Topic 5- Business Cycles and Macroeconomic Policy Flashcards
What are the 2 main intellectual traditions?
Classical and Keynesian approaches
What point did Burns & Mitchell (1946) make about Business cycles and comovement?
That business cycles do not occur in just a few sectors or variables, they instead move together in a predictable way over the business cycle which is called comovement
What point did Burns & Mitchell (1946) make about Business cycles and aggregate economic activity?
Real GDP measures most closely aggregate economic activity however, it’s important to look at other indicators of activity such as employment and financial market variables
What point did Burns & Mitchell (1946) make about Business cycles and expansions & contractions?
Aggregate economic activity declines in a contraction until it reaches a trough and then increases in an expansion until it reaches a peak
What is a procyclical variable?
An economic variable that moves in the same direction as aggregate economic activity
What is a countercyclical variable?
A variable that moves in the opposite direction to aggregate economic activity
What is an acyclical variable?
A variable that does not display a clear pattern over the business cycle
What is a leading economic variable?
A variable that tends to move in advance of aggregate economic activity
What is a coincident economic variable?
A variable that tends to move at the same time with aggregate economic activity
What is a lagging variable?
A variable that tends to move after economic activity
What is the cyclical behaviour of production?
Coincident and procyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of expenditure?
Coincident and procyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of employment?
Coincident and procyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of unemployment?
Strongly countercyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of Average labour productivity?
Leading and procyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of real wages?
Mildly procyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of nominal money growth?
Leading and procyclical
What is the cyclical behaviour of Inflation?
Procyclical and lagging
What is the cyclical behaviour of Stock prices?
Procyclical and leading
What is the cyclical behaviour of nominal interest rates?
Procyclical and lagging
What are the 2 major components of business cycle theories?
- A description of the shocks
- A model of how the economy responds
What is the full employment output level (ȳ)?
The level of output when the labour market is in equilibrium