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Question: The economy is in a recession with


The economy is in a recession with high unemployment and low output.
a. Draw a graph of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to illustrate the current situation. Be sure to include the aggregate-demand curve, the short-run aggregate-supply curve, and the long-run aggregate-supply curve.
b. Identify an open-market operation that would restore the economy to its natural rate.
c. Draw a graph of the money market to illustrate the effect of this open-market operation. Show the resulting change in the interest rate.
d. Draw a graph similar to the one in part (a) to show the effect of the open-market operation on output and the price level. Explain in words why the policy has the effect that you have shown in the graph.


> Can an increase in the price of cheese possibly induce a consumer to buy more cheese? Explain.

> According to traditional Keynesian analysis, why does a tax cut have a smaller effect on GDP than a similarly sized increase in government spending? Why might the opposite be the case?

> What causes the lags in the effect of monetary and fiscal policy on aggregate demand? What are the implications of these lags for the debate over active versus passive policy?

> What are two situations in which most economists view a budget deficit as justifiable?

> Explain two ways in which a government budget deficit hurts a future worker.

> Explain how credibility might affect the cost of reducing inflation.

> What might motivate a central banker to cause a political business cycle? What does the political business cycle imply for the debate over policy rules?

> Policymakers who want to stabilize the economy must decide how much to change the money supply, government spending, or taxes. Why is it difficult for policymakers to choose the appropriate strength of their actions?

> The chapter suggests that the economy, like the human body, has “natural restorative powers.” a. Illustrate the short-run effect of a fall in aggregate demand using an aggregate-demand/aggregatesupply diagram. What happens to total output, income, and em

> What is the fundamental trade-off that society faces if it chooses to save more? How might the government increase national saving?

> The price of cheese rises from $6 to $10 per pound, while the price of wine remains $3 per glass. For a consumer with a constant income of $3,000, show what happens to consumption of wine and cheese. Decompose the change into income and substitution effe

> Explain how each of the following policies redistributes income across generations. Is the redistribution from young to old or from old to young? a. an increase in the budget deficit b. more generous subsidies for education loans c. greater investments i

> Suppose the federal government cuts taxes and increases spending, raising the budget deficit to 12 percent of GDP. If nominal GDP is rising 5 percent per year, are such budget deficits sustainable forever? Explain. If budget deficits of this size are mai

> Why are the benefits of reducing inflation permanent and the costs temporary? Why are the costs of increasing inflation permanent and the benefits temporary? Use Phillips-curve diagrams in your answer.

> The problem of time inconsistency applies to fiscal policy as well as to monetary policy. Suppose the government announced a reduction in taxes on income from capital investments, like new factories. a. If investors believed that capital taxes would rema

> Draw the Phillips curve. Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to show how policy can move the economy from a point on this curve with high inflation to a point with low inflation.

> What is the sacrifice ratio? How might the credibility of the Fed’s commitment to reduce inflation affect the sacrifice ratio?

> Give an example of a favorable shock to aggregate supply. Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to explain the effects of such a shock. How does it affect the Phillips curve?

> Draw the short-run Phillips curve and the long-run Phillips curve. Explain why they are different.

> Draw the long-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment. Explain how the short-run and long-run trade-offs are related.

> Draw the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment. How might the Fed move the economy from one point on this curve to another?

> Policymakers sometimes propose laws requiring firms to give workers certain fringe benefits, such as health insurance or paid parental leave. Let’s consider the effects of such a policy on the labor market. a. Suppose that a law required firms to give ea

> The Fed decides to reduce inflation. Use the Phillips curve to show the short-run and long-run effects of this policy. How might the short-run costs be reduced?

> Suppose a drought destroys farm crops and drives up the price of food. What is the effect on the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment?

> What is “natural” about the natural rate of unemployment? Why might the natural rate of unemployment differ across countries?

