Economics of Financial Markets Unit 1 Flashcards
What role did the technology boom and interest rates play in the housing market “bubble”, the financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession?
In response to the Dot.com bust and then the 9/11 attacks, the Fed lowers interest rates to prevent a prolonged recession. Low interest rates led to increase in demand for housing and financing. Risky financing and mortgage-backed security losses leads to financial crisis.
What were the significant trends in the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1990?
What are the current levels in U.S. GDP (relative to potential), unemployment, price levels, and interest rates (not actual values, but trends).
?
What significant event during the 1980s is associated with former Federal Reserve Chair, Paul Volker?
Volcker is associated with bringing the inflation rate from 13.5% in 1980 to 1.9% in 1986.
What were the four major ways that the Federal Reserve responded to the financial crisis that intensified after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
- Lender of Last Resort:
- Provision of Liquidity to Financial System:
- Open Market Operations (conventional and unconventional):
- Regulatory and Supervisory:
- These initiatives have been credited with preventing the complete collapse of our financial system.
What is “debt deflation”, and how has it affected recovery from the Great Recession?
A situation in which a substantial decline in the price level sets in, leading to a further deterioration in firms’ net worth because of the increased burden of indebtedness.
What is the aggregate demand curve?
describes the relationship between the quantity of aggregate output demanded and the inflation rate when all other variables are held constant.
What component parts make up Aggregate Demand?
Y(AD)=C+I+G+NX
C=consumption expenditure=the total demand for consumer goods and services
I=planned investment spending=the total planned new spending by business firms
G=government purchases=spending by all levels of government
NX=net exports=exports minus imports.
What are demand shocks?
shift the aggregate demand curve to a new position:
(1) autonomous monetary
policy,
(2) government purchases,
(3) taxes,
(4) autonomous net exports
(5) autonomous consumption expenditure
(6) autonomous investment
(7) financial frictions: the relative difficulty of
conducting a transaction(research, regulations, fees, etc.)
What is the aggregate supply curve?
the relationship between the quantity of output supplied and the price level(ii/inflation rate).
What is natural rate of unemployment?
The rate of unemployment consistent with full employment at which the demand for labor equals the supply of labor.
-This is not 0%, some economists believe it is currently at 5%.
What determines the amount of output that can be produced in the economy in the long run(LRAS)?
determined by the amount of capital in the economy, the amount of labor supplied at full employment, and the available technology.
What is natural rate of output?
The level of aggregate output produced at the natural rate of unemployment, often referred to as potential output
-It is where the economy settles in the long run for any inflation rate.
What is output gap?
defined as the difference between aggregate output and potential output, Y − YP.
What are Supply shocks?
occur when there are shocks to the supply of goods and services produced in the economy that translate into price shocks.
What are price shocks?
Shifts in inflation that are independent of the amount of slack in the economy or expected inflation.
(example: terrorists destroy oil fields, causing less supply, and AS to shift left and up)
What are cost-push shocks?
in which workers push for wages higher than productivity gains, thereby driving up costs and inflation.
What drives inflation and therefore the Short-Run Aggregate Supply Curve?
p = pe + g(Y - YP) + r
(Inflation=Expected inflation + g * Output gap + Price Shock)
g=the sensitivity of inflation to the output gap
What causes The long-run aggregate supply curve to shift to the right?
when there is
1) an increase in the total amount of capital in the economy,
2) an increase in the total amount of labor supplied in the economy
3) an increase in the available technology
4) a decline in the natural rate of unemployment(more capable workers)
What causes the short-run aggregate supply(SRAS) curve to shift to the left?
When there is an:
1) increase of Expected inflation.
2) Price shock increase
3) Output gap, (Y - YP) increase
What is equilibrium?
the point where the quantity of aggregate output demanded equals the quantity of aggregate output supplied.
-There is a short run and a long run equilibrium
How does the Short run equilibrium change when it is above LRAS?
How does the Short run equilibrium change when it is below LRAS?
What is the self-correcting mechanism?
A characteristic of the economy that causes output to return eventually to the natural rate level regardless of where it is initially.
What effect happens when there is a positive demand shock(and therefore a rightward shift in the aggregate demand curve)?
Although the initial short-run effect of the rightward shift in the aggregate demand curve is a rise in both inflation and output, the ultimate long-run effect is only a rise in inflation because output returns to its initial level at YP.
What is stagflation?
a situation of rising inflation but a falling level of aggregate output.
-(a combination of the words stagnation and inflation).
What is real business cycle theory?
A theory that views real shocks to tastes and technology as the major driving force behind short-run business cycle fluctuations.
What is the difference between a temporary negative supply shock and a permanent negative supply shock?
a temporary one leads to a temporary rise in inflation and temporary decline in output initially, A permanent one will also cause those but will lead to a shift rightward in the long run aggregate supply, which results in a fall in potential output, leads to a permanent decline in output and a permanent rise in inflation.
What are financial markets?
markets in which funds are transferred from people who have an excess of available funds to people who have a shortage.
What is a security?
a claim on the issuer’s future income or assets: (any financial claim or piece of property that is subject to ownership).
-also called a financial instrument
What is a bond?
a debt security that promises to make payments periodically for a specified period of time.
What is an interest rate?
the cost of borrowing or the price paid for the rental of funds (usually expressed as a percentage of the rental of $100 per year).
What is a stock?
represents a share of ownership in a corporation. It is a security that is a claim on the earnings and assets of the corporation(equity).
What are financial intermediaries and what are it’s 3 major benefits?
institutions that borrow funds from people who have saved and in turn make loans to others. Therefore they are indirect.
- Lower transaction costs
- Reduce the exposure of investors to risk
- Deal with asymmetric information problems
What are Banks?
financial institutions that accept deposits and make loans.
-Included under the term banks are firms such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, and credit unions.
What is Financial innovation?
the development of new financial products and services, can be an important force for good by making the financial system more efficient.
What is e-finance?
A new means of delivering financial services electronically.
What is Money(money supply)?
defined as anything that is generally accepted in payment for goods or services or in the repayment of debts.
What is aggregate output?
the total production of final goods and services in the economy.
What is unemployment rate?
The percentage of the labor force not working.
What are business cycles?
the upward and downward movement of aggregate output produced in the economy.
What are recessions?
periods of declining aggregate output.
What is monetary theory?
the theory that relates the quantity of money and monetary policy to changes in aggregate economic activity and inflation.
What is aggregate price level?
The average price of goods and services in an economy.
What is inflation?
The condition of a continually rising price level.
What is inflation rate?
the rate of change of the price level, usually measured as a percentage change per year.
What is monetary policy?
The management of the money supply and interest rates.
What is a central bank?
The organization responsible for the conduct of a nation’s monetary policy. The United States’ central bank is the Federal Reserve System (also called simply the Fed).
What is Fiscal policy?
involves decisions about government spending and taxation.
What is a budget deficit?
the excess of government expenditures over tax revenues for a particular time period, typically a year,
What is a budget surplus?
arises when tax revenues exceed government expenditures. The government must finance any deficit by borrowing, while a budget surplus leads to a lower government debt burden.