- •Предисловие
- •Unit 1. Economic environment a. Text what is economics all about?
- •B. Dialogue business climate in russia
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the above questions, write several paragraphs on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 2. Public finance a. Text finance and financial system
- •B. Dialogue budget organization and budget process
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Discussion
- •A) The Budget Message of the Mayor
- •April 27, 1995
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of these questions, write several paragraphs on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 3. Fiscal management a. Text financial policy. Fiscal sphere
- •B. Dialogue effective fiscal policy
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •A) Financial Policy
- •B) Fiscal Policy in the uk
- •Discussion
- •A) Multiyear Budgeting
- •B) Types of Budget Classification
- •A) Fiscal Policy in Transition Economies: a Major Challenge
- •B) On Macro- and Microeconomics
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the discussion of the questions, write a short essay on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Transition Economies Need to Reform Social Safety Nets
- •Unit 4. Central banking. Monetary policy a. Text central banking system
- •B. Dialogue banking system in russia
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Us Activities of Foreign Banking Organizations
- •Discussion
- •A) Is Monetary Policy Needed?
- •B) Payment Systems
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a summary of the interview in Ex. 13. Follow the plan suggested below:
- •Reading pra ctice
- •Unit 5. Banking system a. Text commercial banks
- •B. Dialogue
- •Interview With a Bank Manager
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •B) Bank Accounts
- •B) The Nature of Banking
- •Discussion
- •A) Bank Loans and Overdrafts
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a short essay on:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 6. Taxation a. Text what are taxes?
- •B. Dialogue taxation in russia
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •What Is an Excise Duty?
- •Tax Reform in Developing Countries
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a short essay on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 7. International monetary system a. Text
- •International monetary institutions
- •B. Dialogue
- •Imf's support for russian reforms
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •International Monetary Fund
- •Your Partner ebrd
- •World Bank – International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ibrd)
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a short essay on:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 8. Financial markets. The bond market a. Text trading in the bond market
- •B. Dialogue the bond market
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the above questions, write a short essay on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 9. Financial markets. The stock market a. Text stocks and markets
- •B. Dialogue the corporate securities market in russia
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Discussion
- •A) Bulls, Bears and Stags
- •B) Options and Short Selling
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a short essay on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •The New Issue Market
- •Unit 10. Investment activity a. Text
- •Investments
- •B. Dialogue
- •Investment climate
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Investment Companies
- •3 Food Giants Build Local Yogurt Plants
- •Discussion
- •B) Brazil Attracts Foreign Investors
- •C) Investment in the uk
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a short essay on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Investment Skill Is a Rare Commodity
- •Investment Trusts
- •Unit 11. Foreign exchange market. Global financial markets a. Text trading in the foreign exchange market
- •B. Dialogue cornerstone of the global financial market
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •The Eurocurrency Market
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write several short paragraphs about:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 12. Financial management a. Text finance function
- •B. Text financial ratios
- •C. Dialogue ratio analysis
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Discussion
- •A) Corporate Governance
- •B) Investment Management
- •A) Investment Decision Making
- •B) Investment Project Appraisal
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of these questions, write a short paragraph on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Unit 13. Accounting a. Text accounting principles and concepts
- •B. Dialogue accountancy in a free-market economy
- •C. Dialogue public and private accountants
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write a short paragraph, explaining:
- •Reading practice
- •Balance Sheet
- •A. Balance sheet
- •Unit 14. Auditing a. Text performing an audit
- •B. Dialogue auditing in russia
- •Vocabulary list
- •Exercises
- •Ex. 4. Say in a few words what the main text is about. Use the opening phrases from
- •Sweden.
- •Independent Auditors' Report to the Board of Directors and Stockholders of_______Company
- •Discussion
- •In order to get prepared for participation in the class discussion of the questions, write several paragraphs on the following:
- •Reading practice
- •Banking correspondence
- •Dictionary of key words
- •Contents
B) On Macro- and Microeconomics
Russian: Economists know that there is considerable controversy about macroeconomic models because some of them do not match the fluctuations in actual economies. Besides, a lack of clear connection between macroeconomics and microeconomics has long been a source of discontent among economists. What is macroeconomics all about from your point of view?
