CHAPTER 1 The Science of Macroeconomics

A PowerPoint Tutorial

To Accompany

MACROECONOMICS, 6th. ed.

N. Gregory Mankiw
By
Chapter One

Mannig J. Simidian

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Greg Mankiw for creating another macroeconomics masterpiece! It is none other than an honor to be a part of his prolific work. To Mike McElroy (North Carolina State University), I express eternal gratitude for his continued interest in my endeavors. For almost 10 years, he has been reading and contributing to my macroeconomics modules. I also want to thank Mark Rush (University of Florida), David Denslow (University of Florida) and the director for making my earliest experiences in economics so entertaining. Jeffrey Frankel (Harvard University), Ed Tower (Duke University), and Roberto Rigobon (M.I.T) also encouraged my love for economics. I thank Peter Max, Americas painter-laureate, for all he has taught me through his wisdom and art. Lawrence Brockman, D.M.D, an economist in spirit, has been my teacher and great friend throughout the years. Thanks go to my former colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Michele Rubino, Guido Meardi and Stewart Brazil. I also thank Franco Modigliani (MIT) and Rudi Dornbusch (MIT) posthumously, for their courageous tutelage until the very end. I also want to thank my sweet two year old daughter Elle (perhaps a future economist) for being my beautiful inspiration in teaching macroeconomics. Of course, I thank my Dad for his best friendship and unending love and support. Through the thousand hours of discussing economics and business, he showed me how love and learning are inextricably linked. Mannig J. Simidian January 2006 Chapter One 2

Welcome to Macroeconomics!
Everyone has reason to think critically about macroeconomic issues. It is imperative that we seek to understand why some countries are growing faster or slower than others or why some have greater fluctuations in inflation or unemployment. The state of the macroeconomy affects everyone in many ways. It plays a significant role in the political sphere while also affecting public policy and societal well-being, at the national and global levels.
Some of the most important variables macroeconomists use to measure the performance of the economy are real GDP, the inflation rate, and the unemployment rate. Macroeconomists are also concerned with matters such as monetary and fiscal policyboth of which, will be discussed at length in Macroeconomics, 6th ed., Mankiws Macroeconomics Modules, and in your macroeconomics course. Good luck! 3
Chapter One

Economists use models to understand what goes on in the economy. Here are two important points about models: endogenous variables and exogenous variables. Endogenous variables are those which the model tries to explain. Exogenous variables are those variables that a model takes as given. In short, endogenous are variables within a model, and exogenous are the variables outside the model.

Price P*

Supply
This is the most famous economic model. It describes the ubiquitous relationship between buyers and sellers in the market. The point of intersection is called an 4 equilibrium.

Demand
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Q * Quantity

Market clearing is an alignment process whereby decisions between suppliers and demanders reach an equilibrium. Heres how it works. Lets say you begin with a demand and supply curve for CDs. Remember that the demand curve slopes downward meaning that as you increase the price (by moving along the demand curve), the quantity demanded decreases. Conversely, the supply curve slopes upward implying that as the price increases (by moving along the supply curve), the amount supplied will increase. The center point A is where market D D S P decisions reach an equilibrium. B Now, suppose that there is a sudden P A increase in the demand for CDs. P* Demand will shift from D to D. The increase in demand places upward pressure on the price to point B since the original price, P* no longer clears 5 the Chapter One Q Q* Q market. Notice the shortage.

S SHIFTS IN DEMAND: Suppose your income

rises? Your demand for a given product, for example, pizza, will also increase. This translates into a rightward shift in the demand curve from D to D'. Result: D' both price and quantity are higher. D

SHIFTS IN SUPPLY: A fall in the price of materials increases the supply of pizza; at any given price, pizzerias find that the sale of pizza is more profitable, and thus the supply of pizza rises. This translates into a rightward shift in supply from S to S' .Result: price falls, quantity rises.
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S S'

D Q
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Economists typically assume that the market will go into an equilibrium of supply and demand, which is called the market clearing process. This assumption is central to the pizza example on the previous slide. But, assuming that markets clear continuously, is unrealistic. For markets to clear continuously, prices would have to adjust instantly to changes in supply and demand. But, evidence suggests that prices and wages often adjust slowly.

So, remember that although market clearing models assume that wages and prices are flexible, in actuality, some wages and prices are sticky. Market clearing models may not describe every instant in an economy, but they do depict the equilibrium toward which the economy gravitates.
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Microeconomics is the study of how households and firms make decisions and how these decision makers interact in the broader marketplace. In microeconomics, an individual chooses to maximize his or her utility subject to his or her budget constraint.

Macroeconomic events arise from the interaction of many individuals trying to maximize their own welfare. Because aggregate variables are the sum of the variables describing individuals decisions, the study of macroeconomics is based on microeconomic foundations.
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The modules mirror the sequencing of the text, Macroeconomics, 6th ed. There are six parts and a total of nineteen chapters with a module written for each chapter. Enjoy! Introduction Classical Theory, The Economy in the Long Run

Growth Theory, The Economy in the Very Long Run

Business Cycle Theory: The Economy in the Short Run Macroeconomic Policy Debates More on the Microeconomics Behind Macroeconomics
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Macroeconomics Real GDP Inflation and Deflation Unemployment Recession Depression Models Endogenous variables Exogenous variables Market clearing Flexible and sticky prices Microeconomics
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