61 Self-Check Questions
1. Describe the mechanism by which supply creates its own demand.
2. Describe the mechanism by which demand creates its own supply.
3. The short run aggregate supply curve was constructed assuming that as the price of outputs increases, the price of inputs stays the same. How would an increase in the prices of important inputs, like energy, affect aggregate supply?
4. In the AD/AS model, what prevents the economy from achieving equilibrium at potential output?
5. Suppose the U.S. Congress passes significant immigration reform that makes it more difficult for foreigners to come to the United States to work. Use the AD/AS model to explain how this would affect the equilibrium level of GDP and the price level.
6. Suppose concerns about the size of the federal budget deficit lead the U.S. Congress to cut all funding for research and development for ten years. Assuming this has an impact on technology growth, what does the AD/AS model predict would be the likely effect on equilibrium GDP and the price level?
7. How would a dramatic increase in the value of the stock market shift the AD curve? What effect would the shift have on the equilibrium level of GDP and the price level?
8. Suppose Mexico, one of our largest trading partners and purchaser of a large quantity of our exports, goes into a recession. Use the AD/AS model to determine the likely impact on our equilibrium GDP and price level.
9. A policymaker claims that tax cuts led the economy out of a recession. Can we use the AD/AS diagram to show this?
10. Many financial analysts and economists eagerly await the press releases for the reports on the home price index and consumer confidence index. What would be the effects of a negative report on both of these? What about a positive report?
11. What impact would a decrease in the size of the labor force have on GDP and the price level according to the AD/AS model?
12. Suppose, after five years of sluggish growth, the European Union’s economy picks up speed. What would be the likely impact on the U.S. trade balance, GDP, and employment?
13. Suppose the Federal Reserve begins to increase the supply of money at an increasing rate. What impact would that have on GDP, unemployment, and inflation?
14. If the economy is operating in the neoclassical zone of the SRAS curve and aggregate demand falls, what is likely to happen to real GDP?
15. If the economy is operating in the Keynesian zone of the SRAS curve and aggregate demand falls, what is likely to happen to real GDP?
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