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Macroeconomics– a branch of economic theory that studies the economy as a whole, at the level of aggregate indicators.

Macroeconomic policy objectives:

High and growing level of national production, i.e. level of real gross domestic product (GDP)

High employment with low involuntary unemployment.

A stable price level combined with the determination of prices and wages through the interaction of supply and demand in free markets.

Achieving a zero balance of payments.

The first goal is that the ultimate goal of economic activity is to provide the population with goods and services. The aggregate measure of national production is gross domestic product (GDP), which expresses the market value of final goods and services.

The second goal of macroeconomic policy is high employment and low unemployment. The unemployment rate fluctuates during the economic cycle. During the depression phase, the demand for labor decreases and the unemployment rate increases. During the recovery phase, the demand for labor increases and unemployment decreases.

The third macroeconomic goal is price stability in the presence of free markets. A common measure of the general price level is the consumer price index (CPI), which takes into account the costs of purchasing a fixed set of “baskets” of goods and services.

The fourth goal concerns an open economy and means achieving overall economic equilibrium at the level of full employment with a zero balance of payments.

Macroeconomic policy instruments:

1. Fiscal policy, meaning the manipulation of taxes and government spending to influence the economy. The first component of fiscal policy—taxation—has an impact on general economic situation in two ways:

a) reduces disposable income or expendable income of households. For example, taxes reduce the amount of money that the population spends on the purchase of goods and services, as a result of which the aggregate demand for goods decreases, which causes a fall in GDP;

b) influences the prices of goods and factors of production. Thus, an increase in income taxes causes a decrease in the incentive for firms to invest in new capital goods.

2. Money-credit policy carried out by the state through the country's monetary, credit and banking systems. Regulation of the money supply affects interest rates and thereby the economic environment. For example, a tight money policy raises interest rates, reducing economic growth and increasing unemployment rate. Conversely, cheap money policies cause economic growth and a reduction in unemployment.

3. Income Policy- this is the desire of the state to contain inflation through policy measures: either direct control over wages and prices, or voluntary planning for increases in wages and prices.

Income policy in Western economic literature is the most controversial. Thirty to forty years ago, this policy was considered effective in combating inflation. Currently, many economists consider it not only ineffective but also harmful, because it does not reduce inflation. Therefore, most developed countries use it in emergency situations.

4. Foreign economic policy. International trade increases efficiency and economic growth, and improves the standard of living of the population. An important indicator of foreign trade is net exports, which is the difference between the value of exports and the value of imports. If exports exceed imports, there is a surplus; if imports exceed exports, there is a trade deficit.

5. Trade policy includes tariffs, quotas and other regulatory instruments that either stimulate or restrict exports and imports. Regulation of the foreign sector is carried out by coordinating macroeconomic policies in different economic regions, but mainly through the management of the foreign exchange market, since foreign trade is influenced by the country's exchange rate.

Key macroeconomic issues are:

analysis of economic (business) cycles;

interaction between inflation and unemployment;

achieving sustainable economic growth;

interaction between the real and monetary sectors of the economy;

analysis of the country's trade balance;

the relationship of national markets within the country and with the foreign sector of the economy;

achieving effective macroeconomic policy of the state.

Methods of macroeconomics

A method is understood as a set of methods, techniques, and forms of studying the subject of a given science, i.e., a specific toolkit for scientific research.

Macroeconomics, like other sciences, uses both general and specific methods of study.

General scientific methods include:

method of scientific abstraction;

method of analysis and synthesis;

method of unity of historical and logical;

system-functional analysis;

economic and mathematical modeling;

a combination of normative and positive approaches.

The main specific method of macroeconomics is macroeconomic aggregation, which means the combination of phenomena and processes into a single whole. Aggregated values ​​characterize market conditions and their changes (market interest rate, GDP, GNP, general price level, inflation rate, unemployment rate, etc.).

In macroeconomics, economic models are widely used - formalized descriptions (logical, graphic, algebraic) of various economic phenomena and processes to detect functional relationships between them. Macroeconomic models allow us to abstract from minor elements and focus on the main elements of the system and their interrelations.

Examples of models: circular flow model; Keynes cross; IS-LM model; Baumol-Tobin model; Marx's model; Solow model; Domar model; Harrod model; the Samuelson-Hicks model, etc. All of them act as a common toolkit, without having any national characteristics.

In each macroeconomic model, the selection of factors that would be significant for the macroanalysis of a specific problem in a specific period of time is extremely important.

In each model, two types of variables are distinguished:

a) exogenous;

b) endogenous.

The first ones are introduced into the model from the outside; they are specified before the model is built. This is the background information. The latter arise within the model in the process of solving the stated problem and are the result of its solution.

When building models, four types of functional dependencies are used:

a) definitional;

b) behavioral;

c) technological;

d) institutional.

Definitional(from lat. definitio - definition) reflect the content or structure of the phenomenon or process being studied. For example, the aggregate demand in the goods market is understood as the total demand of households, the investment demand of the business sector, the demand of the state and abroad. This definition can be represented as an identity:

Y = C + I + G + NE

Behavioral– show the preferences of economic entities. Thus, the consumption function C = C(Y) and saving function S = S(Y)

Technological- characterize technological dependencies in the economy, reflect connections determined by production factors, the level of development of productive forces, scientific and technological progress. An example is a production function showing the relationship between volume and production factors: Y = f (L,N,K), where Y is production volume, L - labor, N- Earth, TO- capital.

Institutional- express institutionally established dependencies; determine the connections between certain economic indicators and government institutions regulating economic activity. For example, the amount of tax revenue (T) is a function of income (Y) and the established tax rate ( t v ):

T = t v xY

It should be noted that the time factor plays a greater role in macroeconomics than in microeconomics. Therefore, in macroeconomics, importance is attached to the “expectations” of economic actors.

Economic expectations are divided into two groups:

a) ex post expectations;

b) ex ante expectations.

