Macro Study Chapter 10 – Flashcards
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Which of the following is not a primary cause of business cycle fluctuations, according to real business cycle theory? (a) A change in the production function (b) A change in the size of the labor force (c) A change in the money supply (d) A change in the real quantity of government purchases
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 2. The distinction between real and nominal shocks is that (a) real shocks directly affect only the IS curve, but not the FE line or LM curve. (b) real shocks directly affect only the FE line, but not the LM curve. (c) real shocks directly affect only the IS curve or the FE line, but not the LM curve. (d) real shocks have a large direct effect on the IS curve and the FE line, but only a small direct effect on the LM curve.
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C Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 3. Real business cycle theorists think that most business cycle fluctuations are caused by shocks to (a) the production function. (b) the size of the labor force. (c) the real quantity of government purchases. (d) the spending and saving decisions of consumers.
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 149 4. Which of the following is an example of a productivity shock? (a) The introduction of new management techniques (b) A change in taxes on corporate profits (c) A change in the level of government transfer programs (d) An increase in the money supply
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 5. A temporary adverse productivity shock would (a) shift the labor supply curve upward. (b) decrease the level of employment. (c) decrease future income. (d) decrease the expected future marginal product of capital.
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B Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 6. A beneficial productivity shock would _____ output, _____ the real interest rate, and _____ the price level. (a) increase; decrease; increase (b) increase; decrease; decrease (c) increase; increase; decrease (d) decrease; decrease; increase
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B Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 7. An adverse supply shock would directly _____ labor productivity by changing the amount of output that can be produced with any given amount of capital and labor. It would also indirectly _____ average labor productivity through changes in the level of employment. (a) increase; increase (b) increase; decrease (c) decrease; increase (d) decrease; decrease
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C Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 8. When RBC economists work out a detailed numerical example of a more general theory, they are performing (a) econometrics. (b) number theory. (c) calibration. (d) topology.
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C Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 150 Abel/Bernanke • Macroeconomics, Fifth Edition 9. When RBC economists compare the volatility in their models to the data, what are they looking at? (a) The degree to which variables lead output over the business cycle (b) The strength of procyclicality of different variables (c) The amount of random variation in economic variables (d) The degree to which different economic variables move together
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C Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 10. When RBC economists compare the correlations in their models to the data, what are they looking at? (a) The degree to which variables lead output over the business cycle (b) The strength of procyclicality of different variables (c) The amount of random variation in economic variables (d) The degree to which different economic variables move together
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 11. The most common measure of productivity shocks is known as (a) the Solow residual. (b) the Lucas supply curve. (c) the Prescott productivity parameter. (d) the Kydland factor.
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 12. The Solow residual is (a) the waste from the production process. (b) the most common measure of productivity shocks. (c) a measure of the efficiency of the production process. (d) a measure of the proportion of involuntarily unemployed workers.
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 13. Given data on capital (K), labor (N), and output (Y), and estimates of capital's share of output (a), the Solow residual is measured as (a) Y Ka N1-a (b) (Y Ka ) / N1-a (c) Y / (Ka N1-a ) (d) 1/(Y Ka N1-a )
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 151 14. The formula Y / (Ka N1-a ) provides a calculation of (a) x-efficiency. (b) dynamic efficiency. (c) economywide monopoly power. (d) the Solow residual.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 15. Measures of the Solow residual show it to be (a) strongly procyclical. (b) mildly procyclical. (c) mildly countercyclical. (d) strongly countercyclical.
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 16. One important reason why the Solow residual may be strongly procyclical even if the actual technology used in production doesn't change is that (a) employment is procyclical. (b) resource utilization is procyclical. (c) demand shocks are the dominant force determining the business cycle. (d) the coefficients (a and 1 - a) on capital and labor in the production function are procyclical.
