USA

Question 1

The US unemployment rate has been below (…) for 25 consecutive months, the longest such spell in over 50 years.

Answer 1

4%

Question 2

What’s a stimmy cheque?

Answer 2

stimulus cheque
giving people money to stimulate demand during downwards economies

Question 3

USA: Since the end of 2019 the economy has grown by nearly (…) in real terms, more than twice as fast as the euro zone’s and ten times as quickly as Japan’s. Britain’s has barely grown at all.

Answer 3

8%

Question 4

What turned America into a net oil exporter in the 2010s?

Answer 4

The shale boom

Question 5

What are the headwinds for America’s economy?

Answer 5

Anti-free market policies…
* tariffs (Trump: blanket 10% on imports)… Biden also favours protectionism
* Trump controlling the Fed and building up larger debts
* Trump removing immigrants (which make up a significant part of the workforce)

Question 6

American real growth rate since 2019?

Answer 6

8%
vs. 3% in Europe
1% in Japan
0% in UK

Question 7

What are the components of Aggregate Demand?

Answer 7

• Consumption (demand from households and individuals)
• Investment (by businesses)
• Govt. spending
• Net exports

Question 8

What was the US stimulus package during Covid?

Answer 8

This law, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and nicknamed the CARES Act or Phase Three, appropriated $2.3 trillion for many different efforts:

One-time, direct cash payment of $1,200 per person plus $500 per child
Expansion of unemployment benefits to include furloughed people, gig workers, and freelancers until Dec. 31, 2020
Additional $600 of unemployment per week until July 31, 2020