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Macroeconomics
Exam 1
54
Economics
Undergraduate 1
10/05/2009

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Term
Macroeconomics
Definition
The study of the functioning of the economy as a whole and also of how macroeconomic policies affect the economy.
Term
Macroeconomic policies
Definition
Government actions designed to affect the performance of the economy as a whole.
Term
Standard of Living
Definition
The degree to which people have access to goods and services that make their lives easier, healthier, safer, and more enjoyable.
Term
Economic Growth
Definition
A process of steady increases in the quantity and quality of the goods and services the economy can produce
Term
Unemployment Rate
Definition
Number of people unemployed / Labor force
Term
Inflation
Definition
Measures how fast the average price level is changing over time
Term
Monetary Policy
Definition
Determination of the nation’s money supply. Controlled by the central bank or, in the U.S., the Federal Reserve System (Fed)
Term
Fiscal Policy
Definition
Decisions that determine the government’s budget, including the amount and composition of government expenditures and government revenues
Term
Deficit
Definition
Occurs when government spending is greater than tax revenue.
Term
Surplus
Definition
Occurs when government spending is less than tax revenue.
Term
Structural Policy
Definition
Government policies aimed at changing the underlying structure, or institutions, of the nation’s economy
Term
Positive Analysis
Definition
Addresses the economic consequences of a particular event or policy, not whether those consequences are desirable
Term
Normative Analysis
Definition
Addresses the question of whether a policy should be used; inevitably involves the values of the person doing the analysis.
Term
Aggregation
Definition
The adding up of the individual economic variables to obtain economy wide totals.
Term
Gross Domestic Product
Definition
The market value of the final goods and services produced in a country during a given period
Term
Market Value
Definition
Used to aggregate the quantities of different goods and services into one measurement. More expensive items receive a higher weight than cheaper items.
Term
Final Goods or Services
Definition
Goods or services consumed by the ultimate user counted as part of the GDP.
Term
Intermediate Goods or Services
Definition
Goods or services used up in the production of final goods and services and therefore not counted as part of GDP
Term
Value Added
Definition
For any firm, the market value of its product or service minus the cost of inputs purchased from other firms
Term
Domestic
Definition
Only production that takes place within a country’s border
Term
Given Period
Definition
Counts only goods produced during the defined period such as a calendar year
Term
Consumption Expenditure, or simply Consumption
Definition
Spending by households on goods and services, such as food, clothing, and entertainment.
Term
Investment
Definition
Spending by firms on final goods and services, primarily capital goods and housing
Term
Government Purchase
Definition
Purchase by federal, state, and local governments of final goods and services
Term
Net Exports
Definition
Exports minus imports
Term
Nominal GDP
Definition
A measure of GDP in which the quantities produced are valued at current-year price (measures the current dollar valueof production).
Term
Real GDP
Definition
A measure of GDP in which the quantities produced are valued at the prices in a base year rather than at current prices (measures the actual physical volumeof production and is adjusted for inflation)
Term
Participation rate
Definition
Labor force / Population 16 and over
Term
Unemployment Spell
Definition
A period during which an individual is continuously unemployed
Term
Duration
Definition
The length of an unemployment spell
Term
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Definition
Measures the average level of prices relative to prices in the base year. (For any period, measures the cost in that period of a standard basket of goods and services relative to the cost of the same basket of goods and services in a fixed year, called the base year.)
Term
Price Index
Definition
A measure of the average price of a given class of goods or services relative to the price of the same goods and services in a base year
Term
Rate of Inflation
Definition
The annual percentage rate of change in the price level
Term
Deflation
Definition
A situation in which the prices of most goods and services are falling over time so that inflation is negative
Term
Nominal Quantity
Definition
A quantity that is measured in terms of its current dollar value
Term
Real Quantity
Definition
A quantity that is measured in physical terms --for example, in terms of quantities of goods and services
Term
Deflating (a nominal quantity)
Definition
A process of dividing a nominal quantity by a price index (such as the CPI) to express the quantity in real terms
Term
Real Wage
Definition
The wage paid to workers measured in terms of real purchasing power
(calculated by dividing the nominal (dollar) wage by the CPI for that period).
Term
Indexing
Definition
The practice of increasing a nominal quantity each period by an amount equal to the percentage increase in a specified price index (prevents the purchasing power of the nominal quantity from being eroded by inflation).
Term
Price Level
Definition
A measure of the overall level of prices at a particular point in time as measured by a price index such as the CPI
Term
Relative Price
Definition
The price of a specific good or service in comparisonto the prices of other goods and services
Term
“Shoe-Leather” Costs
Definition
The use of resources to economize on holding cash during periods of high inflation
Term
“Noise” in the Price System
Definition

Inflation obscures the information transmitted by prices and reduces the efficiency of the market system

Term
Nominal Interest Rate (market interest rate)
Definition
The annual percentage increase in the nominal value of a financial asset
Term
Real Interest Rate
Definition
The annual percentage increase in the purchasing power of a financial asset
(equals the nominal interest rate on that asset minus the inflation rate).
Term
Fisher-Effect
Definition
The tendency for nominal interest rates to be high when inflation is high and low when inflation is low
Term
Diminishing Returns to Labor
Definition
This principle states that if the amount of capital and other inputs are held constant, then the greater the quantity of labor already employed, the less each additional worker adds to production.
Term
Frictional Unemployment
Definition
The short-term unemployment associated with the process of matching workers with jobs
Term
Structural Unemployment
Definition
Long-term and chronic unemployment that exists even with the economy producing at a normal rate
Term
Cyclical Unemployment
Definition
The extra unemployment that occurs during periods of recession
Term
Compound Interest ***
Definition
Government policies that affect the long-term growth rate by a small amount will have a major economic impact. ***
Term
Human Capital
Definition
The talents, education, training, and skills of workers. Workers with large stock of _____ are more productive than workers with less training.
Term
Physical Capital
Definition
Worker productivity depends not only on their skills (human capital) but on the tools (physical capital) they have to work with.
Term
Diminishing Returns to Capital
Definition
If the amount of labor and other inputs employed is held constant, then the greater the amount of capital already in use, the less an additional unit of capital adds to production.
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