What are the inside lag and the outside lag? Which has the longer inside lag—monetary or fiscal policy? Which has the longer outside lag? Why?
> Why do many economists project increasing budget deficits and government debt over the next several decades?
> Draft a letter to the senator described in Section 19-3, explaining the logic of the Ricardian view of government debt and evaluating its practical relevance.
> Why would more accurate economic forecasting make it easier for policymakers to stabilize the economy? Describe two ways economists try to forecast developments in the economy.
> When cities pass laws limiting the rent landlords can charge on apartments, the laws usually apply to existing buildings and exempt any buildings not yet built. Advocates of rent control argue that this exemption ensures that rent control does not discou
> What is Tobin’s q, and what does it have to do with investment?
> Suppose that the government levies a tax on oil companies equal to a proportion of the value of the company’s oil reserves. (The government assures the firms that the tax is for one time only.) According to the neoclassical model, what effect will the ta
> Describe the evidence that was consistent with Keynes’s conjectures and the evidence that was inconsistent with them.
> In the Cagan model, if the money supply is expected to grow at some constant rate µ (so that Emt+s = mt + sµ), then Equation A9 can be shown to imply that pt = mt + ÿµ. a. Interpret this result. b. What happens to the price level pt when the money supply
> Gabe and Gita both obey the two-period Fisher model of consumption. Gabe earns $100 in the first period and $100 in the second period. Gita earns nothing in the first period and $210 in the second period. Both of them can borrow or lend at the interest r
> On a carefully labeled graph, draw the dynamic aggregate demand curve. Explain why it has the slope it has.
> Suppose the monetary-policy rule has the wrong natural rate of interest. That is, the central bank follows this rule: where p’ does not equal r, the natural rate of interest in the goods demand equation. The rest of the dynamic AD&acir
> How is the Phillips curve related to aggregate supply?
> Suppose that an economy has the Phillips curve π = π -1 - 0.5(u - 5). a. What is the natural rate of unemployment? b. Graph the short-run and long-run relationships between inflation and unemployment. c. How much cyclical unemployment is necessary to re
> In the Mundell–Fleming model with floating exchange rates, explain what happens to aggregate income, the exchange rate, and the trade balance when the money supply is reduced. What would happen if exchange rates were fixed rather than floating?
> A small open economy is described by the following equations: C =50 +.75(Y - T ) I = 200 - 20r NX = 200 - 50Ɛ M/P = Y - 40r G = 200 T = 200 M = 3000 P = 3 r* = 5 a. Derive and graph the IS* and LM* curves. b. Calculate the equilibrium exchange rate, leve
> Over the past several decades, the economies of the world have become more financially integrated. That is, investors in all nations have become more willing and able to take advantage of financial opportunities abroad. Consider how this development affe
> What is the impact of an increase in taxes on the interest rate, income, consumption, and investment?
> Use the IS–LM model to predict the short run effects of each of the following shocks on income, the interest rate, consumption, and investment. In each case, explain what the Fed should do to keep income at its initial level. Be sure to use a graph in ea
> Describe the functions of money.
> Use the theory of liquidity preference to explain why an increase in the money supply lowers the interest rate. What does this explanation assume about the price level?
> In the Keynesian cross model, assume that the consumption function is given by C = 120 + 0.8 (Y - T). Planned investment is 200; government purchases and taxes are both 400. a. Graph planned expenditure as a function of income. b. What is the equilibrium
> Give an example of a price that is sticky in the short run but flexible in the long run.
> Suppose the Fed reduces the money supply by 5 percent. Assume the velocity of money is constant. a. What happens to the aggregate demand curve? b. What happens to the level of output and the price level in the short run and in the long run? Give a precis
> In the steady state of the Solow model, at what rate does output per person grow? At what rate does capital per person grow? How does this compare with the U.S. experience?
> An economy has a Cobb–Douglas production function: Y = K a(LE)1-a. (For a review of the Cobb–Douglas production function, see Chapter 3.) The economy has a capital share of a third, a saving rate of 24 percent, a depreciation rate of 3 percent, a rate of
> Labor productivity is defined as Y/L, the amount of output divided by the amount of labor input. Start with the growth-accounting equation and show that the growth in labor productivity depends on growth in total factor productivity and growth in the cap
> Why might an economic policymaker choose the Golden Rule level of capital?
