Macroeconomics studies whole economies. It looks at aggregates: total output, overall prices, unemployment, and growth. Where microeconomics zooms in on individual markets, macro zooms out to the national and global picture.

The field was born in the 1930s. The Great Depression baffled classical economists, who expected markets to self-correct. John Maynard Keynes argued that economies could get stuck and that governments needed to spend to revive demand. His ideas shaped policy for decades.

Macroeconomists debate big questions. What causes recessions? Should central banks target inflation? How much debt can a government carry? There is no consensus. Schools of thought disagree on fundamentals. Yet policymakers rely on macro data daily: GDP reports, inflation figures, jobs numbers. The numbers move markets and elections.

Core topics

• GDP and growth
• Inflation and deflation
• Unemployment
• Monetary and fiscal policy
• Business cycles