Macroeconomics: Crash Course Economics #5

This week, Adriene and Jacob teach you about macroeconomics. This is the stuff of big picture economics, and the major movers in the economy. Like taxes and monetary policy and inflation and policy. We need this stuff, because if you don't have a big picture of the economy, crashes and panics are more likely. Of course, economics is extremely complex and unpredictable. Today we'll talk about GDP as a measure of a country's economic health, the basics of economic analysis, and even a little about full employment, unemployment

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[СергейГалиуллин-пю]

*Main outtakes of this lesson*
1) _Macroeconomics_ - the study of the entire economy as a whole rather than individual markets.
2) In general policy makers try to achieve three goals:
a. Keep the economy growing over time (gross domestic product - GDP)
b. Limit unemployment (unemployment rate)
c. Keep prices stable (inflation rate)
3) _GDP_ is the value of all final goods and services produced within a country's border in a specific period of time, usually a year.
a. Transactions where nothing new was produced - don't count as GDP.
b. Also not including illegal activities.
c. Measured in dollars.
d. _Nominal_ GDP is GDP not adjusted for inflation.
e. _Real GDP_ is GDP adjusted for inflation.
4) _Recession_ - when two successful quarters, or six months, show a decrease in _real GDP_.
a. _Depression_ - a severe recession.
5) _Unemployment rate_ is calculated by taking the number of people that are unemployed and dividing by the number of people in the labor force, times 100.
a. _Discouraged workers_ - unemployed people that were looking for work, but have given up.
b. There are three types of unemployment:
- _frictional unemployment_ - the time period between jobs, when a worker is searching for, or transitioning from one job to another.
- _structural unemployment_ - unemployment caused by lack of demand for a worker's specific type of labor.
- _cyclical unemployment_ - unemployment due to recession.
c. _Natural rate of unemployment_ - the lowest rate of unemployment that economy can sustain over a long period.
6) _Inflation_ - an increase in a currency supply relative to the number of people using it, resulting in rising prices of goods and services over time.
a. _Deflation_ - a decrease in general price level of goods and services.

[TheBurgerkrieg]

Here's the thing about this series: you don't need to tell me in every episode that economics are not boring and actually exciting. I get it, I clicked on the video, I'm watching the show, and you're doing a good job. There is no need to remind me of this.

[JetBlack]

Alot of my friends watched this whole series about a year ago, and now they all have detailed economic arguments that i can't take part in. It's time for change.

[ashbradshaw]

Everyone who puts notes in the comments for people are real heroes.

[Beastinvader]

You've just summed up 40 pages of the Macroeconomics book I bought. That was amazing!

[maryannvalerio]

Worth noting: the Latin motto on the archway Adriene and Jacob drive through in Thought Bubble, "noli oblivisci mirabilis esse" translates literally as "do not forget to be wondrous, " or, more colloquially, "don't forget to be awesome. Not a dead language after all.

[Successful_Farm]

"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours." - Harry S Truman

[RezaZen]

I always think that i accidentally set the speed at 1.5x whenever he speaks

[azark.]

"drug dealers don't usually report their sales to the government" - you tell me NOW?

[TapOnX]

The economy is bad because the [name of political party I don't like] are in power. If only we did what [a radical politician on the same side of political spectrum as I] proposed years ago, it would all be fine. But what can you expect when [a media outlet I don't like] manipulates voters into making irrational decisions. Also, it is somehow a direct effect of [a particular set of religious or philosophical views I don't like].

[lougert]

Insisting that the topic is exciting simply distracts from the fact that this topic is, indeed, interesting. I know you guys have probably already produced and filmed many of the episodes already, but you don't need to convince me to watch, because I genuinely want to learn.

[athee]

Love these courses. I studied economics at university for 3 years and we learnt absolute garbage with no real world application. I hated economics when i left. This channel is bringing back my passion for the subject and the reason why i got into it in the first place. Bravo !

[cierraann]

I have a test in my macro class tomorrow and I was so lost; watching this video has already made me feel a hundred times better about it. Thank you so much!

[hubblebublumbubwub]

That flappy bird joke aged well. The fact that the game is irrelevant now makes it way more random.

[mattvalon]

Thank you Adriene, Jacob, and the rest of the team for these great videos.

[benhorn]

im cramming this series to make up for a wasted 8 weeks in econ class. great stuff crash course team, keep it up

[gonzesse]

Please touch on GDP by PPP also....
Excellent video btw!!

[iamdrew]

As an economics major, I love this way this course is structured with basic information. Two firm, real-life takeaways from this installment:
1) It's impossible to say definitively there is or isn't a gender wage gap because it's impossible to control for just gender, so people should give up the fruitless argument. I personally believe there is, but regardless, what we should do is work to ensure protections.
2) Economic growth is a balance so anyone who thinks the blanket solution is always to decrease government spending or control is simply misinformed.

[singer]

I just started my Macroeconomics class today. This was a perfect introduction!

[michelthegreatable]

this video isn't much fun to watch if you're greek....