Exam 15: Economic Policy

According to the University of Illinois's agricultural outreach service, the average wholesale price of corn rose from $1.03 in 1960 to $2.36 in 2006. The decline in the corn purchasing power of a dollar is an example of ________.

Since the 1970s, the average income of the top 1 percent of Americans has ________ compared to the average income of the remaining 99 percent.

The central thesis of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations is that economic markets ________.

What is the difference between fiscal policy and monetary policy? What institution(s) is/are charged with making monetary policy in the United States? What institution(s) is/are charged with making fiscal policy in the United States? How are fiscal and monetary policies used to ensure stable economic growth?

________ refers to the increasing purchasing power of a unit of currency.

The Federal Reserve's (the Fed's) policy of buying publicly held government debt with newly "printed" money in order to increase the amount of U.S. currency in circulation is an example of a ________ policy.

Which is a product or benefit that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of whether he or she has paid for it, such that its consumption by one person prevents its consumption by others?

Many countries base their currencies' exchange rates on the U.S. dollar because the ________.

What are the major purposes of economic policy making? Provide an example of a federal policy that serves each of these purposes. What forces or factors prevent economic policies from achieving their goals in these areas?

Tax policies are thought to be ________ if the burden mostly falls on wealthy individuals and ________ if the less fortunate carry the bulk of the burden.

________ is/are like a blueprint for the entire structure, while ________ is/are like detailed instructions on how to accomplish each item that makes up the overall structure.

Which term refers to alternating periods of economic growth and contraction?

Sugar farmers receive generous subsidies from the government and benefit from high tariffs on foreign imports. These are examples of ________ policies.

Which is a network of banks chartered by the federal government that loans money to and regulates the activity of commercial banks?

Which of the following is an effect on others, whether good or bad, arising from a person's behavior?

Which is a product or benefit provided in such a way that it could be enjoyed only by those who pay for it, and such that its consumption by one person prevents its consumption by others?

Which is a product or benefit that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of whether he or she has paid for it, such that its consumption by one person does not prevent its consumption by others?

Social Security is widely understood as a distributive form of insurance, in which workers pay into the system and then receive the benefits when they retire. This perception is ________. Social Security ________.

The debt the U.S. national government owes to borrowers is ________ in comparison with other countries' debts.

By law, the Federal Reserve Board is supposed to be ________ political pressure, meaning that its decisions ________.