Foreigner: Essentially, macroeconomics dates from Keynes and I stick to the concepts of Keynesian policies, according to which macroeconomics is a branch of economics concerned with the analysis of the economy in the large.
R.: So, if I get you right, macroeconomists study such economic aggregates as total expenditure, income and production, employment, prices and wages, external trade flows, tax revenues and government spendings, the stock of money and so on.
F.: I'd say that they disaggregate the economy into homogeneous categories and then integrate the determinants of the behaviour of each of these aggregates to provide models of the whole of economy.
R.: Is there a regularity in the behaviour of these economic aggregates?
F.: Yes. Economies develop in cycles. The term "cycle" refers to fluctuations in national economic activity over a period of time. Indicators of the cycle are variations in rates of economic growth, industrial output, capacity utilization, employment and price changes.
R.: What does the length of the cycle depend on?
F.: Fluctuations in the intensity of economic activity can be generated by both internal and external influences. For example, economic production may collapse for a number of reasons: natural disasters, hyperinflation or loss of political control, etc.
R.: As a result of cyclical development an economy may lose equilibrium. What indicators characterize economic equilibrium?
F.: First of all, it is aggregate demand and supply, then I'd mention the general price level, the unemployment rate, general consumption and investment. These are the aggregates that determine the output and the economic growth. If demand exceeds supply the economy is "overheating", which causes inflation, and if demand falls and is behind supply it brings about recession and growing unemployment.
R.: Now we've come to the most important question. How can macro-economic disequilibrium be eliminated?
F.: Economic laws cannot be changed. But governments can influence the economic development through their economic policies.
R.: This idea of the responsibility of the government has become widespread, but how can the government create the proper conditions for market forces?
F.: It is usually done with the help of macroeconomic research and analysis of factors determining volumes of production, employment, interest rates and prices, dynamics of tax collection and government spendings, money supply, as well as instruments underlying the elaboration of the economic policy. Besides, economists study the country's economic interactions with the rest of the world by analysing foreign trade flows.
R.: As you've said, the major macroeconomic index is the output. How is it determined?
F.: It can be done with the help of national accounts systems which are sort of macroeconomic statistical schemes for the presentation of the needed information on macroeconomic variables in a systematic way. For example, the System of National Accounts (SNA) has been used by market economies quite successfully for a number of decades.
R.: Yes, we know that the accounts of this system help to answer such basic economic questions as "What and how much does an economy produce?", "Which are the producing sectors?" and "How is the national income divided among the factors of production, notably labour and capital?"
F.: Summing up, I'd say that various indicators which are part of the SNA, allow to measure the total output and factors affecting the economic performance at a given moment. In market economies output is typically defined either in terms of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the Gross National Product (GNP).
R.: What are the practical implications of macroeconomics?
F.: At a practical level, macroeconomics attempts to accomplish three tasks: to explain the changes in economic aggregates, to predict the consequences of certain recent developments, and to guide policymakers in their attempts to influence future events in pursuit of economic objectives.
Words you may need:
controversy n (зд.) разброс мнений
fluctuation n колебание
Keynes Кейнс Джон Мейнард (1883-1946), крупнейший английский экономист и публицист, основоположник кейнсианства
Keynesian adj кейнсианский
branch n (зд.) раздел, область (знаний)
to be concerned with заниматься, касаться
aggregate и агрегат, совокупность
flow п поток
stock of money деньги в обращении
homogeneous adj однородный
integrate v объединять
determinant n детерминанта
regularity n (зд.) закономерность
equilibrium n равновесие
aggregate demand and supply совокупный спрос и предложение
overheat v перегреваться
eliminate v устранять
tax collection сбор налогов
index n показатель
national accounts system система национальных счетов
variable n переменная величина
attempt v делать попытку, стремиться
accomplish v совершать, осуществлять
Ex. 14. Give extensive answers to these discussion questions:
1. Do many countries face fiscal problems? What causes these problems?
2. What measures should countries seeking to overcome fiscal problems take?
3. Do many countries operate fiscal federalism? What about Russia?
4. What are the most desirable features of a tax system, according to the recent studies?
5. What types of Budget Classification are used by economists?
6. Why is multiyear budgeting practised in some countries?
7. Why have fiscal problems exacerbated in countries in transition?
8. What is macroeconomics concerned with?