Which of the following is an example that a student of macroeconomics would study?

• A. The impact of government spending on national output
• B. How a single firm sets its prices
• C. Consumer choices between two brands of cereal
• D. The causes of unemployment in a country

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the scope of macroeconomics, which focuses on the behavior and performance of an economy as a whole, including aggregate measures like national output, unemployment, inflation, and government policies.
2. Step 2: Identify that topics related to the entire economy, such as the impact of government spending on national output, fall under macroeconomics because they deal with aggregate economic variables.
3. Step 3: Recognize that the causes of unemployment in a country are also a macroeconomic issue since unemployment rates are an aggregate economic indicator affecting the whole economy.
4. Step 4: Differentiate microeconomic topics, such as how a single firm sets its prices or consumer choices between two brands of cereal, which focus on individual agents rather than the economy-wide phenomena.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the examples related to government spending's impact on national output and causes of unemployment are macroeconomic topics, while the others are microeconomic.