Learning Basic Macroeconomics A Policy Perspective from Different Schools of Thought

Abstract

Because macroeconomics is grounded in microeconomics and uses mathematical
models to simplify and illustrate complex processes, learning it
can be difficult. Traditional macroeconomic-principles textbooks fail to
connect topics and models in a concise, cohesive, and meaningful way.
So, it should not surprise when a 2008 presidential candidate says, “Economics
is something that I’ve really never understood” (Zuckman 2008).
This book overcomes these shortcomings with better topic selection and
organization, by literally building a model of the macroeconomy, and utilizing
a single hypothetical numerical example throughout the book to
teach the principles. Keynesian economics, a school of economic thought
based on the views of the British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883
to 1946), is used to construct the model of the macroeconomy because
it is elegant, simplistic, intuitive, and politicians apply it when enacting
stimulus bills. That said, the book is not an endorsement of Keynesian
economics, nor does it suggest that mathematical modeling is the quintessential
element of economic analysis. Only by building this model upon a
Keynesian foundation can one truly appreciate the various perspectives in
economics, the limitations of mathematical modeling, and why politicians
tend to prescribe Keynesian solutions. This book allows business executives,
graduate and undergraduate students, policy makers, and others to
gain a fuller understanding of how the macroeconomy reacts to economic
shocks and policy changes from several economic perspectives.