MACROECONOMICS 2010 FRQ Norman

  2010 FRQ 1. Assume that the U.S. economy is currently in long-run equilibrium. (a) Draw a correctly labeled graph of aggregate demand and aggregate supply and show each of the following. (i) The long-run aggregate supply curve (ii) The current equilibrium output & price levels, labeled as YE and PLE, respectively. LRAS SRAS AD1 PL2 E2 PLE E1 AD2 YE YI Real GDP (b) Assume that the government increases spending on national defense without raising taxes. (i) On your graph in part (a), show how the government action affects AD. (ii) How will this government action affect the unemployment rate in the short run? Explain. Answer: 1. (b) (i) As can be seen on the graph, the increase in G would increase AD to AD2, increasing PL and Y. 1. (b) (II) The increase in AD to AD2 would decrease unemployment in the short run, as the increase in AD would lead to an increase in output & profits, resulting in more workers being hired and therefore the decrease in unemployment.

  2010 FRQ 1. (c) Assume that the economy adjusts to a new long-run equilibrium after the increase in government spending. (i) How will the short-run aggregate supply curve in the new long-run equilibrium compare with that in the initial long-run equilibrium in part (a) ? Explain. (ii) On your graph in part (a), label the new long-run equilibrium price level as PL2. LRAS SRAS2 SRAS1 PL2 E2 PLE E1 AD YE YI Real GDP Answer: 1. (c) (i) The increase in AD will result in more inflation and workers demanding higher wages. This increase in resource cost at contract time in the long run would move the SRAS to the left. (c) (ii) PL2, as shown on the above graph, is a higher PL than PLE.

1. (d) In order to finance the increase in government spending on national defense from part (b), the government borrows funds from the public. Using a correctly labeled graph of the loanable funds market, show the effect of the government’s borrowing on the real interest rate. (e) Given the change in the real interest rate in part (d), what is the impact on each of the following? (i) Investment (ii) Economic growth rate. Explain. Mankiw users: Increasing government borrowing reduces the supply of private loanable funds. Interest Rates would also go up, and investment would decrease. D2 LFM D1 S r2 E2 2010 FRQ Real Interest Rate, (%) r1 E1 F1 F2 Quantity of Loanable Funds Answer to 1. (d) As can be shown in the graph, the government borrowing would increase demand for money in the LFM and push the RIR up. (e) (i) The higher RIR will result in less investment in tools and machinery. (e) (ii) The decrease in tools and machinery will decrease overall productivity and economic growth [capital stock].

2010 FRQ Dm1 Dm2 MS Answer to 2. (a) The decrease in Dt for money 2. A drop in credit card fees causes people to use credit cards more often for transactions and demand less money. (a) Using a correctly labeled graph of the money market, show how the nominal interest rate will be affected. (b) Given the interest rate change in part (a), what will happen to bond prices in the short run? 2010 FRQ Answer to 2. (a) The decrease in Dt for money would decrease the Dm curve resulting in a lower NIR and RIR. 2. (b) Bond prices are inverse to the interest rate so bond prices would increase Dm1 MS n1 Answer to 2. (c) The lower IR will increase AD due to more investment and interest sensitive consumption [the lower IR would also depreciate the dollar and increase Xn]. All 3 cause an increase in AD & PL in the SR. 2. (d) Selling bonds would be the OMO as it would increase NIR and decrease AD & PL. Nominal Interest Rate n2 Dm2 Money Market (c) Given the interest rate change in part (a), what will happen to the price level in the short run? Explain. (d) Identify an open-market operation the Fed could use to keep the nominal interest rate constant at the level that existed before the drop in credit card fees. Explain.

3. A United States firm sells $10 million worth of goods to a firm in Argentina, where the currency is the peso. (a) How will the transaction above affect Argentina’s aggregate demand? Explain. (b) Assume that the United States current account balance with Argentina is initially zero. How will the transaction above affect the United States current account balance? Explain. 2010 FRQ Answer to 3. (a) The selling of $10 M of U.S. goods to Argentina would decrease Argentina’s net exports which would decrease their AD. AD = C+I+G+X-M, when M gets larger, GDP gets smaller. 3. (b) The $10 million increase in net exports would cause a flow of $10 million worth of pesos into the U.S. [recorded as a +$10 million] and would cause a current account balance of ZERO to become a +$10 million surplus account balance.

D A S1$ 2010 FRQ D1$ S2$ P looking for $’s $’s looking for P E2 E1 Answer to 3. (c) (i): If the U.S. decrease financial investment in Argentina, the U.S. would decrease their supply of dollars to Argentina, resulting in a decrease in demand for the peso. (c) (ii) As shown on the graph, the dollar would appreciate. Price P looking for $’s $’s looking for P P100 E2 D Peso depreciates Peso Price of Dollar P50 E1 (d) The cheaper prices in the U.S. will result in more demand for U.S. goods and therefore the dollar, appreciating the dollar and depreciating the peso. Quantity of Dollars A 3. (c) Using a correctly labeled graph of the foreign exchange market for the U.S. dollar, show how a decrease in the U.S. financial investment in Argentina affects each. (i) The supply of United States dollars (ii) The value of the United States dollar relative to the peso (d) Suppose that the inflation rate is 3% in the U.S. and 5% in Argentina. What will happen to the value of the peso relative to the United States dollar as a result of the difference in inflation rates? Explain.

Econ FRQs How To Score Well On FRQs FRQs for Dummies 2010 FRQ The End