Describe how UPS has used positive technological change to improve its package handling and delivery schedule
What will be an ideal response?
Some of the new technology took the form of new equipment. Previously, employees in UPS sorting facilities needed to memorize more than 100 zip codes in order to know which chute to send a package down on its way to being deposited in a truck or plane. The new equipment scans a package and instantly tells the worker in which color-coded chute to place the package. This equipment allows UPS workers to process 15 percent more packages per day. Other changes at UPS involved no new equipment but were instead improvements in how packages were routed. The firm started using more detailed maps to plan the routes for packages. As a result, the typical delivery driver could travel several miles less per day while delivering more packages. UPS also began taking better account of weather forecasts to avoid delays in flying packages. These improvements in handling packages meet the economic definition of positive technological change because they allow the firm to produce a larger output—more packages delivered—with the same amount of inputs—workers, planes, and other equipment.
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The CPI compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is used in the computations for the
A. foreign exchange rate. B. inflation rate. C. interest rate. D. unemployment rate.
All of the following are deficit items in the balance of payments accounts EXCEPT
A) U.S. residents purchases of gold from foreign residents. B) U.S. tourists spending funds in Europe. C) exports of merchandise. D) U.S. purchases of foreign companies' stocks and bonds.
If the inflation rate is decreasing while unemployment is increasing: a. the short-run Phillips curve must have shifted right
b. the short-run Phillips curve must have shifted left. c. it must have involved a movement along the short-run Phillips curve d. it would be inconsistent with any possible Phillips curve scenario.
One way the government can boost the economy out of a recession is:
A. with public announcements telling the public to save their money. B. by increasing government spending. C. by setting price ceilings on most goods so people can afford them. D. None of these will help an economy in recession.