Economics - Macro Flashcards
Macroeconomists are least concerned with?
individual market prices
Since 1900, U.S. real gross domestic product has increased by a factor of?
forty
A historical event that produced a notable decline in the U.S. real gross domestic product?
the Great Depression
The Latin term “per capita” translates most literally to
per head
What equation gives average labor productivity?
Total output in an economy divided by total number of workers employed
In what region of the world is production per person lowest?
South Asia
What term refers to the fluctuation between troughs and peaks in economic activity?
business cyle
Recessions are most associated with?
declining employment opportunities
During which of the following periods did the U.S. aggregate prices fall?
a. 1929 to 1933
b. 1975 to 1979
c. 1939 to 1942
d. 1996 to 2000
e. 2013 to 2017
1929 to 1933
The labor force is made up of the
employed and the unemployed
If a country runs a trade surplus, it is most likely that
exports exceed imports
In 2019, the average output per person in the U.S. economy was closest to?
a. $65,000
b. $110,000
c. $82,000
d. $37,000
e. $173,000
$65,000
What statist appears in the denominator of the unemployment rate?
the labor force
At what rate did inflation during World War I peak?
20%
Since which decade has the U.S. run a trade deficit?
the 1970s
What term refers to the process of combining many different things into a single economic variable?
aggregation
Gross domestic product is defined as the
market value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a specified period
An ice cream shop owner purchases milk from a local dairy farmer to make her product. In this example milk is a?
intermediate good
(goods used in the process of producing a final good)
NewAuto Co. purchases $100,000 worth of steel from a steel producer and converts it into $500,000 worth of automobiles. What is the total value contributed to GDP?
a. $500,000
b. $400,000
c. $1,100,000
d. $100,000
e. $600,000
500,000
(steel is an intermediate good - additions to GDP are the total of the final good in this case the automobile)
In the mid-1600s, Sir William Petty attempted to measure national output to?
assess the Irish’s ability to pay taxes to the British government
Whom did the U.S. Department of Commerce commission in 1932 to develop a system to measure national output?
Simon Kuznets
Which of the following exchanges would be counted towards this year’s GDP?
a. A couple buys plane tickets to Europe.
b. A domestic energy company imports oil from abroad.
c. A family sells a home they have lived in for ten years.
d. A business owner buys a five-year-old piece of capital equipment.
e. A firm sells steel to an auto manufacturer.
A couple buys plane tickets to Europe
Brenda is a local cow farmer. In one year, she produces $500 worth of milk. She sells $250 at a local farmers market and uses the other $250 to make ice cream, which she sells for $400. What is Brenda’s contribution to GDP?
a. $900
b. $150
c. $400
d. $500
e. $650
$650
How do economists conventionally account for national defense when calculating GDP?
They include all national defense expenditures in GDP
How has the increase in women in the paid labor force most affected GDP?
It has resulted in a shift from non-market to market activity
Spending by firms on final goods and services is counted towards GDP as?
Investment
Government purchases do not include?
Social Security payments
(does include public infrastructure investment, military spending, teacher salary, wages to police & firefighters)
For what purpose do economists use REAL GDP?
to isolate the effects of changes in production
Suppose a country produces two goods: jeans and shirts. In 2015, the country produced 20 shirts at $10 each and 10 jeans at $25 each. In 2016, the country produced 30 shirts at $15 each and 15 jeans at $20 each. Using 2015 as the base year, real GDP in 2016 is
a. $450
b. $500
c. $900
d. $750
e. $675
$675
What group calculates the Consumer Price Index in the U.S.?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
By what means are the components of the market basket for the Consumer price Index determined?
Household surveys
The Consumer Price Index is calculated every?
month
What term appears in the denominator in the calculation of CPI (Consumer Price Index)?
cost of the bundle in base year
According to the substitution effect, if the price of apples increases, then?
households will shift consumption to oranges
What commission found that CPI overstated the rate of price inflation by 1.3% per year?
the Boskin Commission (in 1996)
(3 areas of upward bias are substitution bias, unmeasured quality change, introduction of new goods & services)
What term appears in the numerator in the calculation of GDP deflator?
nominal GDP
What would be a good explanation of why the GDP deflator has risen less than the CPI?
The GDP deflator adjusts to changing consumption patterns
Which of the following adults would the Bureau of Labor Statistics NOT consider to be employed?
a. a basketball player who plays three games per week
b. a financial planner who is on a beach vacation with his family
c. a doctor who has been on sick leave for two weeks due to an injury
d. a research assistant working as an unpaid intern
e. a part-time math tutor who works 10 hours per week
A research assistant working as an unpaid intern (if you make wages/get paid you are employed)
The labor force participation rate is calculated as the ratio of the
labor force to the working-age population - currently about 61%
New workers entering the labor force would be counted in measures of?
frictional unemployment
What causes structural unemployment?
mismatch between job openings and job seekers
The criteria for being considered unemployed state that a person without a job must have looked for one within the past?
four weeks
What group in the U.S. had the highest unemployment rate as of July 2020?
a. women 25 to 35 years old
b. Asian women
c. African American men
d. teenagers
e. Hispanic adults
Teenagers
The diagram that illustrates the set of interactions between the major sets of economic actors in our economy is called the
Circular flow model
Households do not use income to?
buy factors of production
(do use income for: saving money, buy goods & services, paying taxes)
What accounts for most of the variation in GDP per capita?
average labor productivity
Economic growth most directly leads to
improvements in living standards
What do firms receive in return for selling goods and services?
revenue
Machinery is an example of?
