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You are responsible for economic policymaking in your country. Your desire is to eliminate inflation, keeping prices absolutely stable at P = 100, no matter what happens to output. Currently, the economy is in equilibrium at Q = 3200 (where Q = potential GDP) and P = 100. You can use monetary and fiscal policies to affect aggregate demand but you cannot affect aggregate supply in the short run. How would you respond to the following scenarios?

-A productivity decline that reduces potential output
-A deep depression in East Asia that causes a sharp decrease in net exports to the United States

Explain and illustrate how each of these events would affect aggregate demand, aggregate supply, and prices, then explain how you would respond with economic policies.

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28 Sep 2019
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MBA502, Economics for Business

Apply and Discover 7.2

You are responsible for economic policymaking in your country. Your desire is to eliminate inflation, keeping prices absolutely stable at P = 100, no matter what happens to output. Currently, the economy is in equilibrium at Q = 3200 (where Q = potential GDP) and P = 100. You can use monetary and fiscal policies to affect aggregate demand but you cannot affect aggregate supply in the short run. How would you respond to the following scenarios?

Explain and illustrate how each of these events would affect aggregate demand, aggregate supply, and prices, then explain how you would respond with economic policies.

1. A surprise increase in investment spending

In the short run, when investment spending increases, it results in an increase in Aggregate Demand (AD), which in turn pushes up both GPD and the price index.

To counterbalance this development, government might pursue contractionary fiscal policy by increasing taxes (to reduce consumption) or decreasing its own investment and spending so that the AD curve shifts back to its original position. Alternatively, the government can pursue contractionary monetary policy by reducing money supply and increasing interest rate to discourage economic activity.

2. Catastrophic floods that cause a sharp food price increase

In this case, sharp food shortages and consequent price increases cause a shock-type adjustment of the aggregate supply curve (it shift up and to the left). The result is a lower GDP and a higher price level.

The government cannot do anything to adjust AS in the short run. However, if the goal is to maintain the price level constant, the government can decide to do something to decrease the aggregate demand to force prices to come down, though it will be accompanies by another contraction in GDP and so it would not be a smart thing to do.

To cause AD to decrease, the government, similar to example above, can pursue fiscal policy (increase taxes, decrease spending) or monetary policy (reduce supply of money to the economy and thus increase interest rates).

3. A productivity decline that reduces potential output

In this case, AS shifts to the left, as was the case in example 2. As a result, price levels go up, as the same amount of money is chasing the reduced amount of goods and services, and GDP declines.

Government remedies here would be centered about causing AD to decrease through contractionary fiscal (higher taxes, lower spending) or monetary (reduce money supply and increase interest rates) policy. Again, this decision reduces inflation but at expense of GDP, as real output shrinks further.

4. A deep depression in East Asia that causes a sharp decrease in net exports to the United States

A decrease in exports of goods to from the United States to Asia will mean that the aggregate demand (which includes net exports

Show transcribed image text

1. Which of the following shifts aggregate demand to the right?
a. Congress reduces purchases of new weapons systems.
b. US exports increase.
c. The price level falls
d. New developments in IT increase the productivity of most manufacturing industries in the US.

2. Suppose the EPA introduces new smog regulation that makes it costlier to produce cars. As a result, aggregate supply falls (primary effect) and firms cut back on production. With less output in the economy available for consumers, consumers bid up the prices of available output. With higher prices, firms choose to produce more (secondary effect).
Which of the following best explains what the net effect on GDP?
a. The two effects should essentially cancel out, with little to no effect on GDP, but the price level clearly rises.
b. It is impossible to say what happens to GDP without being able to compare the magnitudes of the two effects.
c. Real GDP rises as the secondary effect dominates the primary effect.
d. Real GDP falls since the primary effect dominates the secondary effect.

3. A Keynesian economist who observes an output gap would conclude that
a. aggregate demand should be shifted to the right.
b. a policy of deregulation would be better than demand management policy
c. aggregate supply should be shifted to the right
d. All proposed answer options are correct

4. Monetarists believe
a. the Aggregate Supply curve is upward-sloping (but not vertical) over all time frames.
b. the Aggregate Supply curve can be treated as horizontal in the long run (over 10 years
c. the Aggregate Supply curve is vertical only in the very long run (over 20 years).
d. the Aggregate Supply curve can be treated as vertical in the short-to-medium run (1-2 years)

5. Suppose the price of oil increases due to conflict in the Middle East. How will this be illustrated in the AD-AS model?
a. The aggregate demand curve will shift to the left
b. The aggregate supply curve will shift to the left.
c. The aggregate demand curve will shift to the right
d. The aggregate supply curve will shift to the right

6. Assume a Keynesian AS curve. In the short run, when there is a large output gap
a. contractionary demand management policy is likely to be highly inflationary
b. expansionary demand management policy does not cause much inflation.
c. expansionary demand management policy is likely to be highly inflationary
d. the government should use contractionary demand management policy

7. As a result of Bush tax cuts that partially expired in January 2013, the marginal tax rates for some households increased and these households paid higher taxes. Which of the following would be the best description of the tax cut expiration?
a. Rightward shift in AS
b. Rightward shift in AD
c. Leftward shift in AD
d. Leftward shift in AS

8. Suppose that the U.S. government increases income taxes on individuals earning more than $500,000/year and uses the revenue from this tax increase to subsidize the cost of energy for businesses. How will this policy change affect the U.S. economy?
a. The effect on output is ambiguous but price level will decrease for sure
b. The effect on both output and price level is ambiguous.
c. The effect on price level is ambiguous but output will increase for sure
d. The effect on price level is ambiguous but output will decrease for sure

9. If Australia, which imports goods from the United States, went into recession, we would expect that U.S. net exports would
a. rise, making aggregate demand shift right.
b. rise, making aggregate demand shift left
c. fall, making aggregate demand shift left
d. fall, making aggregate demand shift right

10. Suppose that Greece decides to exit the European Union and the Euro Zone, causing a boost in business confidence in European markets. How would you illustrate the primary effect of Greece’s decision in the AD-AS model for the EU economy?

Note: for this question, assume that Y in the AD-AS model represents output (GDP) of EU member countries without Greece.
a. a shift in the aggregate supply curve to the left and a shift in the aggregate demand curve to the left
b. a shift in the aggregate demand curve to the right
c. a shift in the aggregate demand curve to the left
d. movement along the aggregate demand curve to the left

11. The Austrian school of thought believes that demand management policy should not be used because
a. big government prefers deregulation, which shifts aggregate supply
b. the economy is always at full employment
c. shifting AD to the right is likely to cause deflation
d. big government has a bias towards inflationary policy

1. The primary tool used by supply-side economists to eliminate macroeconomic problems is

A. the discount rate.

B. corporate tax rates.

C. government spending.

D. open market operations.

E. the reserve requirement.

2. When the Federal Reserve System buys government securities on the open market,

A. the money supply will decrease.

B. excess reserves at commercial banks will decrease.

C. excess reserves at commercial banks will increase.

D. interest rates will increase

3. One of the advantages of automatic stabilizers over discretionary fiscal policy is that automatic stabilizers

A. has a greater multiplier effect than discretionary policy.

B. is not subject to the time lag problems of discretionary policy.

C. does not produce a deficit during recessions as a discretionary policy does.

D. makes the actual budget a better reflection of the condition of the economy than the full-employment budget.

4. "I have promised to do everything in my power to reduce the federal deficit. That means reducing federal expenditures and, if necessary, increasing taxes. Under present conditions of full employment and steady prices, we can afford to bear the burden of this debt (i.e., pay off the debt) now instead of passing it on to our children and grandchildren."

If the policies of the Senator quoted above were adopted, what effects would be expected while these policies were being implemented?

