If you want to study economics, these two concepts may be the very first things you need to understand.
如果你想学习经济学，那么这两个概念可能是你必须要了解的。
Microeconomics and macroeconomics are two of the largest subdivisions of the study of economics wherein micro- refers to the observation of small economic units like the effects of government regulations on individual markets and consumer decision making and macro- refers to the “big picture” version of economics like how interest rates are determines and why some countries’ economies grow faster than others’.
微观经济学和宏观经济学是经济学研究中最大的两个分支，其中微观指的是对小经济单位的研究，比如政府调控对个人市场和消费者决策的影响，宏观则指的是经济学的“大局”版本，比如利率是如何决定的，以及为什么一些国家的经济增长速度比其他国家快。
According to comedian P.J. O’Rourke, “microeconomics concerns things that economists are specifically wrong about, while macroeconomics concerns things economists are wrong about generally. Or to be more technical, microeconomics is about the money you don’t have, and macroeconomics is about money the government is out of.”
喜剧演员欧鲁克说，“微观经济学关注的是经济学家的特殊错误，而宏观经济学则是关注经济学家的普遍错误。或者更具体地说，微观经济学是关于你没有的钱，宏观经济学是关于政府没有的钱。”
Although this humorous observation pokes fun at economists, the description is accurate. However, a closer observation of both fields of economic discourse will provide a better understanding of the basics of economic theory and study.
虽然这个幽默的评论嘲笑了经济学家，但是这种描述是准确的。不管怎么说，更仔细地观察这两个领域的经济语篇，将有助于更好地理解经济学理论和研究的基础知识。
Microeconomics: Individual Markets
微观经济学：个体市场
Those who have studied Latin know that the prefix “micro-” means “small,” so it shouldn’t be surprising that microeconomics is the study of small economic units. The field of microeconomics is concerned with things like:
学过拉丁语的人都知道前缀“micro -”意味着“small(小)”，所以微观经济学是对小型经济单位的研究也就不足为奇了。微观经济学领域关注的事情包括：
consumer decision making and utility maximization
消费者决策与效用最大化
firm production and profit maximization
企业生产与利润最大化
individual market equilibrium
个体市场均衡
effects of government regulation on individual markets
政府调控对个体市场的影响
externalities and other market side effects
外部性与其他市场副作用
Put another way, microeconomics concerns itself with the behavior of individual markets, such as the markets for oranges, the market for cable television, or the market for skilled workers as opposed to the overall markets for produce, electronics, or the entire workforce. Microeconomics is essential for local governance, business and personal financing, specific stock investment research, and individual market predictions for venture capitalistic endeavors.
换句话说，微观经济学关注的是个别市场的行为，例如橘子市场、有线电视市场或技术工人市场，而不是生产、电子产品或整个劳动力的整体市场。微观经济学对于地方治理、商业和个人理财、特定股票投资研究以及个人市场对风险资本的预期都至关重要。
Macroeconomics: The Big Picture
宏观经济学：大局
Macroeconomics, on the other hand, can be thought of as the “big picture” version of economics. Rather than analyzing individual markets, macroeconomics focuses on aggregate production and consumption in an economy. Some topics that macroeconomists study include:
另一方面，宏观经济学可以被认为是经济学的“大局”版本。宏观经济学不是分析单个市场，而是关注一个经济体的总生产和总消费。宏观经济学家研究的一些内容包括：
effects of general taxes such as income and sales taxes on output and prices
所得税、营业税等一般税对产量和价格的影响
causes of economic upswings and downturns
经济上升和衰退的原因
effects of monetary and fiscal policy on the economic health
货币和财政政策对经济健康的影响
effects of and process for determining interest rates
决定利率的影响和过程
causes for some economies grow faster than other economies
一些经济体增长速度超过其他经济体的原因
To study economics at this level, researchers must be able to combine different goods and services produced in a way that reflects their relative contributions to aggregate output. This is generally done using the concept of the gross domestic product (GDP), and goods and services get weighted by their market prices.
要在这个层面上研究经济学，研究人员必须能够将不同的商品和服务结合起来，以反映它们对总产出的相对贡献。这通常是利用国内生产总值(GDP)的概念来实现的，商品和服务由其市场价格加权。
The Relationship Between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
微观经济学与宏观经济学的关系
There is an obvious relationship between microeconomics and macroeconomics in that aggregate production and consumption levels are the result of choices made by individual households and firms, and some macroeconomic models explicitly make this connection by incorporating what is known as “microfoundations.”
微观经济学与宏观经济学之间存在明显的联系，因为总体生产和消费水平是个体家庭和企业做出选择的结果，而一些宏观经济模型通过纳入所谓的“微观基础”明确地建立了这种联系。
Most of the economic topics covered on television and in newspapers are of the macroeconomic variety, but it’s important to remember that economics is about more than just trying to figure out when the economy is going to improve and what the Fed is doing with interest rates, it’s also about observing local economies and specific markets for goods and services.
电视和报纸上涵盖的大部分经济主题都是关于宏观经济的多样性，但重要的是要记住经济学不仅仅是试着弄清楚经济何时会改善以及美联储在利率方面做了什么，它还涉及观察当地经济和特定市场的商品和服务。
Although many economists specialize in one field or the other, no matter which study one pursues, the other will have to be utilized in order to understand the implications of certain trends and conditions on both the micro and macroeconomic levels.
尽管许多经济学家专注于研究其中一个领域，但不论从事哪个研究，都必须利用另一个领域，以便理解某些趋势和条件对微观和宏观经济水平的影响。
