Chapter 11 - Classical and Keynesian Macro Analyses
Say's law
A dictum of economist J. B. Say that supply creates its own demand. Producing goods and services generates the means and the willingness to purchase other goods and services.
New growth theory
A model of long-run economic growth which emphasizes that technological change is influenced by economic incentives and so is determined by the working of the market system. It suggests that the accumulation of knowledge capital is a key determinant of economic growth.
Economic growth model
A model that explains growth rates in real GDP per capita over the long run. Since the average person can buy more goods and services only if the average worker produces more goods and services, the economic growth model focuses on the long-run increases in labor productivity.
Which of the following will occur when aggregate supply remains stable but aggregate demand falls in the short run? A. The unemployment rate falls. B. The price level rises. C. A recessionary gap is created. D. An inflationary gap is created.
A recessionary gap is created.
New growth theory suggests that the accumulation of knowledge capital can be slowed because knowledge is both nonrival and nonexcludable. How does the federal government intervene in the market to increase the amount of knowledge capital?
A. Subsidies B. Patents C. Public education D. All of the above
in considering the forces which may increase an economy's real GDP in the long run, which of the following will NOT play a role?
Lower wages for labor.
Along the per-worker production function, what happens to real GDP per hour worked as capital per hour worked increases?
Real GDP per hour worked increases at a decreasing rate.
Inflationary gap
The gap that exists whenever equilibrium real GDP per year is greater than full-employment real GDP, as shown by the position of the long-run aggregate supply curve
recessionary gap
The gap that exists whenever equilibrium real GDP per year is less than full-employment real GDP as shown by the position of the long-run aggregate supply curve.
Recessionary gap:
The gap that exists whenever equilibrium real GDP per year is less than full-employment real GDP as shown by the position of the long-run aggregate supply curve.
Which of the following is a true statement regarding the economic growth model's predictions and how it actually affects the real world?
The growth model predicts that poor countries should catch up with rich countries, but developing countries are not catching up to lower−income industrialized countries as a group.
"The most outstanding characteristic of Soviet growth strategy is its consistent policy of very high rates of investment, leading to a rapid growth rate of [the] capital stock." This turned out to be a very poor growth strategy because
there were diminishing returns to capital.
What term describes the relationship between real GDP per hour worked and capital per hour worked, holding the level of technology constant?
the per-worker production function
The figure in the window on the right shows average annual growth rates in real GDP per hour worked in the United States. Based on the data from the figure on the right which one of the following statements is false?
The growth rate of real GDP per hour worked has not continually accelerated over time. Growth in the first half of the twentieth century was faster than growth during the nineteenth century, and growth from 1950 to 1973 was faster yet. Then the unexpected happened: For more than 20 years, from 1974 to 1995, the growth rate of real GDP per hour worked slowed. The growth rate during these years was more than one percentage point per year lower than during the 1950-1973 period.
Keynesian short-run aggregate supply curve
The horizontal portion of the aggregate supply curve in which there is excessive unemployment and unused capacity in the economy
The short-run Keynesian aggregate supply curve is
The horizontal portion of the aggregate supply curve in which there is excessive unemployment and unused capacity in the economy.
The average annual growth rate is the rate at which GDP must grow on an average each year between 2005 and 2015,
and the total percentage increase in real GDP is the percentage increase in real GDP between the two years 2005 and 2015.
When savings is high
banks have more money to loan. This allows firms to borrow money for investment projects like new factories or better technology. In low-income countries, the level of saving, and therefore the level of borrowing for new technology, is very low. If governments increase the incentives for saving money, then firms will have better access to loanable funds and will be better able to acquire new, more productive technology. Deferred tax retirement accounts for individuals and investment tax credits are examples of such incentives.
Some economies are able to maintain high growth rates despite diminishing returns to capital by using
better or enhanced technology, along with accumulating capital; these economies are growing because technology, unlike capital, is subject to increasing returns.
Both Lowell and Andover use compounding to calculate their interest calculation and they both have the same average rate,
but algebraically, even a modest percentage increase in the interest rate compounded over time can increase earnings substantially.
Suppose that there is a temporary, but significant increase in oil prices in an economy with an upward-sloping SRAS curve. As a policy response to this short-lived but sudden increase in oil prices, a central bank
cannot stabilize both the price level and the real GDP simultaneously.
If the central bank wishes to prevent the equilibrium price level from changing in response to the oil price increase, it should
decrease the quantity of money in circulation in order to shift aggregate demand leftward. because By decreasing the quantity of money in circulation, the central bank will ideally push the AD curve leftward so that the price level remains at its original level. The economy moves from point A to point B.
Cost-push inflation is caused by persistent
decreases in short-run aggregate supply.
Firms in this nation do not import raw materials and other productive inputs from abroad, but foreign residents purchase many of the nation's goods and services. the short-run effect upon the economy is
deflation and a lower real GDP.
Inflation that is caused by excess consumer demand is known as:
demand-pull inflation.
Consider the per-worker production function to the right. Equal increases in the quantity of capital per hour worked lead to ______ increases in output per hour worked.
diminishing
When additions of input to a fixed quantity of another input lead to progressively smaller increases in output, we say we are facing
diminishing returns
A sustained increase in the general level of prices is defined as:
inflation
Government policy can increase the accumulation of knowledge capital in all the following ways except by:
investing in capital accumulation.
The model of long-run equilibrium
is the same as the classical model Explanation The model of long-run equilibrium is the same as the Classical Model. They are based on identical assumptions and both conclude that the economy will be in full employment.
At the macro-economy level,
knowledge capital exhibits increasing returns and physical capital exhibits decreasing returns.
Firms are likely to underinvest in research and development, which slows the accumulation of knowledge capital, slowing economic growth, because
knowledge capital is both nonrival and nonexcludable; other firms can freely access the research and development of one particular firm.
The lower the rate of interest, the ________ profitable it is to invest and the ________ the level of desired investment.
more; higher
If an excess quantity of labor is supplied at a particular wage level, the wage level
must be above equilibrium
The analyst's reference to the "process of urbanization" describes the
process of people moving from rural areas to cities.
Technological change shifts
up the per-worker production function and allows the economy to produce more real GDP per hour worked with the same quantity of capital per hour worked. Because of diminishing returns to capital, continuing increases in real GDP can only be sustained if there is technological change.
According to modern Keynesian analysis, the short-run aggregate supply curve is
upward sloping.
measures of the standard of living include:
-Life expectancy at birth -Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births) -Percentage of the population surviving on less than $2 per day -Percentage of the population with access to improved water source -Percentage of the population with access to improved sanitation -Internet users per 1,000 people
changes that cause a Decrease in Aggregate supply
1. Depletion of raw materials 2. Decreased competition 3. An increase in international trade barriers 4. More regulatory impediments to business 5. A decrease in labor supplied 6. Decreased training and education 7. An increase in marginal tax rates 8. An increase in input prices
changes that cause an increase in Aggregate supply
1. Discoveries of new raw materials 2. Increased competition 3. A reduction in international trade barriers 4. Fewer regulatory impediments to business 5. An increase in the supply of labor 6. Increased training and education 7. A decrease in marginal tax rates 8. A reduction in input prices
economists agree on four key points:
1. Failure to enforce the rule of law. If property rights and contracts are protected in a well-functioning legal system, production of goods and services occurs more quickly. Many low income countries have compensated legal systems and, as a result, property rights and contractual obligations are not well-protected. 2. Wars and revolutions. Extended periods of war or violent changes in government prevent optimistic investment in an economy. We have seen, however, marked economic growth in countries shortly after long, costly wars. 3. Poor public education and health. People who are sick or are less educated tend to be less productive members of the workforce. 4. Low savings rates and investment. Low savings rates in low-income countries contribute to a vicious cycle of poverty. Low-income households save less. When households save less, less is available for firms to borrow. Without the ability to borrow, firms do not acquire new production technologies and economic growth stagnates.
Explaining The Short-run aggregate Supply curve's upward Slope In the modern Keynesian short run, when the price level rises partially, real GDP can be expanded beyond the level consistent with its long-run growth path, discussed in Chapter 10, for a variety of reasons:
1. In the short run, most labor contracts implicitly or explicitly call for flexibility in hours of work at the given wage rate. Therefore, firms can use existing workers more intensively: They can get workers to work harder, to work more hours per day, and to work more days per week. 2. Existing capital equipment can be used more intensively. Machines can be worked more hours per day. Some can be made to operate faster. Maintenance can be delayed. 3. Finally, if wage rates are held constant, a higher price level leads to increased profits from additional production, which induces firms to hire more workers. The duration of unemployment falls, and thus the unemployment rate falls. Furthermore, people who were previously not in the labor force (homemakers and younger or older workers) can be induced to enter it. All these adjustments cause real GDP to rise as the price level increases.
Government policy can help increase the accumulation of knowledge capital in three ways:
1. Patents and copyrights protect the owner from competition. 2. Research and development subsidies increase the amount of these activities. 3. Education subsidies allow free education from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The classical model makes four major assumptions:
1. Pure competition exists. No single buyer or seller of a commodity or an input can affect its price. 2. Wages and prices are flexible. The assumption of pure competition leads to the notion that prices, wages, and interest rates are free to move to whatever level supply and demand dictate (as the economy adjusts). Although no individual buyer can set a price, the community of buyers or sellers can cause prices to rise or to fall to an equilibrium level. 3. People are motivated by self-interest. Businesses want to maximize their profits, and households want to maximize their economic well-being. 4. People cannot be fooled by money illusion. Buyers and sellers react to changes in relative prices. That is to say, they do not suffer from money illusion,
Technological change
A change in the quantity of output a firm can produce using a given quantity of inputs. Technological change has three main sources: 1. Better machinery and equipment, such as improvements in computer operating systems. 2. Increases in human capital, such as worker skill sets and education levels. 3. Better means of organizing and managing production, such as just-in-time production. Try Again
Why do economic growth rates matter?
A. High levels of sustained economic growth reduce infant mortality. B. High growth rates coincide with improved living standards. C. When a country sustains high growth rates, life expectancy at birth increases. D. All of the above.
The figure to the right illustrates the relationship between weak and strong rule-of-law countries and economic growth. In addition to a country's failure to enforce rule-of-law, what else explains why more low-income countries do NOT experience rapid growth as the catch-up line predicts?
A. Shortage of childhood vaccinations B. Lengthy civil wars C. Inability to borrow money needed for investment D. All of the above
The extent to which real GDP responds to changes in the price level along the short-run aggregate supply curve is largely determined by
A. the speed with which input prices adjust and people become more fully informed. B. the ability of firms to hire additional inputs, particularly workers. C. the ability of firms to use existing workers and capital more intensively. D. All of the above.
Most workers in this nation's economy are union members, and unions have successfully negotiated large wage boosts. At the same time, economic conditions suddenly worsen abroad, reducing real GDP and disposable income in other nations of the world.
AD decreases and SRAS decreases
Suppose that businesses in this nation initially had been exporting significant amounts of domestically produced goods and services abroad. Assume that other nations of the world have experienced a sudden decline in economic conditions. What happens to the nation's aggregate demand curve? In the short run, will the nation experience an inflationary gap or a recessionary gap? Explain. In the short run, the equilibrium price level will ____ and the nation will experience a _____ gap because the short-run equilibrium level of real GDP per year is _____ real GDP at full employment.
AD decreases, equilibrium price decreases fall; recessionary; less than
A major hurricane has caused short minus term halts in production at many firms and created major bottlenecks in the distribution of goods and services that had been produced prior to the storm. At the same time, the nation's central bank has significantly pushed up the rate of growth of the nation's money supply.
AD increases and SRAS decreases
A weakening of the value of this nation's currency in terms of other countries' currencies affects both the SRAS curve and the AD curve.
AD increases and SRAS decreases
Which of the following will occur when aggregate supply remains stable but aggregate demand increases in the short run? A. The unemployment rate rises. B. A recessionary gap is created. C. The price level falls. D. An inflationary gap is created.
An inflationary gap is created.
The economic growth model explains growth in real GDP per capita in the long run. Because of the importance of labor productivity in explaining economic growth, the economic growth model focuses on the causes of increases in long-run labor productivity. What are the key factors that determine labor productivity?
C. Quantity of capital per hour worked Your answer is correct. D. Technological change
Suppose two countries, Country A and Country B, have a similar real GDP per capita. Country A has an average economic growth rate of 2% and Country B has an average economic growth rate of 3.3%. In the long run, what can we predict about living standards in the two countries?
Country B's living standards will increase much more rapidly in the long run. Your answer is correct.
Health and education play a key role in labor productivity.
Healthier workers are more productive in two ways. - First, healthy people miss fewer days due to illnesses. - Second, healthy workers are more productive while at their jobs. -A more educated workforce is generally considered a more productive workforce, as individuals are better suited to new and changing production technologies.
Suppose you are discussing global trade with a friend who insists a country would be better off by restricting trade and investment with other countries. Which of the following economic responses would be the most logical for your discussion?
I am not sure I agree. Countries that allow more globalization have experienced higher rates of economic growth and typically can utilize greater levels of foreign direct investment to increase economic growth
The role of the entrepreneur becomes much more important in the new growth theory —the endogenous growth model—than in the traditional economic growth model because
In the new growth theory, entrepreneurs play a key role in the development and adoption of new and sometimes untried technologies.