> In the discussion of German and Japanese postwar growth, the text describes what happens when part of the capital stock is destroyed in a war. By contrast, suppose that a war does not directly affect the capital stock, but that casualties reduce the labo
> Describe the difference between frictional unemployment and structural unemployment.
> What are the three functions of money? Which of the functions do the following items satisfy? Which do they not satisfy? a. A credit card b. A painting by Rembrandt c. A subway token
> The residents of a certain dormitory have collected the following data: people who live in the dorm can be classified as either involved in a relationship or uninvolved. Among involved people, 10 percent experience a breakup of their relationship every m
> Define the nominal exchange rate and the real exchange rate.
> Consider an economy described by the following equations: Y= C + I + G + NX, Y = 8,000, G = 2,500, T = 2,000, C = 500 + 2/3 (Y - T), I = 900 - 50r, NX = 1,500 - 250e, R= r* = 8. a. In this economy, solve for private saving, public saving, national saving
> On September 21, 1995, “House Speaker Newt Gingrich threatened to send the United States into default on its debt for the first time in the nation’s history, to force the Clinton Administration to balance the budget on Republican terms” (New York Times,
> What does the assumption of constant velocity imply?
> Suppose a country has a money demand function (M/P)d 5 kY, where k is a constant parameter. The money supply grows by 12 percent per year, and real income grows by 4 percent per year. a. What is the average inflation rate? b. How would inflation be diffe
> What is fiat money? What is commodity money?
> Explain how each of the following events affects the monetary base, the money multiplier, and the money supply. a. The Federal Reserve buys bonds in an open market operation. b. The Fed increases the interest rate it pays banks for holding reserves. c. T
> Explain how a competitive, profit-maximizing firm decides how much of each factor of production to demand.
> Suppose the production function in medieval Europe is Y 5 K 0.5L0.5, where K is the amount of land and L is the amount of labor. The economy begins with 100 units of land and 100 units of labor. Use a calculator and equations in the chapter to find a num
> What determines the amount of output an economy produces?
> What are the four components of GDP? Give an example of each.
> A farmer grows a bushel of wheat and sells it to a miller for $1. The miller turns the wheat into flour and then sells the flour to a baker for $3. The baker uses the flour to make bread and sells the bread to an engineer for $6. The engineer eats the br
> Why do economists build models?
> List three macroeconomic issues that have been in the news lately.
> Explain the difference between debt finance and equity finance.
> In each of the following cases, identify whether the problem is adverse selection or moral hazard, and explain your answer. How might the problem be dealt with? a. Rick has gotten a large advance to write a textbook. With the money in hand, he prefers sp
> What was unusual about U.S. fiscal policy from 1980 to 1995?
> On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food chain, ran a full-page ad in the New York Times with this news: “In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country’s mo
> Suppose that the tradeoff between unemployment and inflation is determined by the Phillips curve: u = un - a(π - Eπ), where u denotes the unemployment rate, un the natural rate, p the rate of inflation, and Ep the expected rate of inflation. In addition,
> Use the neoclassical theory of distribution to predict the impact on the real wage and the real rental price of capital of each of the following events: a. A wave of immigration increases the labor force. b. An earthquake destroys some of the capital sto
> In the 1970s in the United States, the inflation rate and the natural rate of unemployment both rose. Let’s use this model of time inconsistency to examine this phenomenon. Assume that policy is discretionary. a. In the model as developed so far, what ha
> In the neoclassical model of business fixed investment, under what conditions will firms find it profitable to add to their capital stock?
> Use the neoclassical model of investment to explain the impact of each of the following on the rental price of capital, the cost of capital, and investment. a. Anti-inflationary monetary policy raises the real interest rate. b. An earthquake destroys par
> What were Keynes’s three conjectures about the consumption function?
> The chapter uses the Fisher model to discuss a change in the interest rate for a consumer who saves some of his first-period income. Suppose, instead, that the consumer is a borrower. How does that alter the analysis? Discuss the income and substitution
> On a carefully labeled graph, draw the dynamic aggregate supply curve. Explain why it has the slope it has.
