Macroeconomics

The study of economics is divided by the modern economists into two parts viz. Micro economics and Macro economics. Micro economics and Macro economics, both the terms were used in 1933 by Prof. Ragnar Frisch from Oslo University of Norway. The word micro has been derived from the Greek word `Mikros' i.e. small and the word macro has been derived from Greek word `Makros' i.e. large.

According to Prof. K. E. Boulding, "Micro Economics is the study of particular firm, particular household, individual prices, wages, incomes, individual industries and particular commodities."

Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behaviour of individual households and firms in making decisions on the allocation of limited resources. Typically, it applies to markets where goods or services are bought and sold. Microeconomics examines how these decisions and behaviors affect the supply and demand for goods and services, which determines prices, and how prices, in turn, determine the quantity supplied and quantity demanded of goods and services.

On the contrary, macroeconomics involves the "sum total of economic activity, dealing with the issues of growth, inflation, and unemployment." Macroeconomics also deals with the effects of national economic policies such as changing taxation levels.

According to Prof. Boulding, "Macro Economics deals not with individual quantities as such but with aggregates of the quantities, not with individual incomes but with the national income, not with the individual prices but with the price level, not with the individual output but with the national output."
The study of economics is divided by the modern economists into two parts viz. Micro economics and Macro economics. Micro economics and Macro economics, both the terms were used in 1933 by Prof. Ragnar Frisch from Oslo University of Norway. The word micro has been derived from the Greek word `Mikros' i.e. small and the word macro has been derived from Greek word `Makros' i.e. large.

According to Prof. K. E. Boulding, "Micro Economics is the study of particular firm, particular household, individual prices, wages, incomes, individual industries and particular commodities."

Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behaviour of individual households and firms in making decisions on the allocation of limited resources. Typically, it applies to markets where goods or services are bought and sold. Microeconomics examines how these decisions and behaviors affect the supply and demand for goods and services, which determines prices, and how prices, in turn, determine the quantity supplied and quantity demanded of goods and services.

On the contrary, macroeconomics involves the "sum total of economic activity, dealing with the issues of growth, inflation, and unemployment." Macroeconomics also deals with the effects of national economic policies such as changing taxation levels.

According to Prof. Boulding, "Macro Economics deals not with individual quantities as such but with aggregates of the quantities, not with individual incomes but with the national income, not with the individual prices but with the price level, not with the individual output but with the national output."

Macroeconomics is the branch of economics that deals with aggregate economic decision or behavior of an economy as a whole; for example, the problem of inflation, level of unemployment, and payment of a deficit. To put it simply, it studies the economy as a whole.

In contrast, Microeconomics is the branch of economics that studies the behavior of an individual decision-making unit such as an individual firm, their relationship with the market, at what price to set a commodity, how much of a commodity should be produced, how an individual uses their income to maximize satisfaction, and how the price of each commodity in the market is affected by the forces of supply and demand.

For example, macroeconomics deals with GDP, inflation, interest rates, and unemployment. Microeconomics deals with the economics of health care or agriculture or labor. For instance, a macroeconomist would study GDP numbers, Fed moves, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or the Producer Price Index. A microeconomist, on the other hand, might attempt to study the economics of labor (ie: unions, labor shifts, etc).

Although "micro" means small and "macro" means large, the two shouldn't be separated by the size of an economy or firm. For example, Wal-Mart may be many times the size of the economy of a small nation; however, Wal-Mart's costs and supply/demand curves will be governed by microeconomic decisions while the GDP of the small economy is an aspect of macroeconomics.

More Information:Microeconomics is generally the study of individuals and business decisions; macroeconomics looks at higher up country and government decisions. Macroeconomics and microeconomics, and their wide array of underlying concepts, have been the subject of a great deal of writings. The field of study is vast; here is a brief summary of what each covers:

Microeconomics is the study of decisions that people and businesses make regarding the allocation of resources and prices of goods and services. This means also taking into account taxes and regulations created by governments. Microeconomics focuses on supply and demand and other forces that determine the price levels seen in the economy. For example, microeconomics would look at how a specific company could maximize it's production and capacity so it could lower prices and better compete in its industry.

Macroeconomics, on the other hand, is the field of economics that studies the behavior of the economy as a whole and not just on specific companies, but entire industries and economies. This looks at economy-wide phenomena, such as Gross National Product (GDP) and how it is affected by changes in unemployment, national income, rate of growth, and price levels. For example, macroeconomics would look at how an increase/decrease in net exports would affect a nation's capital account or how GDP would be affected by unemployment rate.

While these two studies of economics appear to be different, they are actually interdependent and complement one another since there are many overlapping issues between the two fields. For example, increased inflation (macro effect) would cause the price of raw materials to increase for companies and in turn affect the end product's price charged to the public.

The bottom line is that microeconomics takes a bottoms-up approach to analyzing the economy while macroeconomics takes a top-down approach. Regardless, both micro- and macroeconomics provide fundamental tools for any finance professional and should be studied together in order to fully understand how companies operate and earn revenues and thus, how an entire economy is managed and sustained.