Macroeconomics is a branch of economics focusing on the economy as a whole. When you study this field, you will not find answers to questions such as whether consumer demand will decrease if car manufacturers increase their prices? Or, how sensitive is the price of oil to fertilizer companies?
Macroeconomics studies the structure, trends, and how the economy functions. It does not address the behavior of individual agents or economic phenomena, which are discussed in microeconomics. It also does not discuss economic decisions made by individuals, companies, and governments.
What did you study?
Macroeconomic textbooks usually address topics such as economic growth, inflation, international trade, exchange rates, unemployment, gross domestic product (GDP), money supply, and interest rates.
The behavior of economic agents is discussed as a whole, not just one or two individuals. For this reason, often, between macro and microeconomics intersect, for example, in seeing the influence of these factors on business, consumers, and government economic decisions.
Macroeconomic variables are essential in making economic decisions. Some companies, for example, defensive companies, can survive slow economic growth and low inflation, causing their stock prices relatively stable. Meanwhile, others, such as cyclical companies, performed well during periods of relatively strong economic growth with moderate inflation. Investors use macroeconomic data to estimate a company’s earnings potential and to determine which asset class is more attractive.