> Derive the long-run equilibrium for the dynamic AD–AS model. Assume there are no shocks to demand or supply (Ɛt = yt = 0) and inflation has stabilized (πt = πt-1), and then use the five equations in Tab
> Explain the two theories of aggregate supply. On what market imperfection does each theory rely? What do the theories have in common?
> In the sticky-price model, describe the aggregate supply curve in the following special cases. How do these cases compare to the short-run aggregate supply curve we discussed in Chapter 10? a. All firms have sticky prices (s = 1). b. The desired price do
> Let’s consider some more special cases of the mother of all models. Starting with this comprehensive model, what extra assumptions would you need to yield each of the following specialized models? a. The model of the classical large open economy in the a
> List the two things that GDP measures. How can GDP measure two things at once?
> In the Mundell–Fleming model with floating exchange rates, explain what happens to aggregate income, the exchange rate, and the trade balance when taxes are raised. What would happen if exchange rates were fixed rather than floating?
> Use the Mundell–Fleming model to predict what would happen to aggregate income, the exchange rate, and the trade balance under both floating and fixed exchange rates in response to each of the following shocks. Be sure to include an appropriate graph in
> Macroeconomic data do not show a strong correlation between investment and interest rates. Let’s examine why this might be so. Use our model in which the interest rate adjusts to equilibrate the supply of loanable funds (which is upward sloping) and the
> Suppose that consumption depends on the interest rate. How, if at all, does this alter the conclusions reached in the chapter about the impact of an increase in government purchases on investment, consumption, national saving, and the interest rate?
> When the government subsidizes investment, such as with an investment tax credit, the subsidy often applies to only some types of investment. This question asks you to consider the effect of such a change. Suppose there are two types of investment in the
> Consider whether each of the following events is likely to increase or decrease real GDP. In each case, do you think the well-being of the average person in society most likely changes in the same direction as real GDP? Why or why not? a. A hurricane in
> You read on a financial Web site that the nominal interest rate is 12 percent per year in Canada and 8 percent per year in the United States. Suppose that international capital flows equalize the real interest rates in the two countries and that purchasi
> Suppose that the government increases taxes and government purchases by equal amounts. What happens to the interest rate and investment in response to this balanced-budget change? Explain how your answer depends on the marginal propensity to consume.
> In a speech that Senator Robert Kennedy gave when he was running for president in 1968, he said the following about GDP: [It] does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include th
> This problem asks you to analyze the IS–LM model algebraically. Suppose consumption is a linear function of disposable income: C(Y - T ) = a + b(Y - T ), where a> 0 and 0 < b < 1. The parameter b is the marginal propensity to consume, and the parameter a
> “Traveling in Mexico is much cheaper now than it was ten years ago,” says a friend. “Ten years ago, a dollar bought 10 pesos; this year, a dollar buys 15 pesos.” Is your friend right
> Consider an economy described as follows: Y= C + I+ G. Y = 8,000. G = 2,500. T = 2,000. C = 1000 + 2/3(Y-T ). I = 1,200 - 100r. a. In this economy, compute private saving, public saving, and national saving. b. Find the equilibrium interest rate. c. Now
> Imagine that you run the central bank in a large open economy with a floating exchange rate. Your goal is to stabilize income, and you adjust the money supply accordingly. Under your policy, what happens to the money supply, the interest rate, the exchan
> An economy has 100 people divided among the following groups: 25 have full-time jobs, 20 have one part-time job, 5 have two part-time jobs, 10 would like to work and are looking for jobs, 10 would like to work but are so discouraged they have given up lo
> This problem uses calculus to compare two scenarios of consumer optimization. a. Nina has the following utility function: U = ln(C1) + ln(C2) - ln(C3) She starts with wealth of $120,000, earns no additional income, and faces a zero interest rate. How m
> Use the dynamic AD–AS model to solve for inflation as a function of only lagged inflation and supply and demand shocks. (Assume target inflation is constant.) a. According to the equation you have derived, does inflation return to its target after a shoc
> Go to the Web site of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov). For each of the past five years, find the inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index for\all items (sometimes called headline inflation) and as measured by the CPI exc