When low income countries begin to experience economic growth, they often do so at rates much higher than current growth rates of industrial nations. Which of the following does not provide an explanation of this phenomenon?
Industrial countries have higher rates of growth in physical capital and developing countries are not able to invest in large quantities of capital.
cost-push inflation
Inflation caused by decreases in short-run aggregate supply.
demand-pull inflation
Inflation caused by increases in aggregate demand not matched by increases in aggregate supply.
Assume the analyst is correct that urbanization is the core driver of economic growth in China. Will China be able to continue to experience high rates of economic growth in the long run?
It is unlikely because the process of urbanization will eventually slow down and growth will require technological progress.
Which of the following is not one of the four major assumptions of the classical model? A. Wages and prices are flexible. B. People are motivated by self-interest. C. People suffer from money illusion. D. Pure competition exists.
People suffer from money illusion.
Strong rule-of-law countries grow more rapidly than weak rule-of-law countries. What factor will most likely improve economic growth in weak rule-of-law countries?
Political reform
Refer to the graph to the right. According to the economic concept of catch-up, which is CORRECT?
Poorer countries should grow more quickly and will be at point A.
What can low-income countries do in order to increase the amount of loanable funds available to firms for investment projects such as new factories or improved technology?
Provide savings incentives
money illusion
Reacting to changes in money prices rather than relative prices. If a worker whose wages double when the price level also doubles thinks he or she is better off, that worker is suffering from money illusion.
brain drain
Some well-educated individuals find very few opportunities in their own developing countries, and leave for industrial countries. This is called the brain drain.
Consider the figure to the right. Which of the following is responsible for the upward shifts in the per-worker production function?
Technological change
If the Commerce Department adjusts the growth rate of GDP downward for the first quarter of 2016, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusts the number of hours worked upward for the first quarter of 2016, what will the Bureau of Labor Statistics do in terms of revising the figures on the growth rate of labor productivity for the first quarter of 2016?
The BLS will adjust the growth rate downwards.
Rule of law
The ability of a government to enforce the laws of the country, particularly with respect to protecting private property and enforcing contracts.
Catch-up
The prediction that the level of GDP per capita (or income per capita) in poor countries will grow faster than in rich countries.
Globalization
The process of countries becoming more open to foreign trade and investment. Globalization has benefited developing countries by allowing more access to investment funds and technology.
Foreign direct investment (FDI)
The purchase or building by a corporation of a facility in a foreign country. If we measure globalization by the fraction of a country's GDP accounted for by exports, we see a strong, positive correlation between globalization and growth in real GDP.
Labor productivity
The quantity of goods and services that can be produced by one worker or by one hour of work. Economists believe the two key factors that determine labor productivity are quantity of capital per hour worked and technological change. Therefore, the economic growth model focuses on these two factors to explain changes in real GDP per capita.
Per-worker production function
The relationship between real GDP per hour worked and capital per hour worked, holding the level of technology constant.
short-run aggregate supply curve
The relationship between total planned economywide production and the price level in the short run, all other things held constant. If prices adjust incompletely in the short run, the curve is positively sloped.
The classical economists believed that the leakage of saving would be matched by the injection of business investment.
True
The level of employment in an economy determines its real GDP.
True
Using GDP per capita in 2014 (measured in U.S. dollars, corrected for differences across countries in the cost of living), identify which one of the following statements is true:
Western Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States are high-income countries.
Between early 2008 and the beginning of 2009, a gradual stock market crash and plummeting home prices generated a substantial reduction in U.S. household wealth that induced most U.S. residents to reduce their planned real spending at any given price level. From a short-run Keynesian perspective, the predicted effects of this event on the equilibrium U.S. price level and equilibrium U.S. real GDP were what? The spending gap caused by the reduction in household wealth and spending between early 2008 and the beginning of 2009 can best be described as
a decrease in the price level along with a decrease in equilibrium real GDP Recessionary gap
According to the classical model, if the economy starts at full employment an increase in aggregate demand will cause all of the following to occur except A. an increase in input prices. B. a rise in real GDP above its long-run level. C. a decrease in unemployment. D. a decrease in wage rates.
a decrease in wage rates.