A. higher inflation

B. increases imports

C. higher rates of economic growth

D. increased unemployment and idle capacity

5. An inflationary gap can be reduced or completely closed by

A. decreasing taxes while leaving government spending on goods and services unchanged.

B. decreasing government spending on goods and services while leaving taxes unchanged.

C. increasing government spending on goods and services while leaving taxes unchanged.

D. increasing both government spending on goods and services and taxes by the same amount.

6. Compared to fiscal policy, an advantage of monetary policy is its

A. greater flexibility.

B. highly selective impact on segments of the economy.

C. ability to eliminate cost-push inflation.

D. need for approval by Congress.

E. need for approval by the President.

7. An increase in government spending on goods and services which causes a budget deficit to exist

A. is always inflationary.

B. is more inflationary than equal increases in private spending.

C. is usually not inflationary when the economy is operating at its full-employment level of output.

D. will not necessarily cause serious inflation as long as there are unemployed resources in the economy.

8. Some analysts believe the tax cuts enacted during the President H.W. Bush administration represented a supply-side economic policy rather than a Keynesian fiscal policy because

A. the tax cuts were accompanied by decreases in interest rates.

B. the tax cuts were accompanied by increases in government spending.

C. the tax cuts were primarily aimed at upper-income groups and businesses.

D. the tax cuts were primarily aimed at middle income and lower-income groups.

9. When the federal government is stabilizing the economy by increasing taxes, monetary authorities should

A. take actions to decrease interest rates.

B. increase the supply of money.

C. buy government securities in the open market.

D. follow an expansionary money policy.

E. follow a contractionary money policy.

10. Suppose a commercial bank has demand deposits (checking accounts) of $400,000, actual reserves of $170,000, and a reserve requirement of 20%. This single commercial bank can lend a maximum of ______ and the banking system can increase loans by a maximum of ______

A. $90,000 and $450,000.
B. $90,000 and $360,000.
C. $90,000 and $170,000.
D. $170,000 and $450,000.

E. both can lend an unlimited amount.

11. Which of the following would most likely result if the federal government increased its spending without changing tax revenues during a period of full employment?

A. inflation

B. a recession

C. lower interest rates

D. a larger net exports deficit

12. Fiscal policy that emphasizes cutting taxes as a means of improving incentives to work, and invest would be characterized in aggregate demand - aggregate supply framework primarily a shift

A. left in the aggregate demand curve.

B. left in the aggregate supply curve.

C. right in the aggregate supply curve.

D. no shift in either the aggregate demand curve or the aggregate supply curve.

13. Which of the following will result in the greatest increase in aggregate expenditures/demand?

A. A $100 decrease in personal income taxes

B. A $100 increase in personal income taxes

C. A $100 increase in government expenditures

D. A $100 increase in government expenditures which is accompanied by a $100 increase in personal income taxes

E. Both A and C will have the same effect on aggregate expenditures

14. You are given the following information about aggregate demand for an economy: (1)consumption = $600 billion; (2) investment = $50 billion; (3) government purchases = $100 billion; and (4) net export = $20 billion. If the full-employment level of GDP for this economy is $720 billion, then what combination of actions would be most consistent to achieve full employment and stable prices?

A. an increase in government spending and taxes

B. decrease government spending and taxes

C. decrease government spending and increase taxes

D. increase government spending and decrease taxes

15. Advocates of fiscal policy agree that discretionary fiscal policy will stabilize the business cycle most when the federal government

A. continuously incurs budget deficits.

B. continuously runs budget surpluses.

C. balances its budget every year.

D. incurs budget deficits during recessions and budget surpluses during demand-pull inflations.

E. incurs budget surpluses during recessions and budget deficits during demand-pull inflations.

16. Discretionary fiscal policy that increases the government budget deficit has the same effect on equilibrium as

A. an increase in personal saving.

B. an increase in business investment.

C. a decrease in government spending.

D. a decrease in personal consumption expenditures

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