Macroeconomic Objectives

Macro – Achieving Macroeconomic Objectives

In this course, Dr. Paul Segal (King’s College London) discusses how governments try to achieve their macroeconomic policy objectives. In the first module, we will give an overview of what policies governments use to achieve macroeconomic objectives. Then, we talk in more detail about macroeconomic policy tools. In the third module, we see how negative and positive output gaps relate to unemployment and inflation. After this, we look at public finances and how they relate to public expenditures. In the penultimate module, we look at some policy conflicts that governments have to face. Finally, we turn to explore how a country’s linkages with the rest of the global economy, or its level of economic openness, affects macroeconomic policy and outcomes.

Macroeconomic Objectives

In this module, we will give an overview of what policies governments use to achieve macroeconomic objectives. In particular, we will focus on: (i) the basic objectives of macroeconomic policy, including a discussion of price stability, low unemployment, good economic growth, environmental sustainability, and the distribution of income and wealth; (ii) price stability and what policy tools we use to achieve this objective, including discussion of fiscal policy and monetary policy; (iii) low unemployment and what policy tools we use to achieve this objective; and (iv) good economic growth and what policy tools we use to achieve this objective.