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By raising and lowering short-term interest rates to keep inflation moving at a steady pace, many central bankers and academics thought they had finally found a monetary policy solution to conquer the booms and busts of the business cycle.

a. What is this monetary policy called?

b. When would interest rates be raised and when lowered?

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Chika Ilonah
Chika IlonahLv10
28 Sep 2019

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Related questions

1.  The Federal Funds Rate is set by the Federal Reserve on the first business day of each month by faxing the rate to the member banks of each Federal Reserve District.

A. True

B. False

 

2. The Federal Reserve is a single Central bank located on Wall Street in New York City.

A. True

B. False

 

3. Which of the following is NOT true about the Federal Reserve System?

A. Terms of service of the members of the Board of Governors are longer than the number of years that a two-term President of the United States would serve.

B. The Federal Reserve System is the nation's central bank and is comprised of 12 Federal Reserve Banks that serve as bankers' banks.

C. Some of the main functions of the Federal Reserve System include the authority to control the money supply, to issue currency, to set reserve requirements, and to hold reserves.

D. While Congress controls the actions of the Federal Reserve, the President has the authority to appoint and remove private banks from the Federal Reserve System.

 

4. Which of the following is NOT true about restrictive monetary policy?

A. A restrictive monetary policy seeks to raise the federal funds rate.

B. A restrictive monetary policy seeks to expand the money supply.

C. A restrictive monetary policy seeks to raise the Federal Funds Rate by selling government bonds or raising the reserve requirement ratio or increasing the discount rate.

D. A restrictive monetary policy is used when the government is concerned about suddenly increasing inflation.

 

5. Which of the following statements is NOT true about contractionary fiscal policy?

A. Contractionary fiscal policy consists of reductions in government spending or increases in taxes.

B. Contractionary fiscal policy can include both reductions in government spending or increases in taxes.

C. Contractionary fiscal policy seeks to shift the Aggregate Demand curve to the right.

D. Contractionary fiscal policy is used when the government seeks to reduce suddenly surging inflation.

 

6. The Federal Reserve creates money by printing the amount of desired new money and distributing it via armored trucks and high-security railways to Federal Reserve District Banks.

A. True

B. False

 

7. If the Fed feared a looming recession was just around the corner, which of the following actions would it "NOT" consider?

A. The Fed would raise the discount rate.

B. In order to influence prevailing commercial interest rates to fall, the Fed would buy large amounts of government securities.

C. In order to expand the money supply (which influences prevailing commercial interest rates to fall), the Fed would either buy large volumes of government bonds, lower the reserve requirement or cut the discount rate.

D. The Fed would seek to expand the money supply because, in so doing, the federal funds rate would fall and that would stimulate commercial interest rates to fall.

 

8. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the ability of the Federal Reserve System to expand the money supply?

A. The Federal Reserve System uses the fractional nature of the banking system to create money in order to expand the money supply.

B. The money multiplier defines the relationship between new excess reserves throughout the banking system and the creation of money by banks in the system. It is calculated by dividing the number 1 by the Required Reserve Ratio. [1/rr].

C. If the required reserve ratio is 20%, then $80 billion in new excess reserves will create $400 billion in bank system lending throughout the entire banking system.

D. If the reserve requirement is 100%, then the banks can generate 100% in new excess reserves.

 

9. Which of the following is NOT true about the tools of monetary policy?

A. The Fed can alter the money supply through open market operations, changes in the reserve ratio or adjustments to the discount rate.

B. Lowering the reserve ratio would expand the money supply.

C. Raising the discount rate would restrict the money supply.

D. Adjusting the reserve requirement is the most important day-to-day method for controlling the nation's money supply.

 

10. If the Federal Reserve wishes to hold off a feared recession, it will sell large volumes of government bonds.

A. True

B. False

6. Fed Sees both unemployment and prices on the rise.

The federal reserve sees worse economic problems ahead. But even so, the Fed may be reluctant to cut interest rates any further than it already has. The Fed lowered its economic growth forecast for the year. At the same time, it raised its projections for inflation and unemployment. The Fed raised its unemployment forecast to between 5.5 percent and 5.7 percent and now expects personal consumption expenditures to rise between 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent in 2008 and expects steeper "core" inflation. In an effort to keep the country from falling into recession and to deal with the credit crisis, the Fed has cut its key federal funds rate seven times since September. This short-term interest rate is now 2 percent, down from 5.25percent at the start of the Fed's easing campaign. Some believe the Fed cuts since last September helped fuel inflation, especially the sharp run-up in oil prices because the rate cuts have led to a weakening of the dollar. Along those lines, the two Fed members who voted against the last rate cut argued during the meeting that the Fed cuts were hurting the economy more than helping it. CNN, May 21, 2008.