Expectations ex post - assessment by economic entities of the experience gained, actual assessments, assessments of the past.

Ex ante expectations are forecast estimates of economic entities.

In macroeconomics, there are three main concepts for forming expectations.

1. The concept of static expectations.

According to this concept, economic entities expect in the future what they encountered in the past. For example, if last year prices grew by 3% per month, then this year their growth will also be 3%.

2. The concept of adaptive expectations, according to which economic actors adjust their expectations taking into account mistakes made in the past.

3. Conceptrationalexpectations. The approach according to which

forecasts of economic entities for the future are formed as the optimal result of processing all the information at their disposal, including about the government’s current economic policy.

In macroeconomics, a distinction is made between positive and normative approaches.

The positive approach is an analysis of the actual functioning of the economic system.

Topic: Macroeconomics: features of the subject and method

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Introduction. 5

1 Subject and object of study of macroeconomic analysis. 7

1.1 Object of macroeconomics research. 7

1.2 Subject of study of macroeconomics. 10

1.3 Theoretical foundations and functions of modern macroeconomics. 13

2 Methodology and analytical apparatus of modern macroeconomics. 19

2.1 General economic methods for studying macroeconomics. 19

2.2 Specific methods for studying macroeconomics. Methodological features of macroeconomic analysis. 23

Conclusion. 27

List of sources used. thirty

Introduction

Macroeconomic theory- the most complex and at the same time important section of economic science. Knowledge of this theory instills the skills of economic culture and lays the foundation of economic education.

Macroeconomics examines economic processes at the level of the national economic system. The object of its study are aggregate indicators: national output, national income, general price level, inflation, employment.

Macroeconomics deals with the problems of establishing general equilibrium in the commodity and money markets, studies the influence of aggregate demand and aggregate supply on national production, and solves problems of economic policy, inflation, unemployment and social protection of the population.

The latest trends and changes in the development of the world economy at the macroeconomic level are generated by the following factors:

• further development of the information economy;
• globalization of the world economy;
• the emergence and development of a group of countries with economies in transition;
• the deepening economic, scientific and technical gap between developed countries, on the one hand, and countries with economies in transition, on the other;
• general complication of the structure of the world economy at the international and national levels, etc.

Hence new aspects and serious shifts in the behavior of aggregated quantities and their relationships in economic processes. In the structure of factors of production, the importance of the information sphere has increased. Large cycles dominate. Significant differences are manifested in the parameters of national economic growth models, the rate of capital accumulation, and growth efficiency indicators (capital intensity, material intensity, knowledge intensity, etc.). Today there are not two countries in the world where these parameters would coincide.

At the present stage of history, thanks to the achieved level and quality of development of communications between different states, national achievements in the field of technological progress are quickly becoming the property of the world community. The increased intensity of interstate movement of production factors (capital, technology, information, labor), as well as goods and services, and the resulting forced increase in the role of external factors in the mechanism of economic growth and the process of expanded reproduction indicate the formation of new patterns of international macroeconomics.

This determines the relevance of this topic.

The purpose of the study is to consider the subject and research methods of modern macroeconomics.

The purpose of the study determines the formulation of the following main tasks:

• consideration of the object of the subject of macroeconomics research;
• studying the main issues of macroeconomics;
• determination of the main methods of macroeconomic research;
• analysis of the theoretical foundations and functions of modern macroeconomics.

The course work includes two chapters, which reflect theoretical aspects macroeconomic analysis.

As for literary sources, it should be noted that the basic material is available in all textbooks on macroeconomics.

1 Subject and object of study of macroeconomic analysis

1.1. Object of macroeconomics research

Macroeconomics, along with classical political economy, is a product of Anglo-Saxon economic thought. As an independent branch of economic science, it was formed in the 30s of the 20th century. The emergence of macroeconomics is usually associated with the work of the outstanding English economist John M. Keynes (1893-1946) and, above all, with the publication of his famous work “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936).

J. Keynes proved the possibility of the existence in a market economy of a stable state of high unemployment and underutilized production capacity, but at the same time, the correct fiscal and monetary policies of the state can influence production, thereby reducing unemployment and reducing the duration of economic crises. Consequently, Keynes substantiated the need for state regulation of the economy as a whole. Keynesian economic theory became dominant in the field of macroeconomics and public policy.

From the post-war period until the 1960s, any analysis of macroeconomic policy was based on Keynesian postulates. The ideas formulated by Keynes were developed by his followers - J. Hicks, A. Hansen, P. Samuelson.

However, new theoretical developments have undermined the former significance of Keynesian macroeconomic theory. The most significant criticism of Keynesianism was presented by the monetarist movement, headed by M. Friedman.

The term " macroeconomics“introduced into scientific circulation relatively recently, but the macroeconomic analysis of general economic trends itself has been central for many centuries.

Thus, the French economist-physiocrat F. Quesnay, in his work “Economic Table” (1758), for the first time in economic science, made an attempt to analyze social reproduction from the point of view of determining the balance proportions between natural and value elements social product.

Certain aspects of macroeconomic analysis are contained in the works of the English economist D. Hume in his monetarist approach to the balance of payments. The macroeconomic approach to the analysis of social reproduction was used by K. Marx in his model, which he outlined in the second volume of Capital (1885), in which he proceeded from the correspondence between the natural material and value structures of the total social product.

Marx Karl Heinrich (1818-1883) - German scientist - economist, philosopher, political scientist, sociologist and historian, revolutionary figure, one of the founders of the First International - "International Workers' Association" (1864), founder of the theory of scientific communism. Born in Trier in the family of a lawyer. From 1835 to 1841 studied philosophy and law at the universities of Bonn, Berlin and Jena, becoming an adherent of the teachings of Hegel. In 1842-1849. took an active part in the revolutionary democratic movement in Germany, France and Belgium. From 1849 to 1883 Marx was in exile in London.

