概念:微观经济学与宏观经济学

Micro or Macro?...That is the question...
::微观还是宏观? 这就是问题所在...

Economics is concerned with the well-being of all people, including those with jobs and those without jobs, as well as those with high incomes and those with low incomes. Economics acknowledges that production of useful goods and services can create problems of environmental pollution. It explores the question of how investing in education helps to develop workers’ skills. It probes questions like how to tell when big businesses or big labor unions are operating in a way that benefits society as a whole and when they are operating in a way that benefits their owners or members at the expense of others. It looks at how government spending, taxes, and regulations affect decisions about production and consumption.
::经济学关注所有人的福祉,包括有工作的人和没有工作的人,以及高收入的人和低收入的人。经济学承认,生产有用的商品和服务会造成环境污染问题。它探讨了教育投资如何有助于工人技能发展的问题。它探讨了如何判断大企业或大工会何时以有利于整个社会的方式运作,以及它们何时以牺牲他人而使业主或成员受益的方式运作等问题。它审视了政府支出、税收和监管如何影响生产和消费决策。

It should be clear by now that economics covers a lot of ground. That ground can be divided into two parts: Microeconomics focuses on the actions of individual agents within the economy, like households, workers, and businesses.  Macroeconomics looks at the economy as a whole. It focuses on broad issues such as the growth of production, the number of unemployed people, the inflationary increase in prices, government deficits, and levels of exports and imports. Microeconomics and macroeconomics are not separate subjects, but rather complementary perspectives on the overall subject of the economy.
::现在应该清楚的是,经济学涵盖许多领域,可以分为两部分:微观经济学侧重于经济中个体行为主体的行动,如家庭、工人和企业;宏观经济学着眼于整个经济;它侧重于广泛的问题,如生产增长、失业人数、通货膨胀上涨、政府赤字以及进出口水平;微观经济学和宏观经济学不是单独的科目,而是对经济整体主题的补充观点。

To understand why both microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives are useful, consider the problem of studying a biological ecosystem like a lake. One person who sets out to study the lake might focus on specific topics: certain kinds of algae or plant life; the characteristics of particular fish or snails; or the trees surrounding the lake. Another person might take an overall view and instead consider the entire ecosystem of the lake from top to bottom; what eats what, how the system stays in a rough balance, and what environmental stresses affect this balance. Both approaches are useful, and both examine the same lake, but the viewpoints are different. In a similar way, both microeconomics and macroeconomics study the same economy, but each has a different viewpoint.
::为了理解为什么微观经济和宏观经济观点都是有用的,请考虑研究像湖那样的生物生态系统的问题。 研究湖泊的一个人可能侧重于特定主题:某些种类的藻类或植物生命;特定鱼类或蜗牛的特征;或湖周围的树木。 另一人可能从整体观点来考虑整个湖的生态系统,而从上到下考虑整个湖的生态系统;什么吃什么,系统如何保持粗平衡,什么环境压力影响这种平衡。 这两种方法都是有用的,两者都检查同一个湖,但观点不同。 同样,微观经济学和宏观经济学都研究同样的经济,但每种方法都有不同的观点。

Whether you are looking at lakes or economics, the micro and the macro insights should blend with each other. In studying a lake, the micro insights about particular plants and animals help to understand the overall food chain, while the macro insights about the overall food chain help to explain the environment in which individual plants and animals live.
::无论你们是在看湖泊还是看经济学,微观和宏观的洞察力应该相互融合。 在研究湖时,关于特定动植物的微观洞察力有助于理解整个食物链,而关于整个食物链的宏观洞察力有助于解释单个动植物所生活的环境。

In economics, the micro-decisions of individual businesses are influenced by whether the macroeconomy is healthy; for example, firms will be more likely to hire workers if the overall economy is growing. In turn, the performance of the macroeconomy ultimately depends on the microeconomic decisions made by individual households and businesses.
::在经济学方面,个体企业的微观决策受宏观经济是否健康的影响;例如,如果整体经济增长,企业更有可能雇用工人。 反过来,宏观经济的绩效最终取决于个体家庭和企业的微观经济决策。