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 17. If the utilization rates of capital (uK) and labor (uN) are procyclical, then the Solow residual, as conventionally measured, is (a) Y[(uKK) a )(uNN) 1-a ] (b) Y / [(uKK) a (uNN) 1-a ] (c) A uK a uN 1-a (d) 1/{Y[(uKK) a (uNN) 1-a ]}
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 18. Labor hoarding occurs when (a) firms keep good workers so other firms can't hire them. (b) the unemployment rate exceeds the natural rate of unemployment. (c) involuntary unemployment exceeds voluntary unemployment. (d) because of hiring and firing costs, firms retain workers in a recession that they would otherwise lay off.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 152 Abel/Bernanke • Macroeconomics, Fifth Edition 19. Braun and Evans found that (a) the measured Solow residual varied sharply over the seasons. (b) electricity use by producers rises sharply in economic upturns. (c) professional forecasters have rational expectations of inflation. (d) shocks to fiscal policy are the main source of business cycle fluctuations.
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 20. Critics of the RBC approach argue that it's hard to find productivity shocks large enough to cause business cycles. What is the RBC counterargument to this criticism? (a) Business cycles are always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. (b) Wars and military buildups could be considered productivity shocks. (c) Business cycles could be caused by the cumulation of small productivity shocks. (d) Business cycles are often caused by unobservable productivity shocks, which aren't apparent at the time they occur.
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C Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 21. A temporary increase in government purchases in the classical model would (a) shift the production function to the right. (b) shift the marginal product of labor curve to the left. (c) shift the labor demand curve to the right. (d) shift the labor supply curve to the right.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 22. In the classical model, a temporary increase in government purchases causes (a) a decrease in output and the real interest rate. (b) a decrease in output and an increase in the real interest rate. (c) an increase in output and a decrease in the real interest rate. (d) an increase in output and the real interest rate.
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 23. In the classical model, a temporary decrease in government spending would cause a decrease in (a) output, the real interest rate, real wages, and the price level. (b) employment, the real interest rate, real wages, and the price level. (c) output, employment, the real interest rate, and the price level. (d) output, employment, real wages, and the price level.
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C Level of difficulty: 3
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10.1 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 153 24. Classical economists oppose government intervention in the economy for all the reasons below EXCEPT that (a) policies to smooth out the business cycle are undesirable in principle. (b) increased government expenditures will lower the real wages of workers. (c) government policy is incapable of smoothing out the business cycle. (d) increases in government spending cannot increase the level of output and employment in the economy.
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 25. Classical economists would cite all of the following as reasons why the government cannot smooth out the business cycle EXCEPT that (a) only productivity shocks can cause real fluctuations in the business cycle. (b) the government has imperfect knowledge of the economy. (c) political constraints on policy actions prevent the government from carrying out effective policies. (d) time lags between the onset of a recession and the implementation of effective countermeasures make anti-recessionary macroeconomic policies impractical.
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A Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 26. According to classical economists, the government should increase government purchases when (a) the benefits of the spending exceed the costs. (b) the economy is in a recession. (c) the economy is likely to go into a recession in the next six months to a year. (d) inflation is lower than its targeted level.
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A Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 27. According to classical economists, the increase in unemployment in recessions is caused by (a) slack aggregate demand. (b) the failure of wages to adjust to restore equilibrium in the labor market. (c) the power of labor unions, which prevent firms from cutting wages. (d) a mismatch of workers and jobs.
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 154 Abel/Bernanke • Macroeconomics, Fifth Edition 28. According to classical economists, unemployment rises in recessions due to an increase in _____ unemployment, not in _____ unemployment. (a) cyclical; frictional and structural (b) frictional and cyclical; structural (c) structural; frictional and cyclical (d) frictional and structural; cyclical
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 29. The term household production refers to (a) output produced by forcing children to work. (b) output produced by workers who are telecommuting. (c) services provided directly to households, such as lawn mowing by landscape companies. (d) output produced at home.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.1 30. A household-production model more closely matches the U.S. data than a standard RBC model because it has a (a) higher standard deviation of market output. (b) lower standard deviation of market output. (c) higher rate of job destruction. (d) lower standard deviation of consumption.
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A Level of difficulty: 2
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10.1 31. Assuming that money is neutral, an increase in the nominal money supply would cause (a) an excess supply for goods. (b) an increase in the real money supply. (c) a fall in the price level. (d) a rise in nominal wages.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.2 32. Assuming money neutrality in the classical model, a 10% increase in the nominal money supply would cause (a) a 10% increase in the real money supply. (b) a 10% decrease in the real money supply. (c) no change in the real money supply. (d) a less-than-10% change in the price level due to a shift in the aggregate supply curve.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.2 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 155 33. The idea that expected future increases in output cause increases in the current money supply and that expected future decreases in output cause decreases in the current money supply, rather than the other way around, is known as (a) Granger causality. (b) money neutrality. (c) nominal adjustment. (d) reverse causation.
