chapter 33 group b

AD/AS

1. Name two macroeconomic variables that decline when the economy goes into a recession and explain why they decline. Real GDP and investment spending decline during a recession. Real GDP declines because the value of goods and services produced declines, as well as total income. Investment spending declines because people have less money to invest.
2. Name one variable that rises during a recession and explain why. Unemployment rises during a recession because the economy is suffering, so there are fewer jobs available because companies have less money to spend on employees.
3. Name three reasons why the AD curve is downward sloping. The AD curve is downward sloping because of consumption (the wealth effect), investment (the interest-rate effect), and net exports (the exchange-rate effect). An increase in the price level reduces the real value of money, in turn reducing wealth, consumer spending, and the quantity of goods and services demanded. A higher price level raises the interest rate, reducing investment spending and the quality of goods and services demanded. When the U.S. price level rises and causes U.S. interest rates to rise, the real value of the dollar increases, and this appreciation reduces U.S. net exports and the quantity of goods and services demanded.
4. Explain what might shift an AD curve to the left. Graph this shift and explain in your post what happens to output and the price level? Use the free whiteboard by GE calledImagination Cubed to draw your graph. When finished, link your graph to your blog. To do this, copy and paste the web address into your blog posting for this assignment. An AD curve might be shifted to the left due to an event that makes consumers spend less at a given price level, an event that makes firms invest less at a given price level, a decrease in government purchases on goods and services, or an event that reduces spending on net exports at a given price level. Price remains constant and output decreases when the AD curve shifts to the left. http://www.dabbleboard.com/draw?b=Guest730583&i=3&c=39560df2b6750e516b090c14742634abaf0f194e  

Chapter 28 group b discussion question

Chapter 28 group b discussion question

1. The country of Zigo has collected the following information:
   Population                          240,000
   Employed                          180,000
   Unemployed                     30,000
   Calculate their...
   a. Labor force = 210,000
   b. Unemployment rate = 14.29%
   c. Labor-force participation rate = 87.5%
2. Classify each of the following individuals in one of the following categories: employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.

a.   Steve worked 40 hours last week in a music supply store. = Employed 

b .   Last week, Elizabeth worked 10 hours as a computer programmer for the National Video Company and attended night classes at the local college. She would prefer a full-time job. = Employed
c .   Roger lost his job at the R-gone Manufacturing Company. Since then he has been trying to find a job at other local factories. = Unemployed
d .   Linda is a homemaker. Last week she was occupied with her normal household chores. She neither held a job nor looked for a job. = Not in the labor force
e .   Linda’s father is unable to work. = Unemployed
f .   Scott has a Ph.D. He worked full-time but does not like his job as a dishwasher. He has applied for jobs with three companies and five universities. As soon as he gets an offer, he will quit his current job. = Employed
g .   Mary-Helen has been out of work for a full year. She would take a job if it was offered, but no local companies are hiring. She is not actively searching for work. = Not in the labor force

3. Using the following BLS links, find the occupation that best describes your planned career path and answer the following questions.

BLS Occupational Wage Estimates May 2010 Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Frederick
BLS Occupational Wage Estimates May 2010 Maryland
BