Does the figure above illustrate a recessionary or an inflationary gap? What do potential GDP and real GDP equal? What is an appropriate fiscal policy to restore real GDP to potential real GDP?
What will be an ideal response?
A recessionary gap occurs when real GDP is less than potential GDP, which is precisely what the figure illustrates. In the figure, potential GDP equals $16.5 trillion but real GDP equals only $16.0 trillion. In order to restore real GDP back to potential GDP using fiscal policy, the government could increase government expenditures on goods and services and/or decrease taxes.
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The evidence indicates that during the 1770s, the American colonists were
(a) among the most heavily taxed people in the European world. (b) among the most lightly taxed people in the European world. (c) taxed at a rate that was similar to other people in the European world. (d) taxed at rates that can't be compared to other rates due to lack of data.
Comparisons of the link between the growth of the money supply and inflation indicate that
a. countries with high rates of monetary growth also experience high inflation. b. countries with high rates of monetary growth experience low inflation. c. monetary growth rates and inflation are unrelated. d. inflation is primarily the result of restrictive monetary policy.