Chapter 31: Open Economy Macroeconomics: Basic Concepts
Principles of Economics, 8th Edition
N. Gregory Mankiw
Page 1
1. Introduction
a. This another important chapter because its conclusions differ from those
that you often read in the newspapers.
b. We are shifting from a closed to an open economy.
c. Closed economy is an economy that does not interact with other economies
in the world. P. 654.
d. Open economy is an economy that interacts freely with other economies
around the world. P. 654.
2. The International Flows of Goods and Capital
a. The Flow of Goods: Exports, Imports, and Net Exports
i. Exports are goods and services that are produced domestically and
sold abroad. P. 654.
ii. Imports are goods and services that are produced abroad and sold
domestically. P. 654.
iii. Net exports are the value of a nation’s exports minus the value of its
imports, also called the trade balance. P. 654.
iv. Trade balance is the value of a nation’s exports minus the value of
its imports, also called net exports. P. 654.
v. Trade surplus is an excess of exports over imports. P. 654.
vi. Trade deficit is an excess of imports over exports. P. 654.
vii. Balanced trade is a situation in which exports equal imports. P.
655.
b. Case Study: The Increasing Openness of the U.S. Economy, P. 655.
i. Over the last 50 years, both exports and imports as a share of GDP
have more than doubled due to improvements in
(1) transportation,
(2) telecommunications,
(3) technological progress and
(4) the movement toward freer trade.
ii. Figure 1: The Internationalization of the U.S. Economy. P.
655.
iii. In the News: The Complicated Politics of Trade Agreements, P.
656.
c. The Flow of Financial Resources: Net Capital Outflow
i. Net Capital Outflow (NCO) is the purchase of foreign assets by
domestic residents minus the purchase of domestic assets by
foreigners. P. 658.
ii. The flow of capital abroad takes two forms.
(1) Foreign direct investment and
(2) Foreign portfolio investment.
iii. A theory to explain net capital outflows is developed in the next
