Exam 6: Measuring the Cost of Living

Scenario 24-5 Suppose the residents of Mediaville spend all of their income on books, CDs, and DVDs. In 2009, they buy 400 books for $3,200, 200 CDs for $1,400, and 100 DVDs for $900. In 2010, they buy 360 books for $3,240, 250 CDs for $1,500, and 125 DVDs for $1,250. Assume that the market basket for the CPI is defined in the base year. -Refer to Scenario 24-5. Using 2009 as the base year, what is the CPI in each year?

What basket of goods and services is used to construct the CPI?

Suppose a basket of goods and services has been selected to calculate the CPI. In 2002, the basket's cost was $80; in 2008, the basket's cost was $92; and in 2010, the basket's cost was $108. The base year must be

Iggie took a university teaching job as an assistant professor in 1980 at a salary of $15,000. By 2011, she had been promoted to full professor, with a salary of $70,000. If the price index was 82 in 1980 and 225 in 2011, then what is Iggie's 2011 salary in 1980 dollars?

Explain how the prices of goods and services used in the CPI differ from the prices reflected by GDP deflator.

If the quality of a good improves while its price remains the same, then the value of a dollar

Which of the following statements is correct?

Consternation Corporation has an agreement with its workers to index completely the wage of its employees using the CPI. Consternation Corporation currently pays its production line workers $8.00 an hour and is scheduled to index their wages today. If the CPI is currently 160 and was 128 a year ago, the firm should increase the hourly wages of its workers by

If the nominal interest rate is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is 3 percent, then the real interest rate is

By keeping the basket of goods and services the same when computing the CPI, the Bureau of Labor Statistics isolates the effects of price changes from the effect of any quantity changes that might be occurring at the same time.

What is the difference between the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index?

Assume most athletic apparel bought by U.S. consumers is imported from other nations. If all else is constant, an increase in the price of foreign-made athletic apparel will cause the U.S.

In a particular economy, the price index was 120 in 2012 and 130 in 2013. Which of the following statements is correct?

List the three major problems in using the CPI as a measure of the cost of living.

The real interest rate measures the change in dollar amounts.

Table 24-3 The table below pertains to Iowan, an economy in which the typical consumer's basket consists of 4 pounds of pork and 3 bushels of corn. -Refer to Table 24-3. If 2012 is the base year, then the CPI for 2012 was

Jay and Joyce meet George, the banker, to work out the details of a mortgage. They all expect that inflation will be 2 percent over the term of the loan, and they agree on a nominal interest rate of 6 percent. As it turns out, the inflation rate is 5 percent over the term of the loan. a. What was the expected real interest rate? b. What was the actual real interest rate? c. Who benefited and who lost because of the unexpected inflation?

During a certain year, the nominal interest rate was 8 percent, the real interest rate was 3 percent, and the CPI was 176.7 at the beginning of the year. The CPI at the end of the year was

Suppose a basket of goods and services has been selected to calculate the CPI and 2014 has been selected as the base year. In 2012, the basket's cost was $50; in 2014, the basket's cost was $52; and in 2016, the basket's cost was $58. The value of the CPI in 2016 was

Suppose the Tooth Fairy paid 50 cents for a tooth in 1970. The CPI in 1970 was 38.8, while the CPI in 2010 was 218.1. What is the value of the Tooth Fairy's payment in 2010 dollars?