9. The nation's economy. Gnp. Economic indicators.

One measure of an economy's success that helps planners to make predictions about the future of the economy is gross national product. Microeconomics is the part of economics that analyses specific data affecting an economy. Macroeconomics is the branch of economics that analyses interrelationships among sectors of the economy.

Macroeconomists measure gross national product, or GNP, which is the value of all goods and services produced for sale during one year. Three factors limit the types of products counted. First, only goods and services produced during a specific year are counted. Second, economists count a product or a service only in its final form. Third, GNP includes only goods sold for the first time. When goods are resold or transferred, no wealth is created.

Spending for products falls into four categories: expenditures of individuals for final goods and services, spending of businesses for new capital goods, spending of all levels of government, net exports of goods and services.

The earnings-and-cost approach accounts for alt the money received for the production of goods and services, it mea-sures receipts, such as business profits, wages and salaries, and taxes. To help predict expansion or contraction of the economy, economists identified a number of indicators. Leading, coincident, and lagging.

Leading economic indicators rise or fall just before a major change in economic activity. Coincident economic indicators rise or fall in the same time a major change in economic activity.

Lagging economic indicators rise or fall after a change in economic activity.

A composite index is single number, for each of the three sets of indicators. These composite indexes are an average of all the indicators in each category.

10. Money. Banking and monetary policy. Money: roles, forms, functions.

Most people use money every day. It is so common that many people rarely think about why money is important and what gives it value. Money is any item that is widely accepted as payment for products. It is something people see and use almost every day.

The familiar paper bills and metal coins are only two of the forms money can take. In the past, many things served as money - beads, shells, dog's teeth, cattle, stones, tobacco, fishhooks and even slaves. Precious metals, especially gold and silver, have been a favourite form of money.

What is used as money often has little value of its own. Its value comes from the product for which it can be exchanged.

In most modern economies money serves several functions.

As a means of exchange money is used to trade for goods and services. As a store of value people use money to save their wealth for the future. Storing goods is not so easy as storing money. Many goods, such as food, spoil quickly. Others, such as cars, take up a lot of space.

As a standard of value money is used to compare the worth of one product with that of another. Everyone knows about how much a dollar will buy.

Money in the form of paper bills and metal coins is called currency.

Economists call things used for some of the functions of money near money. Credit cards, Insurance policies, stocks, and bonds are stores of value and can be exchanged for money.

Money is very important in our society. The market system determines how much money everything is worth.

You have your own beliefs about the value of goods, services, jobs, and people. Often the value you place on an item will differ from its monetary value. Your own values dictate what you are willing to do for pay.