Econ Chapter 8
"If a recession is so severe that the price level declines, then we know that both real GDP and nominal GDP must decline."
Agree. If both output and prices are falling, then both real GDP and nominal GDP will fall.
"If real GDP stayed the same while nominal GDP declined between 2008 and 2009, then the GDP deflator must also have declined."
Agree. If nominal GDP declined between 2008 and 2009, then the GDP deflator must also have declined.
What are the four major components of expenditures in GDP?
Consumption, Investment, Government Purchases, and Net Exports
An article in the Wall Street Journal states that a change in inventories "dragged down the overall growth in GDP by nearly a full percentage point" below what it otherwise would have been. Source: Josh Mitchell, "U.S. GDP Growth Slowed on Tepid Consumer," Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2017. For this result to occur, is it likely that inventories increased or decreased? Briefly explain.
Decreased, since inventories are part of a firm's investment, which is a component of GDP, inventories must have fallen.
An article in the Wall Street Journal states the following: "GDP figures are a measure of all the goods and services that are produced in an economy during a particular period." Source: Jon Sindreu, "Why U.S. GDP Figures Might Be Better than They Look," Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2016. Briefly explain whether you agree with this definition of GDP.
Disagree, because GDP measures the value of all final goods and services produced in an economy, not all the goods and services produced.
"If nominal GDP is less than real GDP, then the price level must have fallen during the year."
Disagree. Nominal GDP is less than real GDP if the current price level is less than the base year price level. A fall in the price level during the year is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause nominal GDP to be less than real GDP.
"Whenever real GDP declines, nominal GDP must also decline."
Disagree. Real GDP falls if output falls. Nominal GDP can increase if output falls and prices rise.
If you were attempting to forecast the level of consumer spending by households, which measure of total production or total income might be most helpful in making your forecast?
Disposable personal income
In the circular flow of expenditure and income, why must the total value of production in an economy equal the total value of income?
Every penny spent on a good or service must end up as someone's income.
Even if GDP included these types of production, why would it still be an imperfect measure of economic well-being?
GDP is not adjusted for crime or other social problems. GDP is not adjusted for pollution and it does not account for unequal income distribution. The value of leisure is not included in GDP.
When a significant fraction of domestic production takes place in foreign-owned facilities, a country's difference between GDP and GNP is as follows:
GDP will be much larger than GNP.
U.S. Gross National Product (GNP) differs from U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in which of the following ways?
GNP is the value of final goods and services produced by residents of the U.S. GNP considers production that occurs outside the U.S. In the United States, the difference between GNP and GDP is smaller than that of many other countries.
GDP is an imperfect measure of economic well-being because it fails to measure what types of production?
Household production and the underground economy.
Suppose a house is built and sold in the year 2008. If the house is resold in the year 2019, is the value of the house included in Gross Domestic ProductLOADING... (GDP) for 2019?
No. GDP for 2019 includes only production that occurs during 2019.
Which of the following would be included in the gross national product (GNP) of the United States?
Production from a U.S. firm that operates in Mexico.
How does real GDP deal with the problem inflation causes with nominal GDP?
Real GDP uses the prices of goods and services in the base year to calculate the value of goods in all other years. Real GDP separates price changes from quantity changes. By keeping prices constant, we know that changes in real GDP represent changes in the quantity of output produced.
What is the difference between the value of a firm's final product and the value added by the firm to the final product?
The value of a firm's final product is the sale price; value added is the difference between the sale price and the price of intermediate goods.
What are the four categories of income?
Wages, Interest, Rent, and Profit.
Why does inflation make nominal GDP a poor measure of the increase in total production from one year to the next?
When nominal GDP increases from year to year, the increase is due partly to changes in prices and partly to changes in quantities.
Would the services of a real estate agent who helped sell (or helped buy) the house be included in GDP for 2019?
Yes. GDP for 2019 includes the market value of final goods and services. This includes real estate services.
To calculate personal income from national income, which of the following must the BEA do?
add government transfer payments
An underground economy involves all of the following except
buying and selling of goods and services by obtaining a permit from the government.
A breakdown of the four components of GDP shows that
consumption is by far the largest expenditure category, and that consumer spending on services far exceeds consumer spending on goods.
Inventories are part of investment and therefore included in GDP because
firms produce goods, however sometimes the goods may be unsold at the time GDP is computed.
The circular-flow diagram shows that all sources of income are owned by
households.
Personal Income is
national income minus retained corporate earnings plus government transfer payments and interest on government bonds.
Some countries have larger underground economies than do other countries, because
of government policies that are retarding economic growth.
Disposable personal income is
personal income minus personal taxes.
Over time, prices may change relative to each other. To take this change into account, the Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates
real GDP using chain weights.
In calculating GDP, which levels of government spending are included in government purchases?
spending by federal, state, and local governments
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is
the market value of all final goods and services produced in a country during a period of time.
Which of the following is included in the economist's definition of investment?
the purchase of new machines, factories, or houses
The circular-flow diagram shows that ________ should equal ________.
total expenditure; total income
Transfer payments are not included in GDP calculations because
transfer payments are simply transfers of income from one group to another and not a purchase of a new good or service.
In 2016, the largest component of gross domestic income was
wages.
Indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statement: "In years when people buy few shares of stock, investment will be low and, therefore, so will gross domestic productLOADING... (GDP)."
Disagree: Investment as a component of GDP refers to the purchase of physical and human capital and inventory, not stock purchases.
If the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) added up the values of every good and service sold during the year, would the total be larger or smaller than measured gross domestic product (GDP)?
Larger: The value of all goods and services sold would include intermediate goods.