Macro quiz #9
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When the government deliberately alters its level of spending and/or taxes in order to achieve specific national economic goals, it exercises?
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discretionary fiscal policy.
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Which of the following would shift the aggregate demand curve to the right?
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An increase in government spending
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Fiscal policy refers to the?
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adjustment of government spending and taxes in order to achieve certain national economic goals.
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Fiscal policy to solve short-run economic problems supports the Keynesian notion of?
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an active government role in the economy.
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If the economy experiences an inflationary gap and the government wants to accelerate the adjustment to the long-run equilibrium, it should?
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reduce aggregate demand by cutting government spending or raising taxes.
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Refer to the above figure. If the relevant aggregate demand curve is AD2, what is the current economic situation?
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Recessionary gap
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Refer to the above figure. If the relevant aggregate demand curve is AD2, what is the current economic situation?
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Inflationary gap
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The concept that increased government spending will lead to lower investment and consumer spending is called the?
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crowding-out effect.
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Supply-side economics focuses on tax cuts to stimulate?
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aggregate supply by increasing production.
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According to the Laffer curve, increases in the tax rate will lead to a(n)?
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initial increase in tax revenues, followed by a decrease in tax revenues.
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The idea that creating incentives for individuals and firms to increase productivity leads to an increase in long-run aggregate supply is?
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supply-side economics.
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The period between the recognition of a problem and the implementation of a policy to solve the problem is?
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the action time lag.
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Which of the following are lags with which fiscal policy makers must cope?
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-Recognition time lags -Action time lags -Effect time lags
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The recognition time lag recognizes that it takes time?
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to collect information about the state of the economy.
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Once either expansionary or contractionary fiscal policy is undertaken?
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a time lag exists between implementation and the results of the policy.
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When fiscal policy is used, time lags are variable and last anywhere from?
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1-3 years.
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One characteristic of built-in or automatic stabilizers is that?
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they require no new legislative action by Congress to have an effect.
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When real GDP falls, which of the following will automatically occur?
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A decrease in income tax revenues
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Provisions that cause changes in government spending and taxes that do not require action of the President or Congress are called?
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automatic stabilizers.
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All of the following are automatic stabilizers except?
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discretionary increases in government spending.
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Fiscal policy is implemented by?
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the federal government.
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Other things being equal, a reduction in taxes will?
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cause an increase in aggregate demand due to increases in consumption, investment, or net exports.
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Which of the following statements about the budget deficit is true?
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It is a flow variable.
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If the government's spending exactly equals its revenues during a budget year, that government is?
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balancing its budget.
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How does the federal government finance a budget deficit?
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It borrows funds by selling Treasury bonds.
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The public debt can be thought of as?
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accumulated budget deficits and surpluses.
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Which of the following statements is true about the difference between the public debt and the government budget deficit?
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The public debt for this year will increase or decrease depending upon whether there is a government budget deficit or a government budget surplus.
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When was the last year that the United States had a budget surplus?
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2001
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Expressing the U.S. federal budget deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)?
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helps economists to understand the size of the deficit relative to the size of the economy.
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According to the textbook, approximately what percentage of U.S. net public debt is held by foreign residents?
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50%
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The difference between the gross public debt and the net public debt is?
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all government interagency borrowing.
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In order to evaluate relative changes in the net public debt, economists must?
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compare it to the nation's real GDP.
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Borrowing to finance the increases in government expenditures?
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-reduces current private investment expenditures. -increases interest rates. -reduces growth in the nation's private capital stock.
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Which of the following statements has usually held true about the relationship between trade deficits and government budget deficits?
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There is a positive relationship between trade deficits and budget deficits.
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What is the short-run effect of increased deficit spending on an economy that is experiencing a recessionary gap?
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Aggregate demand increases, and the gap closes.
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Guaranteed benefits under government programs such as Social Security or Medicare are called?
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entitlements.
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Today, U.S. government spending on entitlements represents ________ of the total federal budget?
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nearly 60%
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Which is the fastest growing component of the federal government budget?
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Spending on entitlements
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Suppose that the economy is initially operating at full employment. A reduction in the size of the budget deficit will cause which of the following in the short run?
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A recessionary gap
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Government spending that changes automatically without action by Congress is?
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a noncontrollable expenditure.
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The fastest-growing component of the annual federal budgets since 2000 is?
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entitlement payments.
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How does a government budget deficit occur?
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A government's spending exceeds its tax revenues.
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The amount of funds that the Social Security system has loaned the federal government is?
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excluded from the net public debt.
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Other things being equal, what is the effect of deficit spending on interest rates?
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Interest rates rise.
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An entitlement is?
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guaranteed benefits under some government programs.
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When government revenues exceed government outlays in a particular year, this is called?
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a budget surplus.
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Public debt is held as?
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Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, Treasury Bonds, and U.S. Savings Bonds.
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A system in which the value of currency issued by the government is based entirely on public faith that the currency will be acceptable in trade is?
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a fiduciary system.
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When the Fed wants to undertake open market operations, it?
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buys or sells securities through the trading desk at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
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The reason we are willing to accept money with no intrinsic value is that?
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we have a fiduciary monetary system in which currency has both acceptability and predictability of value.
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Which of the following would be considered the least liquid asset?
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shares of stock
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Financial intermediation is best defined as the process by which?
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financial institutions accept savings from savers and make loans to investors.
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A business owner applies for a bank loan to launch a fairly low-risk project. After receiving the loan, she cancels the low-risk project and instead uses the borrowed funds for a high-risk venture. This is an example of?
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moral hazard.
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The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)?
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influences the future growth of the money supply.
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Given a required reserve ratio of 20 percent, a commercial bank that has received a new deposit of $100 can make additional loans of?
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$80.
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Fractional reserve banking is a system in which?
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depository institutions hold a fraction of total deposits in reserve.
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Which of the following is NOT a function of the Federal Reserve System?
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The Fed determines government spending and taxation policies.
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The FDIC was created because?
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there were so many bank failures in the 1930s.
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An individual who desires the most liquid asset possible will hold?
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currency.
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By affecting the amount of reserves in the banking system, the Fed can?
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affect the size of the money supply.
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A central bank is?
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a banker's bank.
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The opportunity cost of holding money is measured by?
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the interest yield that could have been earned by holding some other asset.
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The central bank for the United States is?
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the Federal Reserve System.
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It is widely believed that the Federal Reserve's most important function is?
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to regulate the money supply.
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The degree to which an asset can be acquired or disposed of without much loss of nominal value or transaction costs is known as?
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liquidity.
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When the Federal Reserve sells a government security to a commercial bank?
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the cash reserves of the commercial bank decrease.
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Possession of information by one party in a financial transaction but not by the other party is?
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asymmetric information.
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To reach the maximum money multiplier, it is assumed that?
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all loans get redeposited in a checkable account.
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The money supply is?
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the amount of money in circulation.
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When you set aside the money you have today in order to purchase goods and services later on, you are using money as a?
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store of value.
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When the price level goes up, the purchasing power of the dollar?
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falls.
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The Federal Reserve System was established in which year?
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1913.
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Money functions as a(n)?
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-store of value. -unit of account. -medium of exchange.
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Financial intermediation is best defined as the process by which?
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financial institutions accept savings from savers and make loans to investors.
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Money is defined as?
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anything people generally accept in exchange for goods and services.
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The designate M1 measure of money consists of?
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the most liquid types of money in the U.S. system.
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures?
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the deposits held in member banks.
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In a barter system, we would expect to see?
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goods traded directly for other goods and services.