An important role in Marx’s theoretical heritage is played by his work “Toward a Critique of Political Economy” (1859), which contains a presentation of Marx’s labor theory of value and his analysis of goods and money. Marx's main scientific work is "Capital" (vol. 1 - 1867, vol. 2 - 1885, vol. 3 (2 parts) - 1894, vol. 4 - "Theories of surplus value, consisting of 3- x parts, - 1905-1910). During Marx's lifetime, only the first volume of Capital was published. The second and third volumes were published under the editorship of F. Engels, and the fourth volume - under the editorship of K. Kautsky.

Marx examined the economic laws that determine the fate of capitalism. He assigned a decisive role to the law of surplus value.

Marx contributed to macroeconomic theory. In particular, he built a two-sector model of simple and expanded reproduction of the total social product, which he outlined in the second volume of Capital (1885).

The American economist J. Schumpeter assessed Marx's theory as a "powerful analytical tool" and concluded that "the vision of the inevitability of the evolution of economic progress... gives Marx the right to claim the title of a great economist."

In the scientific literature you can find various definitions of macroeconomics. Here are two of the most successful ones.

Macroeconomics is a branch of economic science that studies the functioning of the economy as a whole from the point of view of ensuring conditions for sustainable economic growth, full employment of resources and minimizing the level of inflation.

Macroeconomics is the science of aggregate behavior in economics.

At the end of the 19th century, classical political economy as a mainstream (main economic doctrine) gave way to economics or marginalist economic theory, the founder of which is considered to be Alfred Marshall (1842-1924). This direction of economic theory was called the neoclassical school.

Great Depression 1929-1932 highlighted the limitations of neoclassical economic theory, which was unable to explain the phenomenon of a long-term economic crisis and propose ways to overcome it. And this is not accidental: neoclassical science proceeded from the postulate of equilibrium of supply and demand at the micro level (Say’s law), implying that this equilibrium automatically extends to the macro level. From this point of view, there was supposedly no need for the existence of macroeconomics.

The Great Depression undermined this dogma. As a result, neoclassical economics was divided into micro- and macroeconomics. Microeconomics has inherited as its subject a traditional range of problems: the motivation of the behavior of individual producers and consumers, the mechanism of their interaction in commodity markets and in factor markets in competitive conditions.

Macroeconomics took upon itself the study of problems of the functioning of the national economy as a whole - the object of macroeconomics.

1.2. Subject of study of macroeconomics

Gradually formed subject of macroeconomics.

The subject of macroeconomics is the range of problems that it is designed to study.

Subject of macroeconomics- large-scale (on a scale exclusively social production) economic processes and phenomena. Macroeconomics studies the spheres and branches of the national economy and the economic connections between them.

Macroeconomics pursues specific goals and uses appropriate tools.

The goal system includes the following elements:

1. High and growing level of national production, i.e. the level of real gross domestic product (GDP).
2. High employment with low involuntary unemployment.
3. A stable price level combined with the determination of prices and wages through the interaction of supply and demand in free markets.
4. Achieving a zero balance of payments balance.

The first goal is that the ultimate goal of economic activity is to provide the population with goods and services. The aggregate measure of national production is gross domestic product (GDP), which expresses the market value of final goods and services.

The second goal of macroeconomic policy is high employment and low unemployment. The unemployment rate fluctuates during the economic cycle. During the depression phase, the demand for labor decreases and the unemployment rate increases. During the recovery phase, the demand for labor increases and unemployment decreases. However, meeting everyone's need for decent work is an elusive task.

The third macroeconomic goal is price stability in the presence of free markets. A common measure of the general price level is the consumer price index (CPI), which takes into account the costs of purchasing a fixed set of “baskets” of goods and services.

The fourth goal concerns an open economy and means achieving overall economic equilibrium at the level of full employment with a zero balance of payments.

The relationship between the main macroeconomic goals determines the main macroeconomic goal, reflecting the main task of macroeconomic policy, the implementation of which comes in two forms:

• intermediate macroeconomic goals;
• tactical macroeconomic goals.

The former regulate the values ​​of key macroeconomic variables, the latter carry out transformations of the national economy.

The state has at its disposal appropriate tools that it can use to influence the economy.

A policy instrument is an economic variable that is under the control of the government and contributes to the achievement of one or more macroeconomic goals.

The following macroeconomic policy instruments are distinguished.

Fiscal policy, which refers to the manipulation of taxes and government spending to influence the economy.

The first component of fiscal policy - taxation - affects the overall economic situation in two ways:

• reducing disposable income or household spendable income. For example, taxes reduce the amount of money that the population spends on the purchase of goods and services, as a result of which the aggregate demand for goods decreases, which causes a fall in GDP;
• influencing the prices of goods and factors of production. Thus, an increase in income taxes causes a decrease in incentives for firms to invest in new capital goods.

Monetary policy implemented by the state through the country's monetary, credit and banking systems. Regulation of the money supply affects interest rates and thereby the economic environment. For example, a tight money policy raises interest rates, reducing economic growth and increasing unemployment. Conversely, cheap money policies cause economic growth and a reduction in unemployment.

Incomes policy is the government's attempt to curb inflation through policy measures: either direct wage and price controls or voluntary planning for wage and price increases.

Income policy in Western economic literature is the most controversial. Thirty to forty years ago, this policy was considered effective in combating inflation. Currently, many economists consider it not only ineffective, but also harmful, because it does not reduce inflation. Therefore, most developed countries use it in emergency situations.

International trade increases efficiency and economic growth, and improves the standard of living of the population. An important indicator of foreign trade is net exports, which is the difference between the value of exports and the value of imports. If exports exceed imports, there is a surplus; if imports exceed exports, there is a trade deficit.

Trade policy includes tariffs, quotas, and other regulatory instruments that either encourage or restrict exports and imports. Regulation of the foreign sector is carried out by coordinating macroeconomic policies in different economic regions, but mainly through the management of the foreign exchange market, since foreign trade is influenced by the country's exchange rate.

