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5. What are the two subfields into which economics is divided? Explain what each subfield studies.

6. Who officially determines when a recession begins and ends in the U.S.? When was the last recession and how long did it last? (Indicate the start and end dates)

7. What are three measures of the economy during the business cycle? Which way do they move during an expansion? During a contraction?

8. What are two of the key macroeconomic objectives of the Federal Reserve?

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Chika Ilonah
Chika IlonahLv10
28 Sep 2019

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Related textbook solutions

Principles of Economics
2nd Edition, 2017
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ISBN: 9781947172364
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Principles of Microeconomics
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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 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.


*Article*

The U.S. economy is revving up just as Europe and other major economies lose steam, jeopardizing a rare period in which the world’s largest economies have been accelerating in unison.

The European Central Bank on Thursday took another step toward ending the massive stimulus measures it has used in an effort to boost growth since 2015. But ECB officials also said they would hold interest rates steady through summer next year, a sign that they felt the eurozone economy remains fragile.

In an indication of growing economic vigor in the U.S., the Federal Reserve on Wednesday tapped the brakes again, raising the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point and signaling it may quicken the pace of future rate increases because of a strengthening economy and tightening labor markets.

The economies’ diverging paths were expressed most prominently in the euro, which on Thursday suffered its worst day against the dollar in two years. The euro lost 1.88% against the U.S. currency, its biggest drop since the day after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union.

The central bank announcements over the past two days offered the latest evidence that heady growth expectations for Europe and other major economies outside the U.S. might not be achieved, defying analysts who began the year convinced that the world economy’s first synchronized expansion in years would continue.

The International Monetary Fund said in January that the world’s seven largest economies each grew more than 1.5% in 2017, and it predicted more solid growth this year. Global manufacturing was booming and the IHS Markit global purchasing managers index that month was its strongest in nearly seven years.

Many investors counted on a revitalized Europe to lead that growth in 2018. But recent labor strikes in France, political turmoil in Italy and softer economic data are causing investors to rethink that premise. Germany last week reported that factory orders dropped 2.5% in April, while eurozone growth was 0.4% in the first quarter, down from 0.7% in the final quarter of 2017. On Thursday, the ECB revised down its eurozone growth expectations for this year to 2.1%, from 2.4%.

“When we look at Europe, the very strong momentum we saw in data last year has been waning this year,” said Holly MacDonald, chief investment strategist at Bessemer Trust.

Europe isn’t the only region to show signs of cooling down. The People’s Bank of China this week also left a suite of key short-term interest rates unchanged. New data showed business activity, including investment and retail sales, slowed in May, suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is facing growing headwinds.

The disappointing figures “warranted China to take a cautious tone,” said Tommy Xie, an economist at OCBC Bank.

In the U.S., meanwhile, recent data suggest an economic expansion that just became the second-longest in the nation’s history is accelerating, rather than slowing down.

The U.S. economy grew modestly over the winter—at a 2.2% annual rate in January through March—but seems to be ramping up further this spring. Growth is on track to exceed a 4% pace in the three months ending in June, which would be the fastest of any quarter in almost four years.

Spending at U.S. retailers soared 0.8% in May, the biggest jump in six months, according to U.S. government data released on Thursday. Consumers, spurred by tax cuts and the lowest unemployment in half a century, shelled out more for cars, clothing, building supplies, health products and bar tabs.

“We may be entering a new level of consumer spending right now,” said economist Robert Frick of the Navy Federal Credit Union. He pointed out that more and more blue-collar workers are finding work as the labor expansion endures, and those workers tend to spend a greater portion of their incomes, out of necessity, than higher-income workers, who save more.

He added that low unemployment, strong consumer spending and modest inflation are likely to keep the economy on strong footing this year: “We’re in a Goldilocks zone right now.”

In the eurozone, rates have stayed pegged at negative levels—now at minus 0.4%—since 2014. Despite some initial concerns, investors have become more relaxed about possible unintended effects of negative rates on the economy.

On Thursday, investors reacted to the ECB’s announcement to end bond purchases while keeping rates low longer by selling the euro and bidding up stocks. It is the latest example of interest-rate moves returning to the driver’s seat of monetary policy. In the wake of the financial crisis, central bankers rolled out a raft of unprecedented and complex measures, including bond buying and lending facilities for banks, pitching them as a way to lower long-term borrowing costs at a time when short-term rates could go no lower.

Not all investors are ready to write off Europe’s growth prospects. Roland Kaloyan, head of European equity strategy at ?Société Générale, believes that lackluster economic data in the first quarter is a “temporary soft patch,” and that “fundamentals remain very solid for eurozone growth,” whereas he expects the U.S. economy to go into a recession around 2020.

Others believe the euro will continue to weaken further this year, but think that markets are swinging too far in favor of U.S. growth.

Next year, “we expect the euro to rebound against the dollar even if the ECB only hikes late in the year,” said Ingvild Borgen Gjerde, an analyst at Capital Economics. “We think the Fed’s tightening cycle will come to an end in mid-2019, far sooner than is discounted in the markets.”

*question*

4. Should a goal of monetary policymakers be to raise the value of its currency? How would a currency appreciate both help and hurt an economy? If a central bank wants to appreciate its currency, how in practice would it do so?

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