Macroeconomics is concerned with the economy as a whole. In macroeconomics, we develop an overall view of the economic system and we study total (or aggregate) economic behaviour. The emphasis is on topics such as total production, income and expenditure, economic growth, aggregate unemployment, the general price level, inflation and the balance of payments. Macroeconomics is therefore the world of totals.

This second edition of Understanding macroeconomics is a comprehensive revision and restructuring of the first edition, but still against a contemporary South African background. The major changes include the following: the chapter on money has been expanded and moved forward, and the material on the Keynesian model has been consolidated in two separate chapters, instead of being spread over different chapters . There is also a greater emphasis on the role of monetary and fiscal policy. New topics include the role of the ratings agencies and the notion of "radical economic transformation".

As in the first edition, the easy style and practical examples make the content extremely accessible. A wealth of relevant information about the South African economy is also provided. A companion to this book, Understanding microeconomics, is also available.

This South African edition of Macroeconomics is essential reading for all students taking introductory economics modules on undergraduate courses throughout South Africa. It is also ideal for use with the macroeconomics component of MBA courses.

The text contains updated case studies, set against a South African context to illustrate how the principles of economics relate to your life. The news articles are based on news events in South Africa along with questions to help you apply your knowledge and to build your understanding.

This text is designed to give you the confidence and ability to think like an economist.

What do you need to know about financial innovation, financial liberalisation and deregulation? Do you know what purpose monetary policy serves in the economy? What is the role of interest rates?

The second edition of Monetary Economics will look into these matters and other topical issues such as the subprime crisis. The text uses a step-by-step approach to technical areas such as formulae and graphs.

The book takes a look at South African as a developing country within the wider global arena. Monetary Economics is written in a concise and accessible level for Economics students at senior undergraduate and Honours level.

Supporting the economy, paying for healthcare, creating new jobs, preventing a climate apocalypse: how can we pay for it all?

Leading economic thinker Stephanie Kelton, shows how misguided that question is, and how a radical new approach can maximise our potential as a society. Everything that we've been led to believe about deficits and the role of money and government spending is wrong.

Rather than asking the self-defeating question of how to pay for the crucial improvements our society needs, Kelton guides us to ask: which deficits actually matter?

How does the South African economy work? Why do macroeconomic variables change? So what if they do? What happens next? How do economic processes and policy institutions really work? Which data must I use? What can policy do? And then the big questions: How can we reduce unemployment and maintain low inflation? What then about poverty, inequality, inclusive growth and development in South Africa?

The answers are found in How to think and reason in Macroeconomics – A South African text, a popular university textbook with very positive feedback from students, lecturers and practitioners. This fifth edition is completely up-to-date and comprehensive. It combines well-informed intuitive understanding with solid economic theory plus a concrete understanding of South African economic issues, processes, institutions and data. In this way it prepares you to analyse macroeconomic events and policies in a globalised and development context – and understand different perspectives in policy and political-economic debates.

Key features:

• Accessible analysis, theory and diagrams, combining intuitive understanding and sophisticated analysis.
• A choice of learning routes with different levels of difficulty and mathematics.
• Real-world economic reasoning skills, not dry theory.
• Online animations that provide unique insights into macroeconomic fluctuations and shocks.
• Explicit continuous focus on South Africa as an open economy in an African and global context shaped by China, Trump’s trade wars and Brexit.
• Theoretical and policy analysis of unemployment, inflation, low growth and inclusive growth, as well as the National Development Plan.
• Analytical case studies of the global financial crisis, quantitative easing, the Euro crisis and the Eskom crisis.
• First-hand, freshly updated insights into how South African policy institutions, processes and instruments work.
• Clear guides to access relevant South African data sources, with useful data tips.
• Thorough integration of the structural social and economic realities (notably inequality and poverty) of South Africa as a middle-income country.
• Incorporation of broader considerations such as human development, inclusive growth and sustainable development.

In terms accessible to non-economists, Marcos Jose Mendes describes the ways democracy and inequality produce low growth in the short and medium terms. In the longer term, he argues that Brazil has two paths in front of it. One is to create the conditions necessary to boost economic performance and drive the country toward a high level of development. The other is to fail in untying the political knot that blocks growth, leaving it a middle-income country. The source of his contrasting futures for Brazil is inequality, which he demonstrates is a relevant variable in any discussion of economic growth. Inequality illuminates causes of seemingly-unconnected problems. This book, which includes freely-accessible documents and datasets, is the first in-depth analysis of an issue that promises to become increasingly prominent.