1.3. Theoretical foundations and functions of modern macroeconomics

The correct use of national economic research methods allows macroeconomics to properly perform its functions.

Functions of macroeconomics the same as economic theory as a whole: theoretical-methodological, methodological, prognostic and practical. But they also have their own specifics. It lies in putting the practical function first.

For a long time, since the time of A. Smith, it was believed that economic theory should simply describe phenomena occurring at the macro level. Economists believed that free enterprise and the play of market forces by themselves, spontaneously, automatically ensure economic development. State intervention in the economy was considered unacceptable. The state was required to observe the principle of laissez-faire, that is, the principle of non-intervention, allowing the economy to operate without any interference from the state. The role of the latter was reduced to the duties of a kind of “watchman”, protecting the country from invasion of its territory by enemies and maintaining internal order in it.

From this principle it followed that economics should only explain what is happening in the economy and not think about issues of its regulation, since in this regard it cannot offer anything more advanced than the market. In the 90s, with the beginning of “radical market reforms,” the principle of laissez-faire, which had long become an anachronism, was revived in Russia. The “reformers” adopted the slogan: “The market will put everything in its place.” As a result, the country was relegated to the rank of underdeveloped states, practically deprived of all types of national security, primarily economic.

Meanwhile, back in the middle of the 19th century. English economist J. St. Mill pointed out the need to supplement the market mechanism with government measures. He noted that the market mechanism regulates and stimulates production well, but from a social point of view it does a very poor job of ensuring the distribution of the goods produced. As a result, the wealth of a few coexists with the poverty and misery of the majority of the population. This is why he considered it necessary for the state to intervene in distribution.

K. Marx went further. He criticized the idea of ​​​​the effectiveness of the market mechanism in relation to production, pointing out the need for a transition from spontaneous development to consciously directed development of the economy. The idea of ​​the presence of a planned principle in the economy was embodied in the USSR. The transition to a systematic development path allowed the country to move from sixth place in the world in terms of production to second place and in a short time turn into the second world superpower in terms of economic and military power. In the post-war period, following the example of the USSR, planning began to be used by many countries, including countries with market economies. Currently, it is difficult to find a country that would develop according to the laissez-faire principle. In developed countries, this principle has been replaced by the principle of directed development.

Western economic science associates the emergence of the practical function of macroeconomics with the name of D. Keynes, who back in the 30s. XX century substantiated the need for government intervention in the national economy while maintaining its market status and proposed specific options for such intervention. In the post-war period, Keynes' ideas were further developed. Particular emphasis was placed on the problem of dynamic equilibrium of the national economy and on the choice of means to ensure economic growth.

Thus, the status of macroeconomics as a science also changed. From a purely descriptive it has turned into a practical science. Along with the positive, it acquired a normative character. Macroeconomics not only gives a picture of the state of the national economy, but also indicates what the economy could be like if appropriate measures are taken within the framework of government economic policies.

The prognostic function of macroeconomics is closely related to the practical one.

This science is capable of making predictions regarding the possible state of the national economy in the future. For example, on the eve of 2002, economists made a forecast of the growth rate of the Russian economy in a given year, which is largely coming true. Forecasts are often variable in nature and are based on the principle “this will happen if...” For example, macroeconomics can quite accurately predict a decrease in the rate of economic growth in Russia when oil prices fall on the world market.

Finally, macroeconomics also performs a methodological function, becoming the methodological basis for specific economic sciences dealing with issues of banking, finance, credit, monetary circulation, etc., as well as issues of state economic policy.

The separation of macroeconomics into a positive and normative part occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and continues to persist (see Table 1).

Positive analysis involves a scientific explanation of the current situation and forecasting of further economic development. There are no value judgments here. The main thing is knowledge of the logic and patterns of economic development.

Positive analysis seeks to discover cause-and-effect relationships between economic phenomena, the degree of influence of certain structures on the general state of the economic system. When studying an economic phenomenon, quantitative analysis and a functional approach dominate.

In a positive analysis, the first place is, first of all, the diagnosis of the economic process. We receive specific answers to the questions: “what do we actually have?”, “what will we have in the near future?”

On the contrary, normative analysis often contains value judgments such as “is this good or bad”, “fair or unfair”, and touches on problems of social justice. Here they strive to answer the question “what should be?” From such positions they are trying to determine the future ideal state of the national economy.

In normative microeconomics, they strive to prove what the situation should be, what ideal position should be strived for, taking into account common sense and the recommendations of economic science. Economic processes are assessed taking into account one or another social criterion. It is not so rare that the value system that acts as such a criterion follows from the dominant political, philosophical or religious worldview in society.

Thus, normative macroeconomics preserves the spirit of the Decembrists and reformers. At the present stage of development of economic science, a positive aspect of the normative approach to reality is that the system of basic assessments (criteria) is dominated not by emotions and ideological dogmas (as was the case until recently), but by theoretical conclusions that have been seriously tested by practice.

Modern macroeconomics does not have a single dominant theory. It is based on a number of theories that interact and complement each other and give practitioners freedom of choice, that is, the opportunity to determine the effectiveness of each theory themselves, depending on their subjective ideas, as well as taking into account the individual conditions, goals and priorities of the economic policy of a particular country.

To date, the following features of macroeconomics as a science have been clearly identified.