> Illustrate the effects of the following developments on both the short-run and long-run Phillips curves. Give the economic reasoning underlying your answers. a. a rise in the natural rate of unemployment b. a decline in the price of imported oil c. a ris

> Suppose the natural rate of unemployment is 6 percent. On one graph, draw two Phillips curves that describe the four situations listed here. Label the point that shows the position of the economy in each case. a. Actual inflation is 5 percent, and expect

> As described in the chapter, the Federal Reserve in 2008 faced a decrease in aggregate demand caused by the housing and financial crises and a decrease inshort-run aggregate supply caused by rising commodity prices. a. Starting from a long-run equilibriu

> Suppose the Federal Reserve announced that it would pursue contractionary monetary policy to reduce the inflation rate. Would the following conditions make the ensuing recession more or less severe? Explain. a. Wage contracts have short durations. b. The

> Suppose the Federal Reserve’s policy is to maintain low and stable inflation by keeping unemployment at its natural rate. However, the Fed believes that the natural rate of unemployment is 4 percent when the actual natural rate is 5 percent. If the Fed b

> The inflation rate is 10 percent, and the central bank is considering slowing the rate of money growth to reduce inflation to 5 percent. Economist Milton believes that expectations of inflation change quickly in response to new policies, whereas economis

> Suppose the economy is in a long-run equilibrium. a. Draw the economy’s short-run and long-run Phillips curves. b. Suppose a wave of business pessimism reduces aggregate demand. Show the effect of this shock on your diagram from part (a). If the Fed unde

> How would a utilitarian, a liberal, and a libertarian each determine how much income inequality is permissible?

> Suppose that a fall in consumer spending causes a recession. a. Illustrate the immediate change in the economy using both an aggregate-supply/aggregate-demand diagram and a Phillips-curve diagram. On both graphs, label the initial long-run equilibrium as

> Use the theory of liquidity preference to explain how a decrease in the money supply affects the equilibrium interest rate. How does this change in monetary policy affect the aggregate-demand curve?

> Suppose a wave of negative “animal spirits” overruns the economy, and people become pessimistic about the future. What happens to aggregate demand? If the Fed wants to stabilize aggregate demand, how should it alter the money supply? If it does this, wha

> Suppose that the government reduces spending on highway construction by $10 billion. Which way does the aggregate-demand curve shift? Explain why the shift might be larger than $10 billion. Explain why the shift might be smaller than $10 billion.

> What is the theory of liquidity preference? How does it help explain the downward slope of the aggregatedemand curve?

> Give an example of a government policy that acts as an automatic stabilizer. Explain why the policy has this effect.

> Suppose that survey measures of consumer confidence indicate a wave of pessimism is sweeping the country. If policymakers do nothing, what will happen to aggregate demand? What should the Fed do if it wants to stabilize aggregate demand? If the Fed does

> Suppose a computer virus disables the nation’s automatic teller machines, making withdrawals from bank accounts less convenient. As a result, people want to keep more cash on hand, increasing the demand for money. a. Assume the Fed does not change the mo

> The Federal Reserve expands the money supply by 5 percent. a. Use the theory of liquidity preference to illustrate in a graph the impact of this policy on the interest rate. b. Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to illustrate the impa

> Explain how each of the following developments would affect the supply of money, the demand for money, and the interest rate. Illustrate your answers with diagrams. a. The Fed’s bond traders buy bonds in open-market operations. b. An increase in credit-c

> A person who consumes wine and cheese gets a raise, so her income increases from $3,000 to $4,000. Show what happens if both wine and cheese are normalgoods. Now show what happens if cheese is an inferior good.

> In which of the following circumstances is expansionary fiscal policy more likely to lead to a short-run increase in investment? Explain. a. When the investment accelerator is large or when it is small? b. When the interest sensitivity of investment is l

> Suppose government spending increases. Would the effect on aggregate demand be larger if the Federal Reserve held the money supply constant in responseor if the Fed were committed to maintaining a fixed interest rate? Explain.

> Suppose the government reduces taxes by $20 billion, that there is no crowding out, and that the marginal propensity to consume is ¾. a. What is the initial effect of the tax reduction on aggregate demand? b. What additional effects follow this initial e

> Suppose economists observe that an increase in government spending of $10 billion raises the total demand for goods and services by $30 billion. a. If these economists ignore the possibility of crowding out, what would they estimate the marginal propensi

> In the early 1980s, new legislation allowed banks to pay interest on checking deposits, which they could not do previously. a. If we define money to include checking deposits, what effect did this legislation have on money demand? Explain. b. If the Fede

> Consider two policies—a tax cut that will last for only one year and a tax cut that is expected to be permanent. Which policy will stimulate greater spending by consumers? Which policy will have the greater impact on aggregate demand? Explain.

