How might a real business cycle theorist explain the "Volcker recession" of the early 1980s?
What will be an ideal response?
Volcker took office in October 1979 in the midst of high inflation and unemployment. Clearly, the long-run aggregate supply curve had shifted to the left. High and unpredictable inflation was undermining incentives to work and to invest. At first, Volcker's appointment only added to the uncertainty: maybe inflation would now come down, maybe not. The decision to lower the federal funds rate in mid-1980 merely stimulated aggregate demand and did nothing to encourage output to recover, so inflation and unemployment remained high. It took more than another year for convincing anti-inflationary policy to allow economic distortions to abate and potential output to rise.
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To produce 10 shirts, the total cost is $80; to produce 11 shirts, the total cost is $99. The average total cost of the 11th shirt is equal to
A) $8. B) $9. C) $80. D) $99. E) $19.
The spread between the interest rates on Baa corporate bonds and U.S. government bonds is very large during the Great Depression years 1930-1933. Explain this difference using the bond supply and demand analysis
What will be an ideal response?
Suppose that a firm's long-run average total costs of producing small commuter jet airplanes increases as it produces between 2,000 and 4,000 airplanes. For this range of output, the firm is experiencing
a. economies of scale. b. constant returns to scale. c. diseconomies of scale. d. specialization.
If a firm hires 10 workers at $6 per hour each and the 11th worker will be hired only if the wage rate falls to $5 per hour, the marginal wage rate must be
A. -$5. B. $5.50. C. -$5.50. D. $5.