Western Economics (Macroeconomic Part)

Author: Gao Hongye, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: This book is a college-level textbook on "Western Economics" organized and compiled by the Ministry of Education of China. It was written by a team of five teaching staff, including Professor Gao Hongye and Professor Wu Hanhong from Renmin University of China, Professor Liu Wenxin from Peking University, Professor Feng Jinhua (former) from Wuhan University, and Professor Yin Bocheng from Fudan University, with Professor Gao Hongye as the editor-in-chief. The main revisions and additions in the third edition are as follows:
Regarding changes in the macroeconomic section, there are six points:
(1) The original section on dynamic aggregate demand and aggregate supply curves has been removed. This is because the discussion on these curves has gone far beyond the scope of introductory materials, and even without them, we can still use the existing static aggregate demand and supply models to roughly explain issues of inflation or deflation.
(2) The third edition incorporates unemployment into the chapter on "Inflation" from the previous edition, as they belong to the two short-term problems that macroeconomics attempts to solve. At the end of this chapter, we combine the two issues by introducing the Phillips curve, making the new chapter structure more logical.
(3) The section on taxes levied according to tax rates and their multipliers has been removed because it is difficult to explain clearly in a concise manner, and it is often omitted in Western introductory textbooks.
(4) The dynamic aggregate demand and supply model and the section on the optimal growth path have been removed because they exceed the scope of introductory materials and are often included in intermediate-level textbooks in the West.
(5) At the beginning of the macroeconomic section, i.e., in Chapter 12 of the new edition, we have added a section titled "A Bird's-Eye View of Macroeconomics and the Chapter Arrangement of This Book" to provide a clear outline for the entire macroeconomic section. Based on this outline, we have completely rewritten Chapters 18–23 of the second edition (equivalent to Chapters 17–22 of the third edition). The reason for this rewrite stems from the development and evolution of Western macroeconomic theory. In the past, macroeconomic theory primarily focused on aggregate demand; however, with changing times, research on aggregate supply has also gained importance. As a result, many of the original disagreements regarding aggregate supply curves still exist, but some of the past ambiguities have been clarified, making the theoretical framework of aggregate supply curves much clearer than before. Most Western macroeconomic textbooks now adopt this clearer framework. As a textbook introducing Western theories, this book naturally reflects this new development. For this reason, the new developments also contribute to a more organized and logical chapter arrangement in the macroeconomic section of this edition.
(6) The third edition expands the introduction to financial instruments. The development of China's financial market has led to a greater variety of financial instruments. In addition to the original stocks and bonds, derivative financial instruments have been gradually introduced. To provide readers with more knowledge in this area, the third edition appropriately increases the coverage of financial instruments.
Regarding changes in the overall section, there are four points:
(1) To save space, the "References for This Chapter" at the end of each chapter and the appendix "Major References" at the end of the book have been removed, replaced with a more practical "Bilingual Reference List."
(2) The concluding section of each chapter has been divided into two parts. The first part summarizes the key points of the chapter, while the second part provides commentary on its content. This approach should benefit readers' learning.
(3) Western scholars' new research findings have been added to the commentary section of each chapter's concluding remarks.
(4) Red and blue colors have been added to the book's figures to make their expressions clearer.
In addition to the points listed above, corrections have been made to the text, symbols, and printing errors throughout the book.
Furthermore, we will soon publish a companion "Study and Teaching Handbook" to accompany this book. This handbook will allow us to place the more challenging parts of the previous edition and a wealth of additional materials within it, making the content of the third edition more flexible.
Overall, we aim to make the third edition more accurately reflect the face of mainstream Western economics and more conducive to its teaching and learning. This book has been recognized as a national-level textbook and has won the First Prize of the 7th Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award in 2002 and the First Prize of the National Excellent College Textbook Award from the Ministry of Education.