> List and discuss three key facts about economic fluctuations.

> Suppose that the election of a popular presidential candidate suddenly increases people’s confidence in the future. Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to analyze the effect on the economy

> Explain why the long-run aggregate-supply curve is vertical. Explain three theories for why the short-run aggregate-supply curve slopes upward. What variables shift both the long-run and short-run aggregate-supply curves? What variable shifts the short-r

> Show a consumer’s budget constraint and indifference curves for wine and cheese. Show the optimal consumption choice. If the price of wine is $3 per glass and the price of cheese is $6 per pound, what is the marginal rate of substitution at this optimum?

> Explain the three reasons the aggregate-demand curve slopes downward. Give an example of an event that would shift the aggregate-demand curve. Which way would this event shift the curve?

> How does the economy’s behavior in the short run differ from its behavior in the long run? Draw the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. What variables are on the two axes?

> List and explain the three reasons the aggregatedemand curve slopes downward.

> Draw a diagram with aggregate demand, short-run aggregate supply, and long-run aggregate supply. Be careful to label the axes correctly.

> What might shift the aggregate-supply curve to the left? Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to trace through the short-run and long-run effects of such a shift on output and the price level.

> What might shift the aggregate-demand curve to the left? Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to trace through the short-run and long-run effects of such a shift on output and the price level.

> List and explain the three theories for why the shortrun aggregate-supply curve slopes upward.

> Explain why the long-run aggregate-supply curve is vertical.

> Suppose an economy is in long-run equilibrium. a. Use the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply to illustrate the initial equilibrium (call it point A). Be sure to include both short-run and long-run aggregate supply. b. The central bank raises

> Explain whether each of the following events will increase, decrease, or have no effect on long-run aggregate supply. a. The United States experiences a wave of immigration. b. Congress raises the minimum wage to $10 per hour. c. Intel invents a new and

> Mario consumes only cheese and crackers. a. Could cheese and crackers both be inferior goods for Mario? Explain. b. Suppose that cheese is a normal good for Mario while crackers are an inferior good. If the price of cheese falls, what happens to Mario’s

> Suppose the economy is in a long-run equilibrium. a. Draw a diagram to illustrate the state of the economy.Be sure to show aggregate demand, short-run aggregate supply, and long-run aggregate supply. b. Now suppose that a stock market crash causes aggreg

> Suppose firms become very optimistic about future business conditions and invest heavily in new capital equipment. a. Draw an aggregate-demand/aggregate-supply diagram to show the short-run effect of this optimism on the economy. Label the new levels of

> For each of the following events, explain the short-run and long-run effects on output and the price level, assuming policymakers take no action. a. The stock market declines sharply, reducing consumers’ wealth. b. The federal government increases spendi

> Explain whether each of the following events shifts the short-run aggregate-supply curve, the aggregatedemand curve, both, or neither. For each event that does shift a curve, draw a diagram to illustrate the effect on the economy. a. Households decide to

> The economy begins in long-run equilibrium. Then one day, the president appoints a new chairman of the Fed. This new chairman is well known for her view that inflation is not a major problem for an economy. a. How would this news affect the price level t

> For each of the three theories for the upward slope of the short-run aggregate-supply curve, carefully explain the following: a. how the economy recovers from a recession andreturns to its long-run equilibrium without any policy intervention b. what dete

> Explain why the following statements are false. a. “The aggregate-demand curve slopes downward because it is the horizontal sum of the demand curves for individual goods.” b. “The long-run aggregate-supply curve is vertical because economic forces do not

> In 1939, with the U.S. economy not yet fully recovered from the Great Depression, President Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving would fall a week earlier than usual so that the shopping period before Christmas would be longer. Explain what President R

> Suppose that Americans decided to spend a smaller fraction of their incomes. What would be the effect on saving, investment, interest rates, the real exchange rate, and the trade balance?

> In the model of the open economy just developed, two markets determine two relative prices. What are the markets? What are the two relative prices?

> You consume only soda and pizza. One day, the price of soda goes up, the price of pizza goes down, and you are just as happy as you were before the price changes. a. Illustrate this situation on a graph. b. How does your consumption of the two goods chan

> Describe the sources of supply and demand in the market for loanable funds and the market for foreign-currency exchange.

