| Microeconomics | Macroeconomics | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of study | Individual agents — consumer, firm, single market | Aggregates — national income, total employment, general price level |
| Central question | How are prices and quantities determined in individual markets? | What determines growth, inflation, unemployment for the whole economy? |
| Also called | Price theory | Income & employment theory |
| Founding lineage | Marshall's partial equilibrium | Keynes' General Theory (1936) |
| Example | The price of cardamom in Taplejung | Nepal's inflation rate |
| Legal home | Competition law, price regulation, tax incidence on a good | Fiscal policy, budget law, monetary law (Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058) |
Interdependence (the third, examinable point): the two are one economy seen at two distances — macro outcomes are micro decisions aggregated; micro behaviour responds to macro conditions. Classic illustration: the paradox of thrift — one household saving more is prudent (micro logic); if every household cuts spending at once, income falls economy-wide and total saving may not rise at all (macro logic). A tax cut (macro) changes a firm's pricing (micro); a million migration decisions (micro) move the national balance of payments (macro).