Nature of Macroeconomics

study of the performance of the economy as a whole and policies used to improve the economies performance

study of the behaviour of individual sectors of the economy e.g. firms

1. Describe, explain economic trends & events
2. Measure the level of economic welfare
3. Predict future trends in economic activity
4. Determine if the standard of living is improving over time
5. Develop & apply appropriate policies to improve economic performance

give an indication of the state of the economy at a particular point in time
- collection, summarising, presenting and interpreting economic stats

Predict trends in economic activity & change before a direction becomes evident in the rest of the economy
Examples: business confidence
building approvals
share prices
consumer sentiment
share prices
employment vacancies

Appear to move in line with the level of economic activity
Examples:
retial sales
unemployment levels
interest rates
real GDP growth
sales of consumer durables

Not expected to show any change until after trends have been confirmed in the rest of the economy
Examples:
consumer debt levels
savings
bank deposits