Economics divides itself into two halves: micro and macro.  Macroeconomics is the study of larger chunks of reality than microeconomics, aggregates such as a country’s gross national product, its rate of inflation, and its unemployment rate. The standard (‘neoclassical’) model is constructed to explain interest rates and exchange rates, and helps us understand how the government can stabilize the economy, and the limitations of government policy, in an increasingly globalized world. This model also helps us understand why some countries are rich and others are poor. Students with credit in ECON 1002, 1024 or 1073 may not take this course for credit.