Chapter 11 Quiz Answers

The nominal interest rate tells you a. how fast the number of dollars in your bank account rises over time. b. how fast the purchasing power of your bank account rises over time. c. the number of dollars in your bank account today. d. the purchasing power of your bank account today.

A

The price index was 220 in one year and 238.2 in the next year. What was the inflation rate? a. 8.3 percent b. 108.3 percent c. 4.8 percent d. 38.2 percent

A

When the consumer price index rises, the typical family a. has to spend more dollars to maintain the same standard of living. b. can spend fewer dollars to maintain the same standard of living. c. finds that its standard of living is not affected. d. can offset the effects of rising prices by saving more.

A

Refer to Table 24-2. If 2012 is the base year, then the CPI for 2013 was a. 95.7. b. 100.0. c. 104.4. d. 110.0.

C

Suppose that over the past year, the real interest rate was 3 percent and the inflation rate was 1 percent. It follows that a. the dollar value of savings increased at 2 percent, and the purchasing power of savings increased at 3 percent. b. the dollar value of savings increased at 2 percent, and the purchasing power of savings increased at 4 percent. c. the dollar value of savings increased at 4 percent, and the purchasing power of savings increased at 2 percent. d. the dollar value of savings increased at 4 percent, and the purchasing power of savings increased at 3 percent.

D

Consider a small economy in which consumers buy only two goods: apples and pears. In order to compute the consumer price index for this economy for two or more consecutive years, we assume that a. the number of apples bought by the typical consumer is equal to the number of pears bought by the typical consumer in each year. b. neither the number of apples nor the number of pears bought by the typical consumer changes from year to year. c. the percentage change in the price of apples is equal to the percentage change in the price of pears from year to year. d. neither the price of apples nor the price of pears changes from year to year.

B

During periods of deflation, the nominal interest rate will be​ a. ​higher than the real interest rate. b. ​lower than the real interest rate. c. ​the same as the real interest rate. d. ​possibly higher, lower, or the same as the real interest rate. The answer depends on how much deflation there is in the economy.

B

Suppose a basket of goods and services has been selected to calculate the CPI and 2012 has been selected as the base year. In 2012, the basket's cost was $50; in 2014, the basket's cost was $51; and in 2016, the basket's cost was $52. The value of the CPI in 2014 was a. 98.0. b. 102.0. c. 104.0. d. 151.0.

B

The consumer price index was 225 in 2008 and 232.2 in 2009. The nominal interest rate during this period was 6.5 percent. What was the real interest rate during this period? a. 1.6 percent b. 3.3 percent c. 5.1 percent d. 7.4 percent

B

The introduction of a new good a. increases the cost of maintaining the same level of economic well-being. b. decreases the cost of maintaining the same level of economic well-being. c. has no impact on the cost of maintaining the same level of economic well-being. d. may increase or decrease the cost of maintaining the same level of economic well-being, depending on how expensive the new good is.

B

A decrease in the price of domestically produced industrial robots will be reflected in a. both the GDP deflator and the consumer price index. b. neither the GDP deflator nor the consumer price index. c. the GDP deflator but not in the consumer price index. d. the consumer price index but not in the GDP deflator.

C

Consternation Corporation has an agreement with its workers to index completely the wage of its employees using the CPI. Consternation Corporation currently pays its production line workers $7.50 an hour and is scheduled to index their wages today. If the CPI is currently 130 and was 125 a year ago, the firm should increase the hourly wages of its workers by a. $0.04. b. $0.29. c. $0.30. d. $0.50.

C

If the quality of a good deteriorates while its price remains the same, then the value of a dollar a. rises and the cost of living increases. b. rises and the cost of living decreases. c. falls and the cost of living increases. d. falls and the cost of living decreases.

C

In the CPI, goods and services are weighted according to a. how long a market has existed for each good or service. b. the extent to which each good or service is regarded by the government as a necessity. c. how much consumers buy of each good or service. d. the number of firms that produce and sell each good or service.

C

Social Security payments are indexed for inflation using the CPI. A recent newspaper editorial claimed that Social Security recipients are harmed by years of low inflation because they do not receive as large an increase in their payments as they do in years of high inflation. Which of the following statements is correct? a. The newspaper editorial is correct under all circumstances. b. The newspaper editorial is correct if the market basket consumed by Social Security recipients is the same as the market basket used to compute the CPI. c. The newspaper editorial could be correct if the prices of the goods consumed by Social Security recipients change at a different rate than the prices of the goods in the market basket used to compute the CPI d. The newspaper editorial is incorrect under all circumstances.

C

Core CPI is​ a. ​the CPI including only food, clothing, and energy. b. ​the CPI including only food and energy. c. ​the CPI excluding food, clothing, and energy. d. ​the CPI excluding food and energy.

D

Ethel purchased a bag of groceries in 1970 for $8. She purchased the same bag of groceries in 2006 for $25. If the price index was 38.8 in 1970 and the price index was 180 in 2006, then what is the price of the 1970 bag of groceries in 2006 dollars? a. $5.39 b. $25.00 c. $29.11 d. $37.11

D

Henri earned a salary of $50,000 in 2001 and $60,000 in 2012. The consumer price index was 177 in 2001 and 225 in 2012. Henri's 2001 salary in 2012 dollars is a. $39,333.33. b. $74,000.00. c. $89,333.33. d. $63,559.32.

D

If the nominal interest rate is 4.2 percent and the rate of inflation is -0.5 percent, then the real interest rate is a. -8.4 percent. b. -2.1 percent. c. 3.7 percent. d. 4.7 percent.

D

Which of these events would cause the consumer price index to overstate the increase in the cost of living? a. Car makers benefit from a new technology that allows them to sell higher-quality cars to consumers with no increase in price. b. Energy prices decrease, and consumers respond by buying more gas and electricity. c. A new good is introduced that renders cellular telephones inferior and obsolete. d. All of the above are correct.

D