Macroeconomics is one of the fields of study of the economic sciences that studies how an economy behaves in aggregate terms , that is, the economy of a region or country. This study addresses the performance of the economic structure as a whole.
The analyzes are carried out using aggregate indicators, such as GDP, unemployment rates and the price index, estimated with the aim of monitoring the development of the sectors of an economy by comparing different factors such as consumption, inflation , savings, investments, international trade. and national finances, income and results.
Differences between macroeconomics and microeconomics.
Microeconomics focuses on the analysis of minimum factors, on the decision-making of individuals and companies, such as supply and demand, while macroeconomics deals with the behavior and development of the whole in an economy.
The two branches are related when, for example, macroeconomics analyzes the level of unemployment in a country, while microeconomics visualizes the effects of the labor supply.
National contability
National accounting is an accounting system that allows you to measure the economic activity of a country or region. Also known as social accounting, it is regularly practiced by statistical institutes that evaluate values through national accounts, dividing activities into 3 main perspectives:
Production
The production account measures the values of the goods and services produced over a period of time. In this measure, the goods produced and distributed for final use are considered, different from the intermediate goods or in stocks in the companies.
Income
The income account is used to calculate the gross income generated in an economic territory, be it from income from work (distributed wages), interest, earnings, as well as income negotiated between the country and abroad, such as cash inflows made by citizens living abroad and registered in the balance of payments.
Expenses
The expense account consists of measuring the expenses incurred in the country for consumption or use. Spending is measured by household consumption, public spending, the firm’s investment spending, and the difference between exports and imports in the period.
Keynesian theory
One of the first observations on the economy as a whole began with the economist John M. Keynes in the early 20th century and was widely used during the crisis of 1929. Also known as the Great Depression.
The recession of 1929 was generalized for the entire economy, where it could not be explained by analysis of individual markets, but by the aggregate of all economic activity.
In carrying out these analyzes, Keynes published his book known as “General Theory”, where he demonstrated the need to know the behavior of an economy as a whole, and which later also allowed to develop the study of unfavorable economic fluctuations, when a country goes through recessions and crises.