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The non-economist s accessible, pocket-sized refresher on the basics of macroeconomics and how it affects local and global economies from an academic economist and 2-time Chilean Finance Minister.
Macroeconomics takes a broad perspective on the economy of a country or region; it studies economic changes in the aggregate, collecting data on production, unemployment, inflation, consumption, investment, trade, and other aspects of national and international economic life. Policymakers depend on macroeconomists knowledge when making decisions about such issues as taxes and the public budget, monetary and exchange rate policies, and trade policies all of which, in turn, affect decisions made by individuals and businesses.
This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers an introduction to the basics of macroeconomics accessible to the non-economist. Readers will gain the tools to interpret such economic events as the 2008 financial meltdown, the subsequent euro crisis, and the current protectionist dynamics seen in some developed countries. You ll also learn about:
Economic development why some countries flourish while others reamin stagnant
Economic activity and employment
Employment and unemployment rates
The factors behind economic growth
Money, inflation, and exchange rate systems
Fiscal deficits, fiscal policy, and balance of payment crises
Consumption, savings, and investment decisions
The process of globalization and its macroeconomic implications
Written by an academic economist and two-time Chilean Finance Minister, this is an easy-to-understand and pocket-sized guide to the fundamentals of macroeconomics.
List of contents
Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
1 What Is Macroeconomics? 1
2 Production and Employment 19
3 Why and How Do Countries Grow? 41
4 Money, Inflation, and the Exchange Rate 61
5 Fiscal Deficits, Inflation, and External Crises 87
6 The Economic Cost of Stabilizing Inflation 111
7 The Key Importance of Consumption and Saving 129
8 Productive Investment 145
9 The Current Account and External Debt 161
10 Fiscal Policy and Its Implications 179
11 Globalization 195
Conclusion 231
Glossary 239
Bibliography 261
Further Reading 265
Index 267
About the author
Felipe Larraín B. is Professor of Economics at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Facultad de Economía y Administración and the Latin American Center of Economics and Social Policies, CLAPES UC). He was Director of CLAPES UC and was Finance Minister of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2019. The coauthor (with Jeffrey D. Sachs) of Macroeconomics in the Global Economy and (with Beatriz Armendáriz) of The Economics of Contemporary Latin America (MIT Press), he has published thirteen books and more than 120 scholarly articles. He has been named Finance Minister of the Year for Latin America and the Americas several times.
Summary
The non-economist’s accessible, pocket-sized refresher on the basics of macroeconomics and how it affects local and global economies—from an academic economist and 2-time Chilean Finance Minister.
Macroeconomics takes a broad perspective on the economy of a country or region; it studies economic changes in the aggregate, collecting data on production, unemployment, inflation, consumption, investment, trade, and other aspects of national and international economic life. Policymakers depend on macroeconomists’ knowledge when making decisions about such issues as taxes and the public budget, monetary and exchange rate policies, and trade policies—all of which, in turn, affect decisions made by individuals and businesses.
This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers an introduction to the basics of macroeconomics accessible to the non-economist. Readers will gain the tools to interpret such economic events as the 2008 financial meltdown, the subsequent euro crisis, and the current protectionist dynamics seen in some developed countries. You’ll also learn about:
• Economic development—why some countries flourish while others reamin stagnant
• Economic activity and employment
• Employment and unemployment rates
• The factors behind economic growth
• Money, inflation, and exchange rate systems
• Fiscal deficits, fiscal policy, and balance of payment crises
• Consumption, savings, and investment decisions
• The process of globalization and its macroeconomic implications
Written by an academic economist and two-time Chilean Finance Minister, this is an easy-to-understand and pocket-sized guide to the fundamentals of macroeconomics.
