Current Issues in Macro Theory and Policy
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Questions
According to the mainstream view of macroeconomics, what are the two primary sources of instability in the economy?
View answer and explanationIn the monetarist equation of exchange, MV = PQ, what does 'V' represent?
View answer and explanationIf an economy has a nominal GDP of $400 billion and the public desires to hold $100 billion of money, what is the velocity of money (V) according to the example provided in the text?
View answer and explanationWhat does the real-business-cycle theory identify as the primary cause of macroeconomic instability?
View answer and explanationWhich concept describes a situation where people fail to reach a mutually beneficial equilibrium because they cannot coordinate their actions, leading to outcomes like a self-fulfilling recession?
View answer and explanationWhat is the core belief of the new classical view regarding the economy's response to deviations from its full-employment output?
View answer and explanationAccording to the rational expectations theory (RET), how do fully anticipated changes in the price level affect real output?
View answer and explanationWhat is the primary point of disagreement between mainstream economists and new classical economists regarding the economy's self-correction mechanism?
View answer and explanationWhat is an efficiency wage?
View answer and explanationHow does the insider-outsider theory explain downward wage inflexibility?
View answer and explanationWhat is the monetary rule advocated by monetarist Milton Friedman?
View answer and explanationWhat is the primary argument made by mainstream economists against a strict monetary rule?
View answer and explanationAccording to the rational expectations theory (RET), why would an expansionary monetary policy be ineffective at increasing real output?
View answer and explanationWhat is inflation targeting?
View answer and explanationAccording to the Taylor rule, what is the Fed's assumed 'target rate of inflation' that it is willing to tolerate?
View answer and explanationBased on the Taylor rule, if real GDP is 1 percent above potential GDP, by how much should the Fed raise the real Federal funds rate?
View answer and explanationWhat distinguishes the mainstream view of macroeconomic instability from the monetarist view?
View answer and explanationIf nominal GDP rises from $400 billion to $440 billion after a $10 billion increase in the money supply, what does this imply about the velocity of money (V) in the monetarist model example?
View answer and explanationAccording to the real-business-cycle theory, how does a decline in resource availability affect the economy?
View answer and explanationWhat is the key implication of the efficiency wage theory for macroeconomic adjustment?
View answer and explanationWhich of the following is a reason a firm might pay an efficiency wage according to the text?
View answer and explanationWhat is the mainstream economists' view on a constitutional amendment requiring the Federal government to balance its budget annually?
View answer and explanationIn the new classical view, how does an *unanticipated* increase in aggregate demand affect the economy in the short run?
View answer and explanationWhy do RET economists argue that discretionary monetary policy is ineffective?
View answer and explanationWhich summary point from the 'Summary of Alternative Views' table best describes the mainstream view on the cause of economic instability?
View answer and explanationIn the summary table of alternative macroeconomic views, how do monetarism and the mainstream view differ on the velocity of money?
View answer and explanationWhat does the 'Last Word' section on the Taylor Rule suggest about its relationship with Friedman's simpler monetary rule?
View answer and explanationSuppose a central bank is following the Taylor rule with a target inflation rate of 2 percent. If the economy is at its potential GDP but the actual inflation rate is 4 percent, how should the Fed adjust the real Federal funds rate?
View answer and explanationWhich school of thought would most likely attribute the Great Depression to a sharp reduction in the money supply?
View answer and explanationAccording to the summary table of alternative views, what is the monetarist position on the effectiveness of fiscal policy?
View answer and explanationWhat is the core argument of the RET perspective on the self-correcting nature of the economy?
View answer and explanationIn the context of macroeconomic theories, which term describes the view that people form their expectations based on present realities and only gradually change them as experience unfolds?
View answer and explanationWhich of these is NOT a source of downward wage inflexibility discussed in the chapter?
View answer and explanationMonetarists argue that if the money supply (M) increases, what will be the ultimate effect in the economy?
View answer and explanationWhat is the primary reason RET economists reject discretionary fiscal policy?
View answer and explanationWhat policy action would a monetarist recommend if the economy is in a recession?
View answer and explanationA key difference between the Taylor rule and the Friedman monetary rule is that the Taylor rule:
View answer and explanationAccording to the mainstream economic view, one of the major successes of discretionary policy was:
View answer and explanationWhich of the following describes the monetarist interpretation of the economy?
View answer and explanationWhat is a price-level surprise in the context of rational expectations theory?
View answer and explanationWhat is the primary argument against the real-business-cycle theory's explanation of recessions?
View answer and explanationIf the Federal government has a balanced budget and then a recession occurs, what happens to the budget automatically under a system of built-in stabilizers?
View answer and explanationMainstream economists argue that, in response to a recession, discretionary policy should be used. In contrast, new classical economists argue that:
View answer and explanationWhat is the 'crowding-out effect' that monetarists cite as a weakness of expansionary fiscal policy?
View answer and explanationWhich of the following would be an example of an adverse aggregate supply shock according to the mainstream view?
View answer and explanationIf a household saves more in anticipation of a future reversal of a temporary tax cut, this behavior is an example of what problem complicating fiscal policy?
View answer and explanationAccording to the summary table (Table 36.1), how does the monetarist view explain the effect of a change in the money supply on the economy?
View answer and explanationAccording to mainstream economists, what is the proper role for discretionary fiscal policy?
View answer and explanationWhat is the mainstream critique of the real-business-cycle theory?
View answer and explanationIn the summary table of alternative views (Table 36.1), how is cost-push inflation viewed by monetarists and rational expectations theorists?
View answer and explanation