Macroeconomy Chapter 6: * Central Park contained one of the “Hoovervilles” that had sprung up all across America as a result of a catastrophic economic slump in 1929. (The Great Depression) * During the time of Great Depression, microeconomics was a well-developed branch of economics, but macroeconomics was not. * In the 1930’s, there were no expanding industries; everything was headed downward. * Microeconomics focuses on how decisions are made by individuals and firms and the consequences of those decisions; Macroeconomics examines the overall behavior of the economy—how the actions of all the individuals and firms in the economy interact to produce a particular economy-wide level of economic performance. * Many thousands or millions of individual actions compound upon one another to produce an outcome that isn’t simply the sum of those individual actions. (rubber-necking traffic jam example) * Paradox of thrift: when families and businesses are worried about the possibility of economic hard times, they prepare by cutting their spending. This reduction in spending depresses the economy as consumers spend less and businesses react by laying off workers. As a result, families and businesses may end up worse off than it they hadn’t cut their spending. * The flip-side is also true; seemingly profligate behavior leads to good times for all * Before 1930’s, economists regarded the economy as self-regulating: unemployment would be corrected through the invisible hand and government attempts would be ineffective/harmful. * Keynesian economics: a depressed economy is the result of inadequate spending. Government interaction can help a depressed economy through monetary and fiscal policies. * Monetary policy: uses changes in the quantity of money to alter interest rates; Fiscal policy: changes in taxes and