(Podcast) Principles of Macroeconomics

Episode 1 introduces the field of economics from its macro aspect. In this topic, students will be exposed to basic concepts that are often used in the economics context such as employment, unemployment, inflation, financial policy and fiscal policy. Students will also learn in detail about the economic cycle which is divided into a few phases. Besides that, students will also study the basics of aggregate supply and demand plus the views of classical and Keynesian economists. economists.

Episode 5 discusses the relationship between the goods market and the money market in which they operate interdependently. Any events in both markets will affect each other. Students will be exposed to these two important links between the goods and money markets. The effects of an expansionary and a contractionary fiscal policy on the economy will be discussed. The effects of such policies on the economy will also be discussed. The combination of fiscal and monetary policies aimed at achieving certain objectives will be explained too.

Episode 7 discusses two important variables in the economy, namely, unemployment and inflation. Students will learn to categorise the citizens of a country into specific groups such as population of working age group, labour force, unemployed, employed, discouraged workers and part-time workers. The methods of calculating the rate of unemployment and the rate of participation in the labour force are also explained. Students will learn about three types of unemployment that exist in the economy, reasons for unemployment and the effects of unemployment on the economy, individual and society. Lastly, the trade-off between the unemployment rate and inflation rate is highlighted; the Phillips curve is also discussed.

Episode 8 introduces the concept of international trade. In this topic, students will learn about the factors that encourage international trade such as different climates, production factors, different labour skills and consumption patterns. Besides that, two important concepts in international trade - absolute advantage and comparative advantage

Episode 2 introduces one of the important concepts in macroeconomics, which is national production. This topic explains the circular flow of the income model which connects households and firms. The topic also discusses the method of calculating gross domestic products (GDP), the use of national production data and problems in calculating the national production.

Episode 3 focuses on the determinant of national income equilibrium in a two sector, three-sector and four-sector economy. Students will be able to learn how aggregate demand components such as consumption, investment, government expenditure and net export affect the national income equilibrium. Besides this, students will be exposed to AD-AS model and injection-leakage model that are used to calculate equilibrium level. The concept of multiplier is also explained in this topic. Lastly, this topic describes two main fiscal tools in achieving government objectives, namely, government expenditure and taxes, through automatic and fiscal policies and discretionary fiscal policies.

Episode 4 focuses on money and the banking system in Malaysia. Firstly, students will be introduced to the term „money‰. This topic explains in detail the banking system which covers financial institutions, non-bank financial institutions, nonbank financial intermediaries and Islamic banks. Students will also learn about the credit creation process. Quantitative and qualitative financial policies are discussed. Students will find out the reasons for money demand and the terms used for the various categories of money supply. Besides that, this topic discusses equilibrium in the money market and its relationship with interest rates.

Episode 6 focuses on aggregate demand and supply. From the aspect of aggregate demand, students will learn factors that cause the aggregate demand curve to slope negatively, components of aggregate demand such as consumption (C), investment (I), government expenditure (G) and net export (X