This book provides researchers, students, and practitioners with a methodology to evaluate the impacts of a wide diversity of development projects and policies on local economies. Projects and policies often create spillovers within project areas. LEWIE uses simulation methods to quantify these spillovers. It has become a complement to randomized control trials (RCTs), as governments and donors become interested in documenting impacts beyond the treated, comparing the likely impacts of alternative interventions, and designing complementary interventions to influence program and policy impacts. It is also a tool for impact evaluation where RCTs are not feasible. Chapters 1-4 motivate and present the basics of impact simulation, including how to design a LEWIE model, how to estimate the model, and how to obtain the necessary data. The remaining chapters provide a diversity of interesting real-world applications and extensions of the basic models. The applications include evaluations of the impacts of cash transfers for the poor, ecotourism, global food-price shocks, irrigation projects, migration, and corruption. Each chapter provide readers with the tools they need to conduct their own local economy-wide impact evaluations. All models and data used in this book are available on-line.

The Future of the Euro is an attempt by political economists to analyze the fundamental causes of the euro crisis, determine how it can be fixed, and consider what likely futures lie ahead for the currency. The book makes three interrelated arguments that emphasize the primacy of political over economic factors. First, the 'euro problem' is discussed as the result of the single currency's fundamental lack of institutional embeddedness, insofar as its original design omitted three 'forgotten unions' alongside of monetary union: a financial and banking union, mutually supporting institutions of fiscal union and economic government, and a political union holding similar legitimacy to the nation-state. Second, the 'euro experience' shows how the euro's unfinished design led to economic divergence - quietly altering the existing distribution of economic and political power within Europe prior to the crisis - which in turn determined the EU's crisis response. The book highlights how the euro's four most important members - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - each changed once they adopted the euro, why the crisis affected them so differently, and how each has since struggled to live with the commitments the euro necessitates. Third, the book examines three possible 'euro futures' through the lens of the politics of its reluctant leader Germany; through the lens of the EU's capacity to 'move forward' through crises; and through the geopolitical lens of the international monetary system. The book concludes that any successful long-term solution to the euro's predicament needs to start with the political foundations of markets.

This book collects results from ad hoc surveys on firms pricing behavior conducted in 2003 and 2004 by nine National central banks of the Euro area in the context of a joint research project (Eurosystem Inflation Persistence Network). These surveys have proved to be an efficient way to test theories on the pricing strategies of economic agents, documenting, in qualitative terms, the underlying rationale of the observed pricing patterns. The book provides an unprecedented amount of information from more than 11,000 euro area firms, addressing issues such as the relevance of nominal and real rigidities, the information set used by firms in the price setting process, the strategy followed to review prices, the frequency of both price reviews and price changes, the reasons underlying price stickiness, and asymmetries in price adjustment. It also compares results for the euro area to those obtained for other countries by similar studies. Finally, it draws the main implications for theoretical modeling and for monetary policy.

Both studies of political power and Europeanization studies have tended to neglect central banks. As the age of the euro reaches its 10th anniversary, it is timely to reflect on what it means for central banks, which have been at the forefront of the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union in the European Union. Central banks have been caught up in a major historic political project. What does it mean for them? What does the age of the euro tell us about the power of central banks, their Europeanization and whether they are coming to resemble each other more closely?
This book brings together a range of recognized academic specialists to examine the main political aspects of this question. How, and in what ways, has the euro Europeanized central banks (members and non-members of the Euro Area)? What have been its effects on the power of central banks and their use of power? Has the euro generated convergence or divergence in central banking? The book offers the first, in-depth and systematic political analysis of central banks in the first decade of the euro. It places the euro in its global and European contexts, including the US Fed and the Australasian central banks, patterns of differentiated integration in European central banking, and the European Central Bank. It offers a set of case studies of its effects on a representative sample of EU central banks (euro 'insiders' and 'outsiders') and looks at four main thematic areas (monetary policy, financial market supervision, accountability and transparency, and research).
The book contributes to Europeanization studies, comparative political economy, and studies of Economic and Monetary Union. It will be of major interest to students of the European Union and European integration, comparative European politics, and area and 'country' studies. More generally, it will interest all those interested in central banking and their pivotal and problematic position between politics and markets.