1. Approach to the economy as a set of enlarged elements, spheres, sectors, industries. Thus, macroeconomics considers not individual goods, but their aggregate in the form of gross national product, not money as such, but the money supply and monetary aggregates, not demand or supply in the market for individual goods, but aggregate demand and aggregate supply, etc.
2. Approach to the national economy as a sphere of social reproduction. This means that the processes studied by economics are considered as constantly renewed and interconnected with each other, being in a certain quantitative ratio. Accordingly, the economy is presented as a system in an equilibrium or nonequilibrium state.
3. A dynamic approach to considering the national economy. It involves taking into account the fact that the economy as a social system is in constant movement and change, its individual elements are transformed, and structural changes occur.
4. A statistical approach to analyzing the state of the national economy, involving the use and manipulation of data from national and international statistics. As a rule, we are talking about aggregated data characterizing, for example, the size of the gross national product, or national income, money supply, etc. Statistics help to see especially clearly the dynamics of the national economy.
5. A socio-economic approach to the national economy, requiring consideration of not only economic, but also social issues and problems, for example, employment issues, unemployment problems, level and quality of life, etc.
6. Approach to the national economy as part of the world economy. This involves the widespread use of data not only on the national economy, but also on the world economy, consideration of issues of interaction of the national economy with the world economy, etc.
7. Identification of the state as a subject of macroeconomics, and the only subject capable of exerting a targeted and regulatory influence on the national economy. That is why a special object of study of macroeconomics as a science is the economic policy of the state.

Taking into account the noted features allows us to define the subject of macroeconomics as a science. The subject of macroeconomics is the system of economic relations and connections arising at the level of the national economy that determine its state and interaction with the world economy

Many economists reduce the subject of macroeconomics to three problems arising from its basic definition: employment, inflation and economic growth. Others bring the number of major macroeconomic problems to 2-3 dozen. However, we should remember the great Aristotle, who called for looking for a “golden mean” in everything and avoiding extremes.

Therefore, we will highlight seven macroeconomic problems or the macroeconomic “magnificent seven”:

• national product,
• employment (unemployment),
• the economic growth,
• economic cycle,
• macroeconomic policy of the state,
• external interaction of national economies.

In its most general form, the content of a macroeconomics course boils down to the disclosure of the seven above-mentioned problems.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the object of macroeconomics research is constantly transforming, and therefore the range of macroeconomic problems that require ever new understanding is changing. Unlike microeconomics, the subject of study of which is very stable (and the structure of textbooks is quite established), macroeconomics cannot be considered a fully defined science. There are many different schools that interpret economic phenomena ambiguously. And although the Anglo-Saxon direction still dominates in the world of macroeconomic science, in recent decades the positions and authority of scientists from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, China and a number of other countries have significantly strengthened. There are attempts to create a domestic macroeconomic science.

The specifics of the subject of macroeconomics also explain the features of the method of studying it.

Table 1 - Positive and normative part of modern macroeconomics

2. Methodology and analytical apparatus of modern macroeconomics

2.1. General economic methods for studying macroeconomics

Macroeconomics, like any other science, has not only a specific subject, but also a special research method.

The word “method” literally means “the path to something,” a set of certain rules, techniques, methods, norms of knowledge and action. This is a system of prescriptions and principles that guide the researcher in solving specific problems.

The method disciplines the search for truth, allows you to save energy and move towards the goal in the shortest possible way. The method of science, on the one hand, reflects the already known laws of the studied sphere of surrounding reality, and on the other hand, it acts as a means of subsequent knowledge.

Thus, the method is both the result of the research process and its prerequisite. The method is developed on the basis of a certain theory, preserving the properties and laws of the object being studied, it bears the imprint of the expedient activity of the cognizing subject. Man is the center of the entire methodology. The method exists in the dialectic of the subjective and objective with the determining role of the latter. The method changes in accordance with the subject of knowledge. The truth of the method is always determined by the content of the subject (object) of research.

If the subject of a scientific discipline answers the question of what it studies, then the method is how this science is studied.

A method is understood as a set of methods, techniques, and forms of studying the subject of a given science, i.e., a specific toolkit for scientific research.

Macroeconomics, like other sciences, uses both general and specific methods of study.

General scientific methods include:

• Dialectical and metaphysical,
• dialectics of the general, particular and individual, abstraction, unity of the historical and logical,
• analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction,
• genetic,
• causal and functional,
• systemic and structural.

The dialectical method requires consideration of macroeconomic phenomena and processes in their continuous movement, interconnections and interdependencies, when the accumulation of quantitative changes entails qualitative changes, and the source of upward development is the unity and struggle of opposites. The dialectical method is implemented through many more specific approaches. For example, the genetic approach involves the study of the emergence and formation of a macroeconomic phenomenon or process, as well as the derivation of each subsequent state from the previous one. The cause-and-effect approach presupposes the obligation to determine the causes and consequences of macroeconomic phenomena and processes (objects). For example, in specific economic conditions of interaction between inflation and unemployment, it is necessary to find out their common causes and consequences, and also to accurately answer the question: “Is unemployment the cause of inflation or vice versa?”

Unlike the dialectical method, the metaphysical method requires focusing on the static state of the object of macroeconomic research, outside of its connections with other objects, on its functioning, not development. A functional approach is more adequate to these requirements, according to which the directly studied macroeconomic object is assigned the status of a function, and the objects influencing it are assigned the status of variable arguments.

Dialectical and metaphysical methods are universal methods of cognition that do not exclude, but complement each other. It is in this context that it is necessary to use methods of abstraction, unity of historical and logical, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction.

In a general scientific sense, abstraction means the formation of images and models of macroeconomic reality through the use of cognitive procedures of abstraction and replenishment, that is, by using only part of the set of relevant data about an object and adding to this part some new information that does not directly follow from these data. In the process of ascending from the sensory-concrete to the abstract, the studied macroeconomic objects are cleared of the random, fleeting, insignificant (from the point of view of the goals and objectives of the study), the main and essential is highlighted in them. Thus, primary abstractions are formed, for example, the price level, interest rate, unemployment rate, etc.

The method of unity of the historical and logical is based on certain relationships between historically developing objective reality and its reflection in theoretical knowledge.

The method of macroeconomic analysis involves the mental division of the national economy and its macro level into its component parts (according to different criteria depending on the goals and objectives of the study), identifying their internal structure, properties, features, functions, etc.

The method of macroeconomic synthesis consists in determining the connections between the component parts obtained in the process of analysis and the specified characteristics, combining them and combining them into a single whole. For example, analysis of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, identification of their prerequisites, nature, price and non-price factors, analytical and graphical modeling precede their synthesis - the study of macroeconomic equilibrium and disturbances in it.

