Since the mid-1970s our merchandise balance of trade has been ________ and our services balance of trade has been _______.

The balance of payments has become a central issue for the United States because

A) when the balance of payments is not balanced, society is unbalanced. B) the U.S. economy cannot grow when the balance of payments is in deficit. C) the U.S. has run huge trade deficits in every year since 1982. D) the U.S. never experienced a surplus in its balance of payments. E) the U.S. once ran a large trade surplus of about $40 billion.

One surprising insight from viewing policy as a "game" is that

A) central bankers should project an image of being conservative on economic policy matters, regardless of their personal views. B) it is more difficult to control inflation when the central bank is highly independent. C) uncertainty over the impact of policy makes little difference in designing an optimal policy. D) money growth has little or no impact on inflation in the long run. E) decreasing money growth may substantially increase the rate of inflation in the long run.