Macroeconomics 10th Edition by Roger Arnold

Exercise 14

Individuals do not keep a written account of their balance of trade with other individuals. For example, John doesn't keep an account of how much he sells to Alice and how much he buys from her. In addition, neither cities nor any of the 50 states calculate their balance of trade with all other cities and states. However, nations do calculate their merchandise trade balance with other nations. If nations do so, should individuals, cities, and states do so? Why or why not?