a. Explain the intended effect of the Fed cutting the target federal funds rate from 5.25 percent to 2 percent and illustrate your explanation with appropriate graphical analysis.

b. Explain how this monetary policy may have "helped fuel inflation, especially the sharp run-up in oil prices".

c. What is core inflation and why does the Fed tend to focus on that measurement of inflation more heavily than overall inflation?

d. Explain the dilemma that the Fed is facing when making decisions in the face of rising unemployment and rising inflation.

1. Fiscal policy attempts to affect the level of overall spendingin the economy by changes in:
A) the interest rate.
B) the money supply.
C) banking regulations.
D) taxes and spending.


2. Economists have identified several consecutive months of fallingemployment and forecasts for the next few months are for more ofthe same. At what point in the business cycle is the economyapparently located?
A) recession
B) expansion
C) business cycle peak
D) business cycle trough


3. The onset of the Great Depression:
A) was not a shock to anyone since most economists predicted the“roaring 20s” were bound to end in disaster.
B) created a disagreement between the Hoover administration andconventional economists because Hoover wanted the government tointervene much more quickly than most others.
C) came as a considerable shock to the conventional wisdom ofeconomics at that time and opened the door for critiques ofmainstream thought by economists like JM Keynes.
D) was in 1918 at the end of World War I.


4. When economists measure economic growth, they often use:
A) the inflation rate.
B) the unemployment rate.
C) nominal GDP.
D) real GDP.


5. In a typical business cycle, the business cycle peak isimmediately followed by the:
A) recession.
B) business cycle trough.
C) expansion.
D) depression.


6. Suppose an economy experiences rising total output accompaniedby increasing employment, this is generally known as:
A) stagflation.
B) recession.
C) inflation.
D) expansion.


7. Controlling interest rates is an example of:
A) fiscal policy.
B) tax policy.
C) monetary policy.
D) exchange rate policy.


8. The alternation between recessions and expansions is known asthe:
A) unemployment rate.
B) long-run economic growth.
C) business cycle.
D) macroeconomy.


9. A recession in America is typically associated with:
A) a falling unemployment rate.
B) a decrease in the number of people living in poverty.
C) a decrease in the percentage of Americans with healthinsurance.
D) an increase in corporate profits.


10. The purpose of macroeconomic policy is to:
A) bring unemployment closer to the natural rate.
B) reduce the severity of recessions.
C) rein in excessively strong expansions.
D) bring unemployment closer to the natural rate and to reduce theseverity of recessions.


11. The trade balance is the difference between the value ofthe:
A) trade deficit and the budget deficit.
B) goods and services that one country sells to other countries andthe value of the goods and services it buys in return.
C) exchange rates of two countries that are engaged ininternational trade.
D) national debt and the foreign debt.


12. Increasing the total amount of available productive resourcesis the focus of __________.
A) macroeconomics
B) fiscal policy
C) monetary policy
D) microeconomics


13. The point on a business cycle when real GDP stops rising andbegins falling is a(n):
A) peak.
B) trough.
C) expansion.
D) recession.


14. During a recession, one will often observe:
A) aggregate output rising.
B) unemployment rates will be increasing while aggregate output isfalling.
C) employment rates will be rising.
D) zero unemployment rates.


15. Monetary policy involves:
A) changes in government spending.
B) changes in government tax receipts.
C) changes in the quantity of money.
D) changes in tax rates.


16. The trough of the business cycle:
A) comes right after the expansion phase.
B) comes before the recession phase.
C) is a temporary maximum level of real GDP.
D) is a temporary minimum level of real GDP.


17. Which one of the following statements about the U.S. economy isnot accurate?
A) Since the Second World War, aggregate output grew at a ratelower than the average annual growth rate of population.
B) Since the Second World War, aggregate output grew at a ratehigher than the average annual growth rate of population.
C) Since the Second World War, macroeconomic policy has helped makethe economy more stable.
D) Long-run growth per capita is the key to higher wages and arising standard of living.


18. An economic recovery is all of the following except:
A) economic growth of a sustained nature.
B) a short-run increase in aggregate production in aneconomy.
C) a time of increasing employment.
D) the end of the business cycle.


