Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Macroeconomics is an empirical subject, so the first step toward understanding it is to measure the economy. How large is the U.S. economy? Economists typically measure the…
Figure 19.1 The Great Depression At times, such as when many people having trouble making ends meet, it is easy to tell how the economy is doing. This photograph shows people lined up during the Great Depression, waiting for relief checks. At other…
18.1 Voter Participation and Costs of Elections The theory of rational ignorance says voters will recognize that their single vote is extremely unlikely to influence the outcome of an election. As a consequence, they will choose to remain uninformed about issues…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Most developed countries today have a democratic system of government: citizens express their opinions through votes and those votes affect the direction of the country. The advantage…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Many political issues are of intense interest to a relatively small group, as we noted above. For example, many U.S. drivers do not much care where their…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: In U.S. presidential elections over the last few decades, about 55% to 65% of voting-age citizens actually voted, according to the U.S. Census. In congressional elections when…
Figure 18.1 Domestic Tires? While these tires may all appear similar, some are made in the United States and others are not. Those that are not could be subject to a tariff that could cause the cost of all tires to be higher.…
17.1 How Businesses Raise Financial Capital Companies can raise early-stage financial capital in several ways: from their owners’ or managers’ personal savings, or credit cards and from private investors like angel investors and venture capital firms. A bond is a financial…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Getting rich may seem straightforward enough. Figure out what companies are going to grow and earn high profits in the future, or figure out what companies are…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: The ways in which firms would prefer to raise funds are only half the story of financial markets. The other half is what those households and individuals…