Macroeconomic synthesis can also act in the form of interrelation, symbiosis of various, including competing theories or their individual basic postulates. One example of such a synthesis is the concept of the Keynesian-neoclassical synthesis.

Macroeconomic induction is the movement of knowledge from directly specific, individual processes and phenomena to that general (to laws, regularities, principles, etc.) that unites them into one or another class of processes and phenomena. The role of induction in cognition is determined by the need to generalize experimental research data, and on this basis - the ability to foresee with a high degree of probability the further course of events. With enumerative induction, in a number of individual cases a certain regularity is revealed, which is the basis for the corresponding conclusion.

Deduction and induction are dialectically interrelated. On the one hand, the process of inductive generalizations itself is deductively “loaded”, since, as a rule, it is carried out not spontaneously, but on the basis of put forward hypotheses, existing theories and paradigms. On the other hand, individual concrete facts are considered explained if they are included in a certain theoretical system of concepts from which they can be obtained through deduction.

In macroeconomics, general scientific methods of analogy are also widely used (provides grounds for transferring certain information obtained during the study of one object to the process of studying another object, taking into account their differences); comparison (consists in comparing various objects in order to identify their possible relationships, common and special features); unity of quantitative and qualitative analysis (the study of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of an object, their relationships in various conditions, in particular, mutual transitions) and some others.

The considered general scientific methods are interconnected in many areas. For example, the method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete is one of the forms of scientific synthesis: the obtained universal-specific knowledge about an object is nothing more than a specific synthesis, the unity of its many abstract definitions. The cause-and-effect approach can be an integral component of genetic and induction methods.

The result of the search for complex relationships between these methods was the development and active use of systemic, structural, synergetic and derivative methods: structural-functional, genetic-structural, etc.

The systemic method involves searching and identifying a set of macroeconomic objects that are closely interconnected and form a certain integrity and unity in relation to the surrounding economic environment. At the same time, the dependence of each element of the system on its place and functions within the whole, the principles of its structure, and connections with the environment are studied. For example, it is from these positions that the macroeconomic circulation of resources, products and income is considered; system of national accounts (SNA).

The structural method, as an integral component of the systemic one, consists in characterizing the set of stable connections of the elements of the system, which (the set) determines its (the system’s) qualitative specificity and stability under conditions of permanent external influences. When using the structural-functional method, attention is focused on the functional, primarily correlation, connections of the elements of the system, and the genetic-structural method focuses on the genetic ones. A typical example of the use of the structural-functional method in macroeconomics is the analysis of the "IS-LM" model - simultaneous equilibrium in the commodity and money markets.

The synergetic method is the result of improving the system method, taking into account the need to study highly complex systems, their self-organization and self-development, processivity and nonlinearity, nonequilibrium and dissipativity. Mastering its rich tools is an important prerequisite for the further progress of fundamental science in general and macroeconomics in particular.

2.2. Specific methods for studying macroeconomics. Methodological features of macroeconomic analysis

At the same time, each science uses its own specific research methods and has its own terms and principles. For example, in chemistry the concept of a molecule is used, in physics - a quantum, in mathematics - an integral, a radical, etc. Macroeconomics uses its own concepts, the main of which are called categories. Along with the development of macroeconomics, some categories die out, others are modified. In other words, the categories are historical in nature.

The main specific method of macroeconomics is macroeconomic aggregation, which means the combination of phenomena and processes into a single whole. Aggregated values ​​characterize market conditions and their changes (market interest rate, GDP, GNP, general price level, inflation rate, unemployment rate, etc.).

So, if microeconomics examines the features of equilibrium in individual goods markets (wheat, oil, computers, cars, etc.), then macroeconomics examines all goods markets as a single whole. In this case, it is assumed that the entire economy consists of one producer (firm) and one consumer (household). Many labor markets (regional, sectoral, qualification, etc.) also come down to a single labor market. Of course, such abstraction simplifies and to some extent distorts reality, but these are the inevitable costs of macroeconomic science - the payment for the opportunity to study global patterns.

From a macroeconomic point of view, the national economy consists of four macroeconomic entities:

• the household sector, which forms the supply of labor and the demand for goods, consumes part of the income received, and saves the other part. Households strive to maximize utility while minimizing costs.
• business sector - the totality of all firms in the country that place demand for factors of production, create a supply of goods and invest. In its activities, the business sector, as a rule, strives to maximize profits.
• the public sector, which creates specific benefits such as security, science, and infrastructure services. The public sector, as a rule, does not pursue the goal of maximizing profits, but creates conditions for the optimal functioning of the national economy. At the same time, as a macroeconomic entity, the state produces and purchases goods, collects taxes, pays transfers, and forms the supply of money.
• sector abroad, which is a combination of economic entities abroad and foreign government institutions. The foreign sector is studied mainly to determine the state of the national balance of payments and exchange rate.

In macroeconomics, economic models are widely used - formalized descriptions (logical, graphic, algebraic) of various economic phenomena and processes to detect functional relationships between them. Macroeconomic models allow us to abstract from minor elements and focus on the main elements of the system and their interrelations.

Macroeconomic models, being an abstract expression of economic reality, cannot be comprehensive, therefore in macroeconomics there are many different models that can be classified according to various criteria:

• by degree of generalization (abstract theoretical and concrete economic);
• by degree of structuring (small-sized and multi-sized);
• from the point of view of the nature of the relationship of elements (linear and nonlinear);
• by degree of coverage (open and closed: closed - for studying a closed national economy; open - for studying international economic relations);
• taking into account time as a factor determining phenomena and processes (static - the time factor is not taken into account; dynamic - time acts as a factor, etc.).

There are many different models in macroeconomics: the circular flow model; Keynes cross; IS-LM model; Baumol-Tobin model; Marx's model; Solow model; Domar model; Harrod model; the Samuelson-Hicks model, etc. All of them act as a common toolkit, without having any national characteristics.

