The Goals Of Macroeconomic Policy

Politicians win elections by promising 'Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!' but in practice these promises quickly fall by the wayside. The Goals of Macroeconomic Policy asks why. It begins with the observation that there is no convincing economic argument that full employment should be the primary objective of economic policy in all circumstances. In the light of this it examines whcy policy has failed so consistantly. It explains this by a theory of the labour market which shows why most workers are happy to operate in a way which militates against full employment. It then proceeds to analyse the rather dire consequences of this for the budget deficit.

Macroeconomic Policy examines the central tenets of both Keynesian and Monetarist schools. It begins by examining the aims of macroeconomic policy: low unemployment, low inflation, high levels of output and high rates of growth. In practice these goals interact and policies which promote one are often detrimental to another. As well as examining how the different schools manage the trade-off between goals, the book also considers their distinctive attitude to markets, how they manage concepts of the short and long run and their different notions of uncertainty.

Research paper on economic analysis of macroeconomic policies since 1980 in the USA - examines the uncertainty and theoretical confusion about the meaning and validity of fiscal policies and monetary policies in achieving stabilization and reducing inflation and unemployment; outlines macroeconomic instruments (incl. Balanced national budget, deficit financing, money supply, income tax and public expenditure reduction, public finance, etc.).

Economics provides an interactive and illuminating account of the issues facing all economies today. The writing style reflects the nature of discourse of the discipline, providing an analytical rather than a descriptive approach.