海南大学2007-08学年度第2学期《宏观经济学》答案(B卷) Please answer the Questions（每题10分，共同100分) 1.Explain the difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics.How are these two fields related? 1.Microeconomics is the study of how individual firms and households mak decisions,and how they interact with one another.Microeconomic models of firms and households are based on principles of optimization-firms and households do the best they can given the constraints they face. For example,households choose which goods to purchase in order to ize their utilty,hereas firms decide how much to produce maximize profits.In contrast,macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole;it focuses on issues such as how total output,total employment,and the overall price level are determined.These economy-wide variables are based on the interaction of many households and many firms;therefore,microeconomics forms the basis for macroeconomics 2.What is a market-clearing model?When is the assumption of market clearing appropriate? 2.A market-clearing model is one in which prices adjust to equilibrate supph demand.Market-cearing modelsare useful in situations where prices flexible.Yet in many situations,flexible prices may not be a realistic assumption. For example,labor contracts often set wages for up to three years.Or,firms such as magazine publishers change their prices only every three to four years. Most m mists believe that price umption for studying long-run issues. demand or supply,even though in the short run they may be slow to adjust. 3.Look at the newspapers for the past few days.What new economic statistics have been released?How do you interpret these statistics? 3.A large number of economic statistics are released regularly.These include the following: Gross Domestic Product-the market value of all final goods and services produced in a year. The Un aployment Rate-the percentage of the civilian labor force who do not have a job Corporate Profits-the accounting profits remaining after taxes of all manufacturing corporations.It gives an indication of the general financial health of the corporate sector. The Consumer Price Index(CPD)-a measure of the average price that海南大学 2007-08 学年度第 2 学期《宏观经济学》答案(B 卷) Please answer the Questions（每题 10 分，共同 100 分） 1.Explain the difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics.How are these two fields related? 1.Microeconomics is the study of how individual firms and households make decisions, and how they interact with one another.Microeconomic models of firms and households are based on principles of optimization—firms and households do the best they can given the constraints they face. For example,households choose which goods to purchase in order to maximize their utility,whereas firms decide how much to produce in order to maximize profits. In contrast,macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole; it focuses on issues such as how total output,total employment,and the overall price level are determined.These economy-wide variables are based on the interaction of many households and many firms;therefore,microeconomics forms the basis for macroeconomics. 2.What is a market-clearing model?When is the assumption of market clearing appropriate? 2.A market-clearing model is one in which prices adjust to equilibrate supply and demand.Market-clearing models are useful in situations where prices are flexible.Yet in many situations,flexible prices may not be a realistic assumption. For example, labor contracts often set wages for up to three years.Or,firms such as magazine publishers change their prices only every three to four years. Most macroeconomists believe that price flexibility is a reasonable assumption for studying long-run issues. Over the long run,prices respond to changes in demand or supply,even though in the short run they may be slow to adjust. 3. Look at the newspapers for the past few days. What new economic statistics have been released? How do you interpret these statistics? 3.A large number of economic statistics are released regularly. These include the following: Gross Domestic Product—the market value of all final goods and services produced in a year. The Unemployment Rate—the percentage of the civilian labor force who do not have a job. Corporate Profits—the accounting profits remaining after taxes of all manufacturing corporations.It gives an indication of the general financial health of the corporate sector. The Consumer Price Index(CPI)— a measure of the average price that