• A basic understanding of economics makes you a well-rounded thinker. When you read articles about

economic issues, you will understand and be able to evaluate the writer’s argument. When you hear

Access for free at openstax.org
1.2 • Microeconomics and Macroeconomics 15

classmates, co-workers, or political candidates talking about economics, you will be able to distinguish

between common sense and nonsense. You will find new ways of thinking about current events and about

personal and business decisions, as well as current events and politics.

The study of economics does not dictate the answers, but it can illuminate the different choices.

1.2 Microeconomics and Macroeconomics

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe microeconomics

• Describe macroeconomics

• Contrast monetary policy and fiscal policy

Economics is concerned with the well-being of allpeople, including those with jobs and those without jobs, as
{"creator": "PDFMiner", "moddate": "2022-12-07T14:23:05-06:00", "source_file": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "creationdate": "2022-12-07T14:15:44-06:00", "file_name": "Microeconomics3e.pdf", "file_hash": "830b81f41611ac67a490444dbb5d6aed292224606965b06965b914443c93331a", "producer": "Prince 14.2 (www.princexml.com)", "title": "Principles of Microeconomics 3e", "upload_timestamp": "2026-02-07T15:24:38.309401", "batch_upload": true, "file_type": ".pdf", "total_pages": 597, "source": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "file_size_mb": 26.99, "uploaded_via": "batch_uploader"}