Macroeconomics - (MIT Press Essential Knowledge) by Felipe Larrain B (Paperback)

About the Book

"Macroeconomics is the study of the economic attributes (including the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making) of whole systems. Macroeconomists study changes in the aggregate, collecting data on unemployment, growth, inflation, income, saving and spending, trade, and other aspects of regional, national, and international economic life. Policymakers depend on macroeconomists' knowledge of the main elements and basic forces that govern each country's economy and the global economy when making decisions about taxes, industry regulations, trade terms and policies, and more. These decisions in turn affect decisions made by individuals and businesses, especially in a globalized world. This entry into the Essential Knowledge series covers such topics as GDP and its relation to the welfare of people; why some countries grow strongly while others stagnate; the challenges of the labor market in the twenty-first century; the money market and the inflation rate; the implications of having different exchange rate systems -fixed, pegged, bands, floats; household consumption and savings decisions; investment decisions; the current account of the balance of payments; government budgets, taxes and fiscal policy; and the debate on globalization. The book addresses the causes and consequences of recent economic crises like the subprime crisis and Euro crisis. This book draws on examples from economies around the world. Given the author's professional experience as minister of finance for Chile, many examples are drawn from Latin America, but also Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States"--

Book Synopsis

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.

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.