Chapter 17: Q.b - For Critical Thinking (page 388)

Why might Fed policymakers, in turn, experience difficulties determining which of the public's inflation expectations are the best signals of inflationary pressures in the economy?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Federal Reserve policymakers assess changes in expansion by checking a few different cost lists. A cost file estimates changes in the cost of a gathering of labour and products

Step by step solution

01

Given Information

The Fed considers a few cost files in light of the fact that various records track various items and administrations, and in light of the fact that lists are determined in an unexpected way. Along these lines, different records can convey assorted messages about expansion.

02

Explanation

While assessing the pace of expansion, Federal Reserve policymakers additionally make the accompanying strides. To begin with, on the grounds that expansion numbers can fluctuate inconsistently from one month to another, policymakers for the most part think about normal expansion throughout longer timeframes, going from a couple of months to a year or longer.

Despite the fact that food and energy make up a significant piece of the financial plan for most families - and policymakers at last look to balance out generally customer costs centre expansion allots that leave things with unpredictable costs can be helpful in evaluating expansion patterns.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

People called "Fed watchers" earn their living by trying to forecast what policies the Federal Reserve will implement within the next few weeks and months. Suppose that Fed watchers discover that the current group of Fed officials is following very systematic and predictable policies intended to reduce the unemployment rate. The Fed watchers then sell this information to firms, unions, and others in the private sector. If pure competition prevails, prices and wages are flexible, and people form rational expectations, are the Fed's policies enacted after the information sale likely to have their intended effects on the unemployment rate?

Take a look at panel (b) of Figure 17-4, and suppose that the economy initially operates at point A, at which the inflation rate is 0percent and the unemployment rate is 6percent, which is the natural rate of unemployment. Then the inflation rate increases to 3percent. Does reduced cyclical, frictional, or structural unemployment account for the resulting decrease in the unemployment rate at pointB ? Explain briefly.

Suppose that more unemployed people who are classified as part of frictional unemployment decide to stop looking for work and start their own businesses instead. What is likely to happen to each of the following, other things being equal?

a The natural unemployment rate

b The economy's Phillips curve

Consider panel (b) of Figure 17-4, and suppose that the economy initially operates at point A, at which the inflation rate is 0percent and the unemployment rate is 6percent, which is the natural rate of unemployment. Then the inflation rate decreases to -1 percent. Does additional cyclical, frictional, or structural unemployment account for the resulting rise in the unemployment rate at point C? Explain briefly.

What is the most recent approximate interval during which the cyclical unemployment rate has been positive? During what most recent approximate interval was the cyclical unemployment rate negative? Explain briefly.

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