EC140 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Real Interest Rate, Workforce Productivity, Business Cycle

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Chapter 19 - what macroeconomics is all about. Be able to define the key macroeconomic variables national income, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and net exports. Understand the macroeconomic issues are about either long-run trends or short-run fluctuations and that government policy is relevant for both. Understand the difference between changes in levels and changes in growth rates. Macroeconomics: the study of the determination of economic aggregates, such as total output, total employment, the price level, and the rate of economic growth. The study of the decisions of individuals, households and firms, and how they interact in an economy. Considers two different aspects of economy: short-run behaviour such as output, employment, and inflation, and about how government policy can influence these variables. Business cycles aggregate output: long-run behaviour of the same variables, esp. the long-run path of. Economic growth, how investment and technological change affect our material living standards over long periods of time.

Related Questions

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 theâroaring 20sâ 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 ârubber neckingâ 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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1. Is opportunity cost always present?

2. What is the problem at the heart of economics?

3. What is included in GDP and what is excluded?

4. If the consumer price index increases, how does this impact the average citizen?

5. What is the business cycle?

6. What is the relationship among the potential output level of the economy, the natural rate of unemployment, cyclical unemployment, structural unemployment, and frictional unemployment?

7. What did Keynesians believe about investment and the adjustment of wage rates?

8. What did pre-Keynesian believe about the market and its ability to pull itself out of a recession?

9. What role do investments in human capital, physical capital, technology development, and improving institutional quality play in creating economic growth?

10. How does a fractional reserve banking system work and what is the relationship between the money multiplier and the reserve requirement?

Wh What is fiscal policy?

12. What are the relations between government spending, the marginal propensity to consume, the marginal propensity to save, and the multiplier effect?

13. What are some of the problems with using fiscal policy in an effective manner?

14. What role did the Great Depression play in changing the government%u2019s approach to the economy?

15. What is stagflation and how did it challenge Keynesian orthodoxy?

16. What is supply side economics and how does it function?

17. What is the crowding out effect?

18. What is the new classical approach to the stimulatory impact of fiscal policy implemented through deficit spending?

19. What role does the department of the Treasury play in the American economy?

20. What role does the Federal Reserve Banking system play in managing the American policy?

21. What are the tools that the Fed uses to influence the money supply?

22. What approach to the money supply do those embracing monetarism suggest?

23. What dangers does monetary policy pose for the economy?

24. How do shifting price levels impact debtors and savers?

25. Can you use aggregate demand/ aggregate supply analysis to understand and explain the impact of a tax cut?

26. Can you use aggregate demand/ aggregate supply analysis to understand and explain the impact of a tax increase?

27. Can you use aggregate demand/aggregate supply analysis to understand and explain the impact of an increase in government spending?

28. Can you use aggregate demand/aggregate supply analysis to understand and explain the impact of a cut in government spending?

29. Can you use aggregate demand/aggregate supply analysis to understand and explain the impact of an expansionary monetary policy?

30. Can you use aggregate demand/ aggregate supply analysis to understand and explain the impact of a restrictive monetary policy?

31. How do automatic stabilizers influence the economy?

32. How does a deficit and large debt influence the economy?

33. What is the relationship between the expansion of the money supply and inflation?

34. What is the relationship between interest rates and inflation rates?

35. How do expectations impact the effectiveness of monetary policy?

36. What restricts the ability of the Fed to purchase U.S. securities?

37. What is Money?

38. What is the primary motivation of bankers and banks?

39. What is the impact of higher interest rates on the value of a currency and a nation%u2019s net exports?

40. What is the Conference Board and what does it do?

41. Why do countries willing lend the U.S. government money despite the relatively large debt to GDP ratio of the United States?

42. How does trade contribute to growth?

43. How do institutions contribute to growth?

44. How does the relative size of government contribute to growth?

45. What is the Philips Curve?

46. How does the rule of 70 work?

47. Do High Income countries always grow at a faster pace than lesser developed countries?

48. How do high levels of inflation effect growth?

49. Can you identify the amount of growth in an economy by using the percentage change formula?

50. What countries are presently experiencing high rates of economic growth?

12.

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