparities between aggregate supply and aggregate demand that can result from ill-informed choices of individual economic agents or from a misdiagnosis of economic data by policy makers. It concludes with a review of recent U.S. economic policy. The book aims to correct a good number of misconceptions that bedevil economic policymaking—among them the idea that protracted economic contractions necessarily call for increased government spending and lower taxes. It challenges the common understanding that government deficits raise interest rates and “crowd out” private investment.

This two-volume text represents a common sense approach to basic macroeconomics. Economics, far from being the dismal science, offers us valuable lessons that can be applied to our everyday experiences. At its heart, economics is the science of choice and a study of economic principles allows us to achieve a more informed understanding of how we make our choices; whether these choices occur in our everyday life, our work environment, or at the national or international level. Volume two, Policies and Perspectives, delivers clear statements of essential economic principles, supported by real-world examples and uncluttered by extraneous material; the goal is to provide a concise readable primer that covers the substance of macroeconomic theory and policy. The text uses a single unifying tool-aggregate demand and aggregate supply analysis-to probe differing perspectives on macroeconomic policies. The text looks at fiscal policy and short-run stabilization; the financial sector and monetary policy; the international sector; and the sources of economic growth.

This two-volume text represents a common sense approach to basic macroeconomics. Economics, far from being the dismal science, offers us valuable lessons that can be applied to our everyday experiences. At its heart, economics is the science of choice and a study of economic principles allows us to achieve a more informed understanding of how we make our choices; whether these choices occur in our everyday life, our work environment, or at the national or international level. This two-volume text represents a common sense approach to basic macroeconomics. Volume one, Elements and Principles, delivers clear statements of essential economic principles, supported by easy to understand examples, and uncluttered by extraneous material; the goal is to provide a concise readable primer that covers the substance of macroeconomic theory. This book covers opportunity cost; the rationale for trade and exchange rates; the economist’s basic demand and supply model; the efficient operation of competitive markets; important tools used to measure the macroeconomy; and the causes and effects of inflation and unemployment.

This book, produced in two volumes, takes an integrative approach to the study of macroeconomics. In that respect, the book brings the different strands of macroeconomics together into a single approach under which economic agents strive to make rational choices but, while doing so, sometimes misconstrue the data available to them. The result is imbalances between aggregate supply and aggregate demand that can cause economic contractions. These imbalances may be self-correcting, or they may become long-lived and require government intervention through the exercise of corrective monetary and fiscal policy. Volume I examines economic behavior on the assumption that economic agents correctly interpret the data before them. It thus takes a “micro foundations” approach, under which aggregate supply equals aggregate demand. Volume II allows for the possibility of myopia on the part of economic agents and for the resulting economic malperformance that can result from this myopia. It examines the short-run disparities between aggregate supply and aggregate demand that can result from ill-informed choices of individual economic agents or from a misdiagnosis of economic data by policy makers. It concludes with a review of recent U.S. economic policy. The book aims to correct a good number of misconceptions that bedevil economic policymaking—among them the idea that protracted economic contractions necessarily call for increased government spending and lower taxes. It challenges the common understanding that government deficits raise interest rates and “crowd out” private investment.