In each macroeconomic model, the selection of factors that would be significant for the macroanalysis of a specific problem in a specific period of time is extremely important.

In each model, two types of variables are distinguished:

• exogenous;
• endogenous.

The first ones are introduced into the model from the outside; they are specified before the model is built. This is the background information. The latter arise within the model in the process of solving the stated problem and are the result of its solution.

When building models, four types of functional dependencies are used:

• definitional;
• behavioral;
• technological;
• institutional.

Definitional (from Latin definitio - definition) reflect the content or structure of the phenomenon or process being studied. For example, the aggregate demand in the goods market is understood as the total demand of households, the investment demand of the business sector, the demand of the state and abroad. This definition can be represented as an identity:

Y = C + I + G + NE

Behavioral - show the preferences of economic subjects. Thus, the consumption function C = C(Y) and the saving function S = S(Y).

Technological - characterize technological dependencies in the economy, reflect connections determined by production factors, the level of development of productive forces, scientific and technological progress. An example is a production function showing the relationship between volume and factors of production:

Y = f (L, N, K),

where Y is production volume,

K - capital.

Institutional - express institutionally established dependencies; determine the connections between certain economic indicators and government institutions regulating economic activity.

For example, the amount of tax revenue (T) is a function of income (Y) and the established tax rate (t y):

It should be noted that the time factor plays a greater role in macroeconomics than in microeconomics.

According to the standards of modern science, methodology is defined as a system of scientific knowledge about the subject and methods of science.

The subject of a science fixes its place among other sciences, its differences and features. The method is represented by a certain set of tools, which, in accordance with the subject, are selected from the general, almost universal arsenal of methods of scientific knowledge. The main task of the methodology is to determine the comprehensive composition of these tools and effective ways their use depending on the purposes of the research.

The methodology of fundamental economic science, including macroeconomics, should include:

1. civilizational and specific historical conditions for the existence and development of economic science;
2. non-economic context of economic science, including metascientific (philosophical, ethical, ideological, etc.) ideas about economic activity, as well as ideological principles and value systems;
3. evolution, state and structure of economic knowledge as a complex social formation;
4. the relationship and interaction of theoretical and empirical knowledge, as well as various theories, concepts, hypotheses of one scientific discipline and various scientific disciplines; laws, patterns and dominant trends in the origin and evolution of scientific theories;
5. the relationship between the subject and object of knowledge, the bearer and user of knowledge;
6. subject and methods of science. Attention is focused on the typology, structure and relationships of various methods in a specific scientific study;
7. categorical apparatus, language and terminology of science;
8. conditions and criteria for being scientific, ways of separating scientific knowledge from non-scientific;
9. "technology", algorithm scientific work, a creative laboratory of leading scientists.

Thus, in a broad sense, the methodology of macroeconomics is the doctrine of the principles, methods, structure and evolution of practical and theoretical macroeconomic activity in the context of social life as a whole.

Conclusion

After the study, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. Macroeconomics - component economics, which studies the functioning of the national economy as a whole. Its objects are the income and wealth of society, the rate and factors of economic growth. The initial impetus for the development of macroeconomics was the economic ideas of J.M. Keynes.
2. A significant contribution to the development and enrichment of macroeconomics was made by scientists of the Swedish and Chicago schools, representatives of the new classical macroeconomics.
3. Macroeconomics pursues specific goals and uses appropriate tools.

The goal system includes:

• high and growing level of national production, i.e. real GNP;
• high employment with low involuntary unemployment;
• stable price level;
• in an open economy - achieving general economic equilibrium at the level of full employment with a zero balance of payments.

To achieve these goals, the following macroeconomic policy instruments are used:

• fiscal policy;
• monetary policy;
• foreign economic policy;
• trade policy.

1. Key macroeconomic issues are:

• analysis of economic (business) cycles;
• interaction between inflation and unemployment;
• achieving sustainable economic growth;
• interaction between the real and monetary sectors of the economy;
• analysis of the country's trade balance;
• the relationship of national markets within the country and with the national sector;
• achieving effective macroeconomic policy of the state.

1. A method is a way of constructing and justifying scientific knowledge, a set of techniques, operations and tools that provide a reflection of the object being studied.
2. The modern system of scientific methods is a very complex and rapidly progressing formation. According to various criteria, methods are distinguished: experimental and theoretical, heuristic and algorithmic, deterministic and probabilistic, verbal and mathematical, etc. The scope of application of the methods is essential. On this basis, general scientific and specific methods are usually distinguished.
3. The use of general scientific methods is inherent in any scientific activity, regardless of its type and focus, and therefore allows us to draw a fairly clear line between science and non-science. General scientific methods play a decisive role in determining the fate of research, since they outline its general direction, fundamental approaches to the object, the algorithm, the sequence of actions of the scientist, the main prerequisites for the ideological assessment of the results obtained.
4. Specific methods are adequate to the subject space of one or more related sciences and are used to solve more specific research problems. The methods of one science can be used by other sciences, but taking into account the differences in their objects and subjects.
5. The history of science testifies to the real possibility of individual specific methods acquiring the status of general scientific ones (for example, the systems method). The reverse process cannot be ruled out - the transformation of general scientific methods into specific ones. General scientific and specific methods are closely interrelated, and the boundary between them cannot always be clearly defined.
6. In macroeconomics, economic models are widely used - formalized descriptions of various economic phenomena and processes to detect functional relationships between them, which can be classified according to various criteria:

• by level of generalization;
• according to the degree of structuring;
• from the point of view of the nature of the relationship of elements;
• by degree of coverage;
• taking into account time as a factor determining phenomena and processes.

1. The time factor plays a larger role in macroeconomics than in microeconomics.
2. In modern macroeconomics, a distinction is made between positive and normative approaches.