After reading a recent best-seller documenting a growing population of low minus income elderly people who were ill minus prepared for retirement, most residents of this country decide to increase their saving at any given interest rate. a. The current equilibrium interest rate. b. Current equilibrium real GDP c. Current equilibrium employment. d. Current equilibrium investment. e. Future equilibrium real GDP.
a. Decrease b. No Change c. No Change d. Increase e. Increase
Consider a country whose economic structure matches the assumptions of the classical model. Suppose that businesses in this nation suddenly anticipate higher future profitability from investments they undertake today. a. The current equilibrium interest rate. b. Current equilibrium real GDP. c. Current equilibrium employment. d. Current equilibrium saving. e. Future equilibrium real GDP.
a. Increase b. No Effect c. No Effect d. Increase e. Increase
Since it is ______ its equilibrium value, the interest rate would adjust _____
above; downwards
According to Keynes, when there is excess capacity in an economy, the equilibrium level of real GDP per year is determined by
aggregate demand.
A country's rate of economic growth is important because
an economy that grows too slowly fails to raise the living standards of its citizens.
Economic growth rates matter because
an economy that grows too slowly, or not at all, fails to raise living standards. Between 1996 and 2008, real GDP per capita in China grew at an average annual rate of 8.8 percent. Real GDP per capita in Japan, in contrast, grew at the much slower rate of 1.1 percent. Between 1950 and 1978, however, China had grown relatively slowly, while Japan was growing rapidly. As a result, in 2008, the standard of living in China was still well below that in Japan. For example, GDP per capita measured in U.S. dollars was $6,140 in China in 2008 but $34,092—more than five times higher—in Japan. If the Chinese economy can sustain the high growth rates of recent years, it will continue to close the gap with Japan in real GDP per capita and other measures of the standard of living.
Between early 2005 and late 2007, total planned expenditures by U.S. households substantially increased in response to an increase in the quantity of money in circulation. From a short-run Keynesian perspective, the predicted effects of this event on the equilibrium U.S. price level and equilibrium U.S. real GDP were
an increase in the price level along with an increase in equilibrium real GDP.
The resulting spending gap between early 2005 and late 2007 when total planned expenditures by U.S. households substantially increased in response to an increase in the quantity of money in circulation can best be described as
an inflationary gap.
Globalization has made it ____________ for developing countries to get investment funds and technology.
easier
A stonger dollar contributes to inflation.
false
The new growth theory states that
firms will add to an economy's stock of knowledge capital by engaging in research and development or by contributing to technological change.
Technological change is more important to long-run economic growth than changes in capital. The easiest way for firms to gain access to new technology is through
foreign direct investment
If the central bank wishes to prevent the equilibrium real GDP from changing in response to the oil price increase, it should
increase the quantity of money in circulation in order to shift aggregate demand rightward.
Suppose the per-worker production function was shaped as shown in the graph at right. If a country was accumulating increasing quantities of capital per hour worked, this country would experience
increasing labor productivity and higher levels of economic growth.
As the dollar becomes stronger in international foreign exchange markets, the short-run aggregate supply curve will shift to the ________ and the aggregate demand curve will shift to the ________.
right; left
Changes in factors of production that influence economic growth will
shift SRAS and LRAS.
A short-lived change in production input prices will
shift SRAS but not LRAS.
Economic growth will
slow down or stop if more capital per hour is used because of diminishing returns to capital.
Compared to the period between 1950 and 1973, the productivity of U.S workers between 1974 and 1995
slowed by more than one percentage point per year.
Say's law asserts that
supply creates its own demand.
The key factors in raising standards of living in low−income countries have been increases in
technology and knowledge
All of the following are reasons why China is unlikely to maintain high enough rates of productivity growth to catch-up with the standard of living in the United States except
the Chinese migration of rural workers to more productive urban jobs.
The new growth theory differs from the growth theory developed by Robert Solow, since
the Solow growth theory focuses on technological change and the quantity of capital available to workers whereas the new growth theory states that accumulation of knowledge capital is a key determinant of economic growth.
Healthier, more educated workers tend to be more productive. Greater overall productivity per hour worked is a fundamental component of long-term economic growth. However, many very successful individuals often find few opportunities in their own developing countries, and leave them for industrial countries. By improving health and education, developing countries can generate economic growth, and increase incomes. This will help combat the prevalence of educated people leaving their home countries for opportunities elsewhere. That is, it will combat
the brain drain.
Since each country's real GDP is measured in a different currency, before one can compare the real GDPs of different countries, it is necessary to use
the purchasing power parities (PPPs) as a currency converter.
In the classical model, actual equilibrium real GDP ____ rise by this amount because prices ____ and the economy moves ____ from E 1 to Upper E 2. In other words, with
will not; rise; quickly Say's law and flexible interest rates, prices and wages would always lead to full employment at a level of real GDP of $18 trillion.