Unit 2 Test Flashcards
A measure of the overall cost of the goods and services bought by a typical consumer.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
What are the 5 steps to calculate the CPI?
- Fix the basket
- Find the prices
- Compute the basket’s price
- Choose a base year and compute the CPI
- Compute the inflation rate
[Price of basket of goods and services in current year/Price of basket in base year] * 100
Equation for Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The percentage change in the price index from the preceding period.
Inflation Rate
A measure of the overall cost of consumer goods and services excluding food and energy.
Core CPI
([CPI in Year 2 - CPI in Year 1] \ CPI in Year 1) * 100
Inflation Rate in Year 2
A measure of the cost of a basket of goods and services bought by firms.
Producer Price Index (PPI)
What are 3 problems with how the CPI is calculated?
- Substitution bias
- Introduction of new goods
- Unmeasured quality change
The CPI computation assumes a fixed basket of goods, but because not all prices change proportionately, consumers substitute towards goods that have become relatively less expensive. These changes in the basket of goods and services is not accounted for in the computation of CPI.
Substitution Bias
As new goods are introduced, consumers have more choices, and each dollar is worth more. But because the CPI is based on a fixed basket of goods and services, it does not reflect the increase in the value of the dollar that results from the introduction of new goods.
Introduction of New Goods
When the quality of a good in the basket changes, the Bureau adjusts the price of the good to account for the quality change, but quality is hard to measure.
Unmeasured Quality Change
What are 2 differences between the GDP Deflator and the Consumer Price Index?
- GDP Deflator: reflects the prices of all goods and services produced domestically; CPI: reflects the prices of all goods and services bought by consumers.
- GDP Deflator: compares the price of currently
produced goods and services to the price of the same goods and services in the base year; CPI: compares price of a fixed basket of goods and services to the price of the basket in the base year
Amount in year T dollars * [Price level today/Price level in year T]
The formula for turning dollar figures from year T into today’s dollars.
The automatic correction by law or contract of a dollar amount for the effects of inflation.
Indexation
Nominal interest rate - Inflation rate
Real Interest Rate
Interest rate corrected for the effects of inflation.
Real Interest Rate
The group of institutions in the economy that help match one person’s saving with another person’s investment
Financial System
What are the 2 categories into which financial institutions are grouped?
Financial Markets
Financial Intermediaries
Financial institutions through which savers can directly provide funds to borrowers
Financial Markets
What are the 2 most important financial markets in the economy?
Stock Market
Bond Market
A certificate of indebtedness
Bond
What are 4 significant characteristics of bonds?
Term
Credit Risk
Tax Treatment
Inflation Protection
The length of time until a bond matures.
Bond Term
The probability that the borrower will fail to pay some of the interest or principal.
Credit Risk
The way the tax laws treat the interest earned on a bond.
Tax Treatment
Whether a bond is written in nominal terms or if payments are indexed to inflation.
Inflation Protection
A claim to partial ownership in a firm.
Stock
Financial institutions through which savers can indirectly provide funds to borrowers.
Financial Intermediaries
What are 2 of the most important financial intermediaries?
Banks
Mutual Funds
An institution that sells shares to the public and uses the proceeds to buy a portfolio of stocks and bonds.
Mutual Fund
S = Y - C - G
Identity for National Saving (national saving = investment in a closed economy)
S = (Y - T - C) + (T - G)
Identity for National Saving (including taxes)
Y - T - C
Identity for Private Saving
T - G
Identity for Public Saving
Income that households have left after paying for taxes and consumption.
Private Saving (Y - T - C)
Tax revenue that the government has left
after paying for its spending.
Public Saving (T - G)
T - G > 0
Budget Surplus
Excess of tax revenue over government
spending.
Budget Surplus
T - G < 0
Budget Deficit
Shortfall of tax revenue from government
spending.
Budget Deficit