> Describe supply and demand in the market for loanable funds and the market for foreign-currency exchange. How are these markets linked?

> Suppose that a textile workers’ union encourages people to buy only American-made clothes What would this policy do to the trade balance and the real exchange rate? What is the impact on the textile industry? What is the impact on the auto industry?

> Why are budget deficits and trade deficits sometimes called the twin deficits?

> Suppose that Congress is considering an investment tax credit, which subsidizes domestic investment. a. How does this policy affect national saving, domestic investment, net capital outflow, the interest rate, the exchange rate, and the trade balance? b.

> Japan generally runs a significant trade surplus. Do you think this is most related to high foreign demand for Japanese goods, low Japanese demand for foreign goods, a high Japanese saving rate relative to Japanese investment, or structural barriers agai

> Suppose that Americans decide to increase their saving. a. If the elasticity of U.S. net capital outflow with respect to the real interest rate is very high, willthis increase in private saving have a large or small effect on U.S. domestic investment? b.

> Suppose that real interest rates increase across Europe. Explain how this development will affect U.S. net capital outflow. Then explain how it will affect U.S. net exports by using a formula from the chapter and by drawing a diagram. What will happen to

> Suppose the United States decides to subsidize the export of U.S. agricultural products, but it does not increase taxes or decrease any other government spending to offset this expenditure. Using a threepanel diagram, show what happens to national saving

> A senator renounces his past support for protectionism: “The U.S. trade deficit must be reduced, but import quotas only annoy our trading partners. If we subsidize U.S. exports instead, we can reduce the deficit by increasing our competitiveness.” Using

> Compare the following two pairs of goods: • Coke and Pepsi • Skis and ski bindings a. In which case are the two goods complements? In which case are they substitutes? b. In which case do you expect the indifference curves to be fairly straight? In which

> Suppose the French suddenly develop a strong taste for California wines. Answer the following questions in words and with a diagram. a. What happens to the demand for dollars in the market for foreign-currency exchange? b. What happens to the value of do

> An economist discussing trade policy in The New Republic wrote: “One of the benefits of the United States removing its trade restrictions [is] the gain to U.S. industries that produce goods for export. Export industries would find it easier to sell their

> The chapter notes that the rise in the U.S. trade deficit during the 1980s was due largely to the rise in the U.S. budget deficit. On the other hand, the popular press sometimes claims that the increased trade deficit resulted from a decline in the quali

> Define nominal exchange rate and real exchange rate, and explain how they are related. If the nominal exchange rate goes from 100 to 120 yen per dollar, has the dollar appreciated or depreciated?

> If the Fed started printing large quantities of U.S. dollars, what would happen to the number of Japanese yen a dollar could buy? Why?

> If a Japanese car costs 500,000 yen, a similar American car costs $10,000, and a dollar can buy 100 yen, what are the nominal and real exchange rates?

> Define net exports and net capital outflow. Explain how and why they are related.

> Describe the difference between foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment. Who is more likely to engage in foreign direct investment—a corporation or an individual investor? Who is more likely to engage in foreign portfolio investment?

> Would each of the following transactions be included in net exports or net capital outflow? Be sure to say whether it would represent an increase or a decrease in that variable. a. An American buys a Sony TV. b. An American buys a share of Sony stock. c.

> How would the following transactions affect U.S. exports, imports, and net exports? a. An American art professor spends the summer touring museums in Europe. b. Students in Paris flock to see the latest movie from Hollywood. c. Your uncle buys a new Volv

> Jennifer divides her income between coffee and croissants (both of which are normal goods). An early frost in Brazil causes a large increase in the price of coffee in the United States. a. Show the effect of the frost on Jennifer’s budget constraint. b.

> Purchasing-power parity holds between the nations of Ectenia and Wiknam, where the only commodity is Spam. a. In 2000 a can of Spam costs 2 dollars in Ectenia and 6 pesos in Wiknam. What is the exchange rate between Ectenian dollars and Wiknamian pesos?

> A case study in the chapter analyzed purchasingpower parity for several countries using the price of Big Macs. Here are data for a few more countries: a. For each country, compute the predicted exchange rate of the local currency per U.S. dollar. (Reca

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