Consumption decisions are crucial determinants of business cycles and growth. Knowledge of how consumers respond to the economic environment and how they react to the risks that they encounter during the life-cycle is therefore important for evaluating stabilization policies and the effectiveness of fiscal packages implemented in response to economic downturns or financial crises. In The Economics of Consumption, Tullio Jappelli and Luigi Pistaferri provide a comprehensive examination of the most important developments in the field of consumption decisions and evaluate economic models against empirical evidence. The first part of the book provides the basic ingredients of economic models of consumption decisions. The central part reviews the empirical literature on the effect of income and wealth changes on consumption and on the relevance of precautionary saving and credit market imperfections. The last chapters extend the basic framework to such important areas as bequests, leisure, lifetime uncertainty, and financial sophistication. Jappelli and Pistaferri shed light on important issues, including how consumption responds to changes in economic resources, how economic circumstances and consumers' characteristics influence behavior, and whether consumption inequality depends on income shocks and their persistence.

Olivier Blanchard, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is author of one of the most important standard macroeconomics textbooks, which is used throughout the world. Endorsed by Blanchard himself, Anti-Blanchard Macroeconomics critically analyzes prevailing economic theory and policy in comparison with alternative approaches. This thoroughly revised edition represents a field of research that has developed through intense theoretical debates, continual empirical testing and the resultant disputes about economic policy. Emiliano Brancaccio and Andrea Califano succinctly explore the relationship between theoretical models and economic policies, providing readers with examples and empirical exercises, and showing how the conclusions of different theories can be empirically tested. This updated second edition examines the links between the issues at the core of macroeconomic debate, including economic growth, economic crises, labour market reforms, government debt sustainability, the behaviour of central banks and the stock market, among many others. Key features: Contains an analysis of the economic policies, consequences and theories surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic Examines the connection between contemporary issues in world politics, economic theory and policymaking It overcomes the typical contradiction between the opportunity to offer students a preliminary mainstream education and the need to nurture rather than crush their critical spirit It helps students to understand that economics is not a discipline that changes in a smooth, linear manner but, on the contrary, represents a dynamic field of research that develops through intense theoretical debate and continual empirical testing, and is shaped by the resultant disputes concerning economic policy Includes the typescript of a lively and informative debate between Emiliano Brancaccio and Olivier Blanchard, together with comparative economic policy examples.

Students in economics are ever more distressed by the disconnect between mainstream economics and the real world. This book shows how post-Keynesian economics constitutes a coherent heterodox alternative, based on realistic assumptions and the integration of the financial and real sides of the economy, with an emphasis on the many paradoxes that arise in a truly macroeconomic analysis. The book is a considerably revised and updated version of the widely used and frequently cited 2014 edition. It provides a comprehensive account of post-Keynesian theory and policy. Topics covered include its methodological foundations, consumer theory and choice under fundamental uncertainty, firms and pricing, money and credit, effective demand and employment, growth theory, open-economy issues, inflation theory. It also links with ecological economics. Scholars of economics, particularly post-Keynesian and heterodox economists, will find this comprehensive look at the field a necessary addition to their libraries, while students and instructors will find it a perfect text for any class on post-Keynesian economics.

Since the rational expectations revolution in macroeconomics, the subject has evolved in a major way, adopting the principles behind the revolution and building on them in spectacular fashion. In this thoroughly revised and updated second edition, the authors provide a complete and up-to-date textbook designed to guide students through the mathematical and conceptual maze of modern macroeconomics. The updated second edition includes: Explanation of the historical development of the subject Introduction to traditional macro-classical/adaptive expectations Demonstration of how rational expectations are handled in macro models and in finance An explanation of the importance of structural, micro-founded models Key examples of structural models examined in detail, and with extension to the open economy Discussion of policy implications throughout Methodology for testing models against macro data behaviour, complete with the latest evidence on these models' success Coverage of key topics, including the supply-side, unemployment, growth and the open economy. By explaining the basics of each topic, and providing the solid grounding for students to tackle more complex and detailed material, this textbook will be an invaluable resource for both postgraduate and upper level undergraduate students of macroeconomics alike.