• The positive approach is an analysis of the actual functioning of the economic system.
• The normative approach is advisory in nature, determining which conditions or aspects are desirable or undesirable.

1. The combination of positive and normative approaches makes it possible for modern macroeconomic research, despite the high level of scientific abstraction, to serve as a theoretical basis for the development of state economic policy.

List of sources used

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If the course work, in your opinion, is of poor quality, or you have already seen this work, please let us know.

Economic theory is divided into microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics studies the economic behavior of an individual who makes decisions as a consumer and owner of production resources and firms. Macroeconomics looks at the economy as a whole. It tries to explain why inflation occurs and how to fight it, the causes and consequences of unemployment. At the same time, macroeconomics operates with general indicators. The main characteristic is the national economy, which makes it possible to hide the differences that different entities have.

Macroeconomics is closely related to the economic policy pursued by the state. This is explained by the fact that the modern economy is mixed due to the fact that the market mechanism cannot ensure stable development. Therefore, the object of macroeconomics is to substantiate the economic policy of the state. Those parameters that the government changes when implementing its macroeconomic policies are called policy variables (instruments). There are debates in economic theory about the scope and goals of government policies, which are presented in macroeconomics courses.

Macroeconomics as a science arose in the 30s on the basis of the teachings of D. M. Keynes. The subject of science is debatable. Many economists believe that the economy is based on the actions of an individual subject, and any generalizations distort the picture of economic development.

Like microeconomics, it uses the same economic concepts, but has slightly different analytical tools. The main research method is the method of economic and mathematical modeling. Modeling is based on economic theory, economic statistics and mathematics. It connects economic theory and economic statistics with the help of mathematical and statistical methods that help to give specific quantitative expressions to the general schematic patterns established by economic theory. Modeling requires stable and precise premises as initial positions, from which subsequent judgments are derived. In the real economy, the validity of judgments is fraught with great difficulties, since the economic system is in constant change. Consequently, the initial premises also change. Not a single statement is true throughout the history of economic development. Therefore, the question arises about the criteria for the truth of macroeconomic models.

There are four approaches to this issue. The first one was laid by D.S. Millem. Initially, using the induction method, it is necessary to identify the basic psychological or technical laws, and then, using the deduction method, derive the economic laws that follow from them for given specific conditions. Empirical confirmation allows us to determine their applicability to reality and verify the correctness of the deduction itself. Such models cannot explain absolutely all phenomena, since they coarse reality, but they allow one to derive general patterns of development that are not questioned, since the laws of logic are not violated when deriving them.

The second approach was formulated from the position of positivism. It is argued that all provisions accompanied by the words “other things being equal” are unverifiable and uninformative. And if so, then the conclusions of pure economic theory represent an empty tautology and deprive it of empirical content and meaning.
Such statements caused objections from M. Friedman and a number of other economists. They believed that the purpose of positive economics was not explanation, but prediction. Every conclusion drawn from a theory whose truth has not yet been established is considered a prediction, even if it does not relate to the future. If a theory makes reliable predictions, then it is a good theory. If the predictive value of several theories is the same, preference is given to the simpler one or the one that covers a wider range of phenomena.

Proponents of the fourth approach argue that the actual methodology of economics is rhetoric, the art of persuading the listener and reader. Scientists use a whole range of techniques of formal logic, such as analogy, appeals to authority, weakening of premises, operating with a hypothetical toy model of the economy, etc. A good theory is one that convinces economists and readers that it is correct.

Along with the abstract method, macroeconomics uses a historical approach to the analysis of research processes. This means that each phenomenon is examined in development from the point of view of historical process and logical analysis.

§ 69. COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF CHEESE WHEY

Cheese whey is a valuable food raw material, including all components of milk. About 50% of milk solids pass into cheese whey, including 88- 94% milk sugar, 20-25% proteins, 6-12% milk fat, 59-65% minerals. The composition of cheese whey is given in table. 47.

Table 47

The composition of whey carbohydrates is similar to the carbohydrate composition of milk: monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, etc.), their derivatives, disaccharide - lactose and more complex oligosaccharides. The main carbohydrate in whey is lactose, monosaccharides are present in it in smaller quantities, oligosaccharides- in the form of traces.

Mass fraction nitrogen-containing substances in cheese whey range from 0.5 to 1.1%.

The most important proteins contained in serum are β-lactoglobulin, α-lactoalbumin, serum albumin, immunoglobulins and proteose peptones.

Immunoglobulins

Proteose peptones

Glycine

Proline %. This value depends both on the type of cheese produced and the physical and chemical characteristics of the raw materials, as well as on the factors that determine the course of production. technological processes. Milk fat in whey is more dispersed than in whole milk, which has a positive effect on its digestibility.

Cheese whey contains slightly less mineral substances than whole milk, since some of the salts and microelements go into the main product - cheese. The mineral content ranges from 0.3-0.8%. Minerals in cheese whey are in various forms of true and molecular solutions, colloidal and insoluble states in the form of salts of organic and inorganic acids

Mineral composition of serum, mg/%

The predominant cations in whey are potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium; the predominant anions are citric, phosphoric, and lactic acids.

Both fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins are transferred from milk into cheese whey, and water-soluble vitamins are transferred to a much greater extent than fat-soluble ones. %) Thus, the degree of transition (in makes up: thiamine ( B %, 1) - 88%, riboflavin (B 2) - 91%, cobalin (B12) - 58%, ascorbic acid (C) - 78

retinol (A) - 11%, tocopherol (E) - 32%.

The specific yellowish-greenish color of cheese whey is due to the presence of riboflavin.

The content of vitamins in whey is subject to fluctuations and decreases sharply during storage. % Of the organic acids in whey, there are lactic, citric, nucleic and volatile fatty acids - acetic, formic, propionic, butyric. 23-75 goes into cheese whey

0.54 I 4.6∙10 -4 Freezing temperature, °C The energy value of the whey is 36% energy value whole milk, howeverbiological value