Macroeconomics in Context

Macroeconomics in Context lays out the principles of macroeconomics in a manner that is thorough, up to date, and relevant to students. Like its counterpart, Microeconomics in Context, the book is uniquely attuned to economic, social, and environmental realities. The “In Context” books offer engaging coverage of current topics including policy responses to recession and inflation, inequality, deficits and government debt, economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economics of environmental sustainability.

This fourth edition includes:

• Improved and concise discussions of introductory topics, especially on key economic activities, macroeconomic goals, and economic models
• Further emphasis on inequality, environmental sustainability, financialization, the changing nature of work, and international developments such as the role of transnational corporations and supply chain issues
• Discussion of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on macroeconomic factors like well-being, inequality, and labor markets
• Presentation of policy issues in historical, environmental, institutional, social, political, and ethical contexts, including an updated discussion of fiscal policy in relation to the Biden administration’s infrastructure and social investment spending
• Clear explanations of basic economic concepts alongside more in-depth analysis of macroeconomics models and economic activity

This book combines real-world relevance with a thorough grounding in multiple economic paradigms. It is the ideal textbook for modern introductory courses in macroeconomics.

The book’s companion website is available at: http://www.bu.edu/eci/macro

Neva Goodwin is a Distinguished Fellow at the Economics in Context Initiative at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center and Co-Director of the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE) at Tufts University. Her current interests focus on ecological restoration and its potential for improving human health and helping to mitigate climate change.

Jonathan M. Harris is Visiting Scholar at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University and Senior Research Fellow at the Economics in Context Initiative at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. His current research focuses on the implications of large-scale environmental problems, especially global climate change, for macroeconomic theory and policy.

Julie A. Nelson is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Senior Research Fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. Many of her books and articles critique economic methodology from a feminist perspective. She has published in journals ranging from Econometrica and the Journal of Political Economy to Hypatia: Journal of Feminist Philosophy and Ecological Economics.

Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar is Assistant Director of the Economics in Context Initiative at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center and a lecturer at Boston University and Brandeis University. Her research covers topics on women’s empowerment, economic development, and the impacts of globalization on developing economies.

Brian Roach is Director of the Theory and Education Program at the Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute and a Senior Research Fellow at the Economics in Context Initiative at Boston University. He is a lecturer at Tufts University and has taught at Brandeis University, Brown University, and the University of Maine. He specializes in environmental economics and is a co-author (with Jonathan Harris) of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach.

Mariano Torras teaches Economics at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, and is Chair of the Department of Finance and Economics. A heterodox economist with a background in ecological and development economics, his recent research has been in the areas of institutional economics, climate change, and financialization.