Physical capital
(tools & machinery that workers use to produce goods and services)
How is human capital most similar to physical capital?
It is created by sacrificing the current consumption
Human capital is?
a person’s knowledge and skills gained which they use to produce a good/service
What country has a high standard of living due to oil reserves?
Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Germany, England, India
Saudi Arabia
(also Kuwait)
If China’s economy is larger than that of Taiwan, then it MUST be true that
a. China has an absolute advantage over Taiwan
b. Chinese citizens are more productive than Taiwanese citizens
c. China has a higher GDP per capita than Taiwan
d. Chinese citizens have greater consumer surplus than Taiwanese citizens
e. China has fewer trade barriers than Taiwan
China has an absolute advantage over Taiwan
Which of the following countries has the LEAST amount of natural resources?
a. Democratic Republic of Congo
b. the United States
c. Kuwait
d. Japan
e. Russia
Japan
What factor has contributed the most to raising average labor productivity historically?
technology
MOST of the difference in standards of living between North and South Korea can be attributed to differences in
governmental institutions
Why would it be unwise for an economy to invest all its money in human and physical capital?
No goods and sercices would be available to consume
How could an economy incentivize advancements in human capital?
offering subsidies for college education
What primary factors of production do households provide?
land, labor, capital (provide in exchange for income)
To economists the term “investment” refers to
purchasing new capital equipment
Households save money through?
financial markets
When a company borrows money, it issues
bonds
What does a bond’s date of maturity state?
when the loan will be repaid
What term refers to the original amount of an investment?
principal (this is the amount that bonds repay on their date of maturity)
What does it mean for a company to default on its bonds?
The company fails to make its promised payments
How are stockholders most different from bondholders
Stockholders have a greater potential for high returns
A bank is an example of a
financial intermediary
Who primarily bears the risk of a bank’s lending operations?
its stockholders
Which of the following bonds would carry the highest interest rate?
a. a bond from a government set to mature in 3 years
b. a bond from a reputable company set to mature in 10 years
c. a bond from a notorious company set to mature in 1 year
d. a bond from a risky company set to mature in 10 years
e. a bond from a risky company set to mature in 5 years
a bond from a risky company set to mature in 10 years
Which of the following investors would benefit MOST from a mutual fund?
a. a 55-year-old financial planner who prefers to hold individual stocks
b. a 45-year-old millionaire with a diversified portfolio
c. a 67-year-old retiree who does not want to invest in stocks
d. a large insurance company that needs to invest its cash
e. a 21-year-old college student who has a small amount of money to save
a 21-year-old college student who has a small amount of money to save
Mutual funds do not allow investors to?
eliminate risk
Who determines the price of a stock?
buyers and sellers
A company would most likely pay a divident if?
it enjoys good economic prospects
Which of the following scenarios is an example of equity finance?
a. An investor sells Walmart stock to pay for a house.
b. An investor purchases a mutual fund to save money.
c. A bank lends money to Starbucks to expand its footprint.
d. Nike issues bonds to facilitate a company acquisition.
e. Costco sells stock to build a new department store.
Costco sells stock to build a new department store
(equity finance refers to the sale of stock by a company)
If an economy is closed, then it must be true that?
net exports are zero
(closed economies do not engage in international trade)
An expression that illustrates the equality of income and expenditures?
income = consumption expenditures + investment + government purchases (in a closed economy)
Private saving is expressed as
income - consumption expenditures - taxes
What must be true if the government runs a budget surplus?
Taxes exceed government purchases
What company purchased Anheuser-Busch?
Inbev (a Brazilian & Belgian owned brewing company in 2008)(this was a foreign purchase of domestic assets, reducing the U.S. net capital outflows)
What company purchased Rockefeller Center in 1989?
Mitsubishi (this was a foreign purchase of domestic assets, reducing the U.S. net capital outflows)
How is foreign direct investment most different from portfolio investment?
The buyer plans to actively manage the assets
In an open economy, if net capital outflows are negative, then?
investment exceeds saving
Which of the following transactions would increase the United States’ net capital outflow?
a. A U.S. resident purchases a home in New York.
b. A French technology company sells its products in the United States.
c. A British wine company purchases a vineyard in California.
d. Intel sells its manufacturing in China.
e. Microsoft purchases property in Germany.
Microsoft purchases property in Germany
(net capital outflow increases from domestic purchases of foreign assets)
Suppose a British company purchased $3,000 worth of grapes from a German company and sold $1,000 worth of spirits to France. What is the change in England’s net capital outflows?
a. $1,000
b. $3,000
c. -$2,000
d. $0
e. $4,000
-$2,000
What variable appears on the y-axis of a supply and demand graph for savings?
interest rate