> Use the Mundell–Fleming model to answer the following questions about the state of California (a small open economy). a. What kind of exchange-rate system does California have with its major trading partners (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, . . .)? b. If Calif
> Suppose that the demand for real money balances depends on disposable income. That is, the money demand function is M/P = L(r, Y - T ). Using the IS–LM model, discuss whether this change in the money demand function alters the following. a. The analysis
> In any city at any time, some of the stock of usable office space is vacant. This vacant office space is unemployed capital. How would you explain this phenomenon? In particular, which approach to explaining unemployed labor applies best to unemployed ca
> Oceania is a small open economy. Suppose that a large number of foreign countries begin to subsidize investment by instituting an investment tax credit (while adjusting other taxes to hold their tax revenue constant), but Oceania does not institute such
> Jimmy Paul Miller starts his own bank, called JPM. As owner, Jimmy puts in $2,000 of his own money. JPM then borrows $4,000 in a long-term loan from Jimmy’s uncle, accepts $14,000 in demand deposits from his neighbors, buys $7,000 of U.S. Treasury bonds,
> Suppose that an increase in consumer confidence raises consumers’ expectations about their future income and thus increases the amount they want to consume today. This might be interpreted as an upward shift in the consumption function. How does this shi
> Explain why the aggregate demand curve slopes downward.
> Abby consumes only apples. In year 1, red apples cost $1 each, green apples cost $2 each, and Abby buys 10 red apples. In year 2, red apples cost $2, green apples cost $1, and Abby buys 10 green apples. a. Compute a consumer price index for apples for ea
> Why might the level of government debt affect the government’s incentives regarding money creation?
> Consider two savings accounts that pay the same interest rate. One account lets you take your money out on demand. The second requires that you give 30-day advance notification before withdrawals. a. Which account would you prefer? Why? b. Can you imagin
> Suppose that people’s expectations of inflation are subject to random shocks. That is, instead of being merely adaptive, expected inflation in period t, as seen in period t - 1, is Et-1πt =π t-1 + nt 1, where ht21 is a random shock. This shock is normall
> Some economists believe that taxes have an important effect on the labor supply. They argue that higher taxes cause people to want to work less and that lower taxes cause them to want to work more. Consider how this effect alters the macroeconomic analys
> Suppose that the price level relevant for money demand includes the price of imported goods and that the price of imported goods depends on the exchange rate. That is, the money market is described by M/P = L(r, Y ), where P = λPd + (1 -λ)Pf/e. Her
> The Fed is considering two alternative monetary policies: • holding the money supply constant and letting the interest rate adjust, or • adjusting the money supply to hold the interest rate constant. In the IS–LM model, which policy will better stabilize
> Choose two countries that interest you—one rich and one poor. What is the income per person in each country? Find some data on country characteristics that might help explain the difference in income: investment rates, population growth rates, educationa
> Consider how unemployment would affect the Solow growth model. Suppose that output is produced according to the production function Y= K a[(1 - u)L]1-a, where K is capital, L is the labor force, and u is the natural rate of unemployment. The national sav
> When workers’ wages rise, their decision about how much time to spend working is affected in two conflicting ways—as you may have learned in courses in microeconomics. The income effect is the impulse to work less, because greater incomes mean workers ca
> According to the IS–LM model, what happens in the short run to the interest rate, income, consumption, and investment under the following circumstances? Be sure your answer includes an appropriate graph. a. The central bank increases the money supply. b.
> Suppose China exports TVs and uses the yuan as its currency, whereas Russia exports vodka and uses the ruble. China has a stable money supply and slow, steady technological progress in TV production, while Russia has very rapid growth in the money supply
> Some economic historians have noted that during the period of the gold standard, gold discoveries were most likely to occur after a long deflation. (The discoveries of 1896 are an example.) Why might this be true?
> Give an example of a bank balance sheet with a leverage ratio of 20. If the value of the bank’s assets rises by 2 percent, what happens to the value of the owners’ equity in this bank? How large a decline in the value of bank assets would it take to redu