This timely book sets out a shrewd and comprehensive policy programme, for both 'microeconomic' supply-side settings of tax and regulatory systems, and 'macroeconomic' policies for fiscal and monetary policies to regulate demand and support the supply-side growth agenda. Explaining the numerous benefits of free trade after Britain's exit from the EU, and challenging the anti-Brexit argument, Patrick Minford builds on his extensive research into economic modelling to quantify the effects of Brexit and propose policies for the aftermath. Laying out an agenda for replacing social interventionist EU regulation with a robust free market framework, Minford proposes a radical tax reform programme to broaden the tax base and flatten marginal rates. This incisive book looks to the future of the UK beyond Brexit, addressing the effects of coronavirus and proposing an avenue of policies for recovery. Featuring key empirical analysis and insightful arguments, this book will be crucial reading for economists and policymakers investigating and overseeing the future of UK economic policy. It will also benefit scholars of economics and political economy, particularly those interested in tax reform programmes.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Written by two expert economists, this comprehensive Advanced Introduction provides a thorough and up-to-date analysis of central banks and monetary policy, analysing the ways in which views about monetary policy have developed and changed. Key Features: Provides a historical overview of the gestation of the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank Analyses the processes involved in monetary policymaking, including strategy reviews, policy instruments, and central bank communication, whilst considering financial stability and crisis management Concludes with a look towards the future challenges faced by central banks, including the low interest rate environment and the greening of central bank policies Accessible and informative, this Advanced Introduction will prove a vital resource to students and scholars of economics and finance. It will also prove invaluable to practitioners and policymakers interested in financial sector supervision and regulation in central banks.

Hayek Book Prize Finalist An Economist Best Book of the Year A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year A Financial Times Summer Reading Favorite "Sweeping, authoritative and-for the times-strikingly upbeat...The overall argument is compelling and...it carries a trace of Schumpeterian subversion." -The Economist "[An] important book...Lucid, empirically grounded, wide-ranging, and well-argued." -Martin Wolf, Financial Times "Offers...much needed insight into the sources of economic growth and the kinds of policies that will promote it...All in Washington would do well to read this volume carefully." -Milton Ezrati, Forbes Inequality is on the rise, growth stagnant, the environment in crisis. Covid seems to have exposed every crack in the system. We hear calls for radical change, but the answer is not to junk our economic system but to create a better form of capitalism. An ambitious reappraisal of the foundations of economic success that shows a fair and prosperous future is ours to make, The Power of Creative Destruction draws on cutting-edge theory and hard evidence to examine today's most fundamental economic questions: what powers growth, competition, globalization, and middle-income traps; the roots of inequality and climate change; the impact of technology; and how to recover from economic shocks. We owe our modern standard of living to innovations enabled by free-market capitalism, it argues, but we also need state intervention-with checks and balances-to foster economic creativity, manage social disruption, and ensure that yesterday's superstar innovators don't pull the ladder up after them.

Piero Ferri expertly broadens the analysis of the canonical growth cycle approach by presenting a Minsky-Harrod model, examining how the relationship between income distribution, growth and unemployment becomes increasingly complex. Exploring this new technique to generate a process of growth, based not only on history but disequilibrium, he investigates the current income distribution debate further and the challenges it faces. Written in a succinct yet comprehensive style, Piero Ferri begins by addressing the basic principles, followed by an in-depth look at growth cycle models and how the Minsky-Harrod integrated model would help to unravel the current complexities. The empirical analysis reaches insightful conclusions by justifying the existence of a variety of results and by studying the distributive loop in a dynamic context which is prone to instability. Teachers of macroeconomics and scholars will find this an invaluable read and will benefit from the practical study and results. Researchers interested in labour economics and political economy will also find this a thought-provoking book.

More than a decade after the publication of the critically acclaimed A Modern Guide to Macroeconomics, Brian Snowdon and Howard Vane have produced a worthy successor in the form of Modern Macroeconomics. Thoroughly extended, revised and updated, it will become the indispensable text for students and teachers of macroeconomics in the new millennium. The authors skilfully trace the origins, development and current state of modern macroeconomics from an historical perspective. They do so by thoroughly appraising the central tenets underlying the main competing schools of macroeconomic thought as well as their diverse policy implications. To reflect the important developments which have occurred in macroeconomics over the final decades of the twentieth century, they also survey the burgeoning literature on the 'new political macroeconomics' and 'economic growth'. The book includes insightful chapters on the Post Keynesian and Austrian schools by Paul Davidson and Roger Garrison, and is enlivened by interviews with leading economists such as Robert Skidelsky, James Tobin, Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas Jr, Edward Prescott, Gregory Mankiw, Alberto Alesina, Robert Solow and Paul Romer. The volume also contains an extensive bibliography of over 1,300 publications which highlights the key titles recommended for further student reading. Erudite, accessible and lucidly written, this book is both a stimulating introduction and excellent guide to the controversies and diversity of modern macroeconomic debates. It will prove invaluable for students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses who want to understand as well as simply learn about macroeconomics. It is also a book that many teachers and lecturers will want on their shelves.