The economist must be a "mathematician, historian, public man, philosopher, to some extent... detached and unprejudiced as an artist, but sometimes as practical as a politician." This comment was made by John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist who could be called the father of macroeconomics. No opinion summarizes so comprehensively what it means to be an economist.
As J.M. Keynes implies, students studying Economics must cultivate many different talents. The effort required to help students develop these talents burdens professors and authors of academic textbooks. My goal, when writing this handbook of macroeconomic theory, was to make macroeconomics understandable, interesting, and (believe it or not) entertaining. Those of us who chose to become macroeconomists did so because this field fascinated us. More importantly, however, we believe that macroeconomics can greatly enlighten the world, and that the knowledge we acquire, if applied correctly, can make the world a better place. I hope that this book will convey not only the wisdom of this science, but also the enthusiasm and breadth of its goals.