Table of Contents

1. Introduction, motivation, and overview; 2. Real economic activity; 3. Inflation, relative prices, and expectations; 4. Monetary policy and accounts; 5. The fiscal system; 6. Financial stability; 7. The external accounts.

Promotional Information

Offers a guide to the concepts essential for understanding macroeconomic analysis and policies at a practical level.

About the Author

Leslie Lipschitz was an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for more than thirty-five years. He served as Director of the IMF Institute, taught at the School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University and at Bowdoin College, Maine, was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, worked and consulted with private financial institutions, and has written, spoken, and published widely on open-economy macroeconomics. Susan Schadler was an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)for over thirty years. Her published articles and books cover exchange rate policies, economic growth and crises, how countries adjust in crises, and the integration of Eastern and Western Europe. Since leaving the IMF, she has been a senior member of St Antony's College, Oxford, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and a consultant for the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office.

Reviews

'Leslie Lipschitz and Susan Schadler provide a superb road map for assessing a country's policies. It is relevant not only for new IMF economists but also for analysts in investment banks, rating agencies, finance ministries, and central banks, as well as for economic journalists seeking to bridge the gap between theory and real-world practice.' Peter Heller, Finance & Development

'The authors of this invaluable book are former economists at the International Monetary Fund. The book is written for professional economists and those who try to make sense of what they write. For such readers, it will show how to apply theoretical ideas and concepts to actual economies. It covers everything that matters in macroeconomics: the real economy, prices, monetary policy, fiscal policy, financial stability and the external accounts. Among potential users, frustrated students are likely to find it particularly helpful.' Martin Wolf, 'Summer books of 2019', Financial Times