19. Which of the following would NOT be classified as amacroeconomic question?
A) How many people are employed in the economy as a whole?
B) What determines the overall level of prices in the economy as awhole?
C) What determines the overall trade in goods, services, andfinancial assets between the United States and the rest of theworld?
D) What determines the cost to a university or college of offeringa new course?


20. Which of the following statements regarding price level orinflation is correct?
A) Supply and demand can not explain why a particular good orservice becomes more expensive relative to other goods andservices.
B) Inflation affects only the more advanced countries whereas lessadvanced countries face deflation.
C) Prices of most goods and services remained stable during thegreat depression.
D) In general, when the economy is in recession and jobs are hardto find, inflation tends to fall.


21. If wages grew at a 5% rate last year and average prices grew ata 3% rate, then the average worker is:
A) better off.
B) worse off.
C) no better or worse off.
D) unaffected.


22. In an open economy:
A) the exchange rate is determined by the government.
B) specialization in activities with a comparative advantage is notpossible.
C) trade is only beneficial to the relatively larger economy.
D) there is trade in goods, services, or assets with othercountries.


23. Changes in government spending and taxes in an effort to changeoverall spending in an economy is:
A) fiscal policy.
B) monetary policy.
C) investment.
D) the stock market.


24. If an economy is open, this means that:
A) anyone can immigrate to the country.
B) trading with other countries makes up a portion of itseconomy.
C) it does not trade with other countries.
D) it will experience a drop in its real GDP.


25. Inflation is a situation where:
A) the average price level falls.
B) the average price level increases.
C) the average price level becomes negative.
D) the real price level falls.


26. The topics studied in macroeconomics include:
A) the price of a motorcycle.
B) the wages of engineers.
C) the average price level in the economy.
D) how much ice cream consumers buy.


27. A period of rising real GDP is a(n):
A) peak.
B) trough.
C) expansion.
D) recession.


28. The modern tools of macroeconomic policy are:
A) tax policy and antitrust policy.
B) fiscal policy and monetary policy.
C) monetary policy and exchange rate policy.
D) capital policy and labor policy.


29. A “rubber necking” traffic jam is an example of:
A) microeconomics in action.
B) individual behavior that has a large aggregate impact.
C) the paradox of thrift.
D) an outcome smaller than the sum of its parts.


30. The most painful consequence of a recession is:
A) rising unemployment.
B) increasing inflation.
C) increasing aggregate output.
D) higher interest rates.


31. Per capita economic growth is:
A) economic growth per unit of capital.
B) economic growth per person.
C) economic expansion over the business cycle.
D) sustained increase in aggregate output.


32. Keynesian economics stressed:
A) total spending.
B) the self-regulating power of free markets.
C) the long run.
D) that the Depression should run its course to bring down the highcost of living.


33. When an economy's overall production grows faster than itspopulation, this is referred to as:
A) long-run growth per capita.
B) an increase in nominal GDP.
C) deflation.
D) the paradox of thrift.


34. Fiscal policy attempts to affect the overall level of spendingin the economy through:
A) changes in the inflation rate.
B) changes in the quantity of money or the interest rate.
C) changes in tax policy or government spending.
D) discretionary regulation of profits and wages.


35. With regard to the aggregate price level, economists generallybelieve:
A) price stability is a desirable goal.
B) inflation is worse than deflation.
C) deflation is worse than inflation.
D) inflation actually benefits most retired people.


36. Recessions are periods when:
A) output rises.
B) the aggregate price level rises.
C) the unemployment rate is falling.
D) output and employment are falling.


37. Monetary policy attempts to affect the overall level ofspending in the economy by changes in:
A) taxes.
B) taxes and spending.
C) taxes and interest rates.
D) interest rates and the quantity of money.


38. The basic difference between an economic recession and economicdepression is that:
A) the latter is a shorter economic downturn than the former.
B) during recessions output falls faster than duringdepressions.
C) during depressions employment falls faster than duringrecessions.
D) the former is a longer economic downturn than the latter.


39. The central mission of modern macroeconomics is to prevent_____ from happening again.
A) recessions
B) inflation
C) deflation
D) anything like the Great Depression


40. Fiscal policy refers to:
A) the control of interest rates.
B) the control of government spending and taxations.
C) the control of the quantity of money.
D) the control of interest rates and of government spending.


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