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.2 34. The basic classical model can account for the procyclical behavior of money if there (a) are real business cycles caused by productivity shocks. (b) is reverse causation from future output to money. (c) are rational expectations among the public. (d) are propagation mechanisms in the economy.
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.2 35. Friedman and Schwarz argue that money is not neutral because (a) theoretical models of the economy don't show monetary neutrality. (b) money is a leading, procyclical variable. (c) they found several historical incidents in which changes in the money supply were not responses to macroeconomic conditions, and output moved in the same direction as money. (d) they found no evidence that productivity changes or changes in government spending contributed to business cycles; only monetary changes preceded every recession.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.2 36. You and a friend are arguing over the issue of the nonneutrality of money. You believe that money is not neutral, and to prove your point you would cite all of the following EXCEPT (a) large gold discoveries that increased the money supply preceded an economic boom. (b) a change in monetary institutions preceded a boom or recession. (c) a change in the leadership of the Fed and its policy was followed by noticeable changes in the money supply and a recession or inflation. (d) the fact that every recession was preceded by a drop in the money supply.
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.2 156 Abel/Bernanke • Macroeconomics, Fifth Edition 37. If producers have imperfect information about the general price level and sometimes misinterpret changes in the general price level as changes in relative prices, then (a) the short-run aggregate supply curve is vertical. (b) the short-run aggregate supply curve slopes upward. (c) the aggregate demand curve is vertical. (d) the aggregate demand curve is horizontal.
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 38. The short-run aggregate supply curve can slope upward because (a) prices are fixed in the short run. (b) wages adjust immediately to changing economic circumstances. (c) producers have misperceptions about the aggregate price level. (d) prices adjust instantaneously.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 39. According to the misperceptions theory, when the aggregate price level is higher than expected, (a) the aggregate quantity of output supplied rises above the full-employment level. (b) the aggregate quantity of output supplied falls below the full-employment level. (c) the aggregate quantity of output demanded falls below the full-employment level. (d) the aggregate quantity of output demanded rises above the full-employment level.
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A Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 40. According to the misperceptions theory, when the price level falls below the expected price level, (a) the economy's SRAS curve shifts up. (b) the economy moves along its AD curve. (c) the economy moves along its LRAS curve. (d) the economy moves along its SRAS curve.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 41. If you expect a general price increase of 5% this year and the price of the hamburgers you sell increases by 10%, you would conclude that the relative price of your good has (a) declined, and you would increase your output. (b) declined, and you would decrease your output. (c) increased, and you would increase your output. (d) increased, and you would decrease your output.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 157 42. You are likely to think that the relative price of your good has risen and you should increase your output if you expected (a) the inflation rate to be 10% and the price of your good rose 7%. (b) the inflation rate to be 10% and the price of your good rose 10%. (c) the inflation rate to be 10% and the price of your good rose 13%. (d) the inflation rate to be 0% and the price of your good fell 10%.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 43. Short-run aggregate supply is greater than long-run aggregate supply in the misperceptions theory if (a) the actual price level is greater than the expected price level. (b) the actual price level equals the expected price level. (c) the actual price level is less than the expected price level. (d) output is less than its full-employment level.
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 44. Which of the following equations is most likely to represent short-run aggregate supply according to the misperceptions theory? (a) Y = 6000 (b) Y = 6000 + 50(P - Pe ) (c) P = 2 (d) PY = 12,000
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 45. According to the misperceptions theory, when P < Pe , output is _____ its full-employment level and the short-run aggregate supply curve must shift _____ to restore full employment. (a) below; upward (b) below; downward (c) above; upward (d) above; downward
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B Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 46. According to the misperceptions theory, the amount by which producers increase their output when the general price level rises depends on (a) the slope of the aggregate demand curve. (b) the slope of the long-run aggregate supply curve. (c) the size of the Solow residual. (d) how much they think their relative prices have increased.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 158 Abel/Bernanke • Macroeconomics, Fifth Edition 47. If producers believe that the increase in their relative prices is small relative to the increase in the general price level, then the slope of the short-run aggregate supply curve will be (a) zero. (b) small. (c) large. (d) negative.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 48. If producers believe that the increase in their relative prices is large relative to the increase in the general price level, then the slope of the short-run aggregate supply curve will be (a) infinite. (b) small. (c) large. (d) negative.
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 49. According to the misperceptions theory, an unanticipated decrease in the money supply shifts the AD curve _____, causing output to _____ in the short run. (a) up and to the right; rise (b) up and to the right; fall (c) down and to the left; rise (d) down and to the left; fall
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 50. According to the misperceptions theory, after an unanticipated increase in the money supply has occurred, the SRAS curve must shift _____ to restore general equilibrium; as it does so, the price level _____. (a) downward; rises (b) downward; falls (c) upward; rises (d) upward; falls
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C Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 159 51. According to the misperceptions theory, an anticipated decline in the money supply leads to a shift of the AD curve _____ and a shift of the SRAS curve _____. (a) down and to the left; downward (b) down and to the left; upward (c) up and to the right; downward (d) up and to the right; upward
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A Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 52. According to the misperceptions theory, an anticipated 10% decrease in the money supply leads to a short-run reduction in the price level of (a) 0%. (b) 5%. (c) some amount between 0% and 10%. (d) 10%.
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D Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 53. Which of the following statements is true about the misperceptions theory? (a) Both anticipated and unanticipated changes in the nominal money supply have real effects on the economy. (b) Neither anticipated nor unanticipated changes in the nominal money supply has real effects on the economy. (c) Unanticipated changes in the nominal money supply have real effects, but anticipated changes are neutral. (d) Anticipated changes in the nominal money supply have real effects, but unanticipated changes are neutral.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 54. If the money supply grows by 7% during the year, and people expected the money supply to grow by 5%, what happens to the short-run aggregate supply curve, according to the misperceptions theory? (a) It shifts down. (b) It shifts up. (c) It doesn't shift. (d) It shifts down unless Ricardian equivalence holds, in which case it doesn't shift.
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A Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 160 Abel/Bernanke • Macroeconomics, Fifth Edition 55. According to the misperceptions theory, if the Fed wanted to use monetary policy to influence the real economy it would have to (a) increase the money supply whenever the economy was in a recession. (b) decrease the money supply whenever the economy was in an inflationary boom. (c) surprise the public with unexpected changes in monetary policy. (d) abide by the monetary targets it announced.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 56. The reason why some economists believe that attempts by the Fed to surprise the public in a systematic way cannot be successful is that (a) information about the Fed's plans will inevitably be leaked to the public. (b) the Fed announces its goals before Congress and publishes its policy actions in the Federal Reserve Bulletin six weeks after they take place. (c) the public would eventually figure out what the Fed's policies were, negating the Fed's surprise. (d) competition in the money markets would neutralize the Fed's intervention.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 57. The primary reason why the Fed cannot systematically surprise the public with its monetary policy is (a) the nonneutrality of money. (b) the presence of productivity shocks that generate real business cycles independent of the monetary side of the economy. (c) the presence of rational expectations among the public. (d) the presence of propagation mechanisms within the economy.
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C Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 58. The theory of rational expectations suggests that (a) people never make forecast errors. (b) people make intelligent use of available information. (c) people make systematic forecast errors. (d) people are slow to incorporate new information into their forecasts.
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B Level of difficulty: 2
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10.3 Chapter 10 Classical Business Cycle Analysis: Market-Clearing Macroeconomics 161 59. According to the misperceptions theory, short-lived shocks may have long-term effects on the economy because of (a) multiplier effects. (b) propagation mechanisms. (c) accelerator effects. (d) automatic stabilizers.
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B Level of difficulty: 1
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10.3 60. The primary reason that short-lived shocks can have long-run effects is (a) the nonneutrality of money. (b) misperceptions by the public over the actual price level and the expected price level. (c) the presence of rational expectations among the public. (d) the presence of propagation mechanisms.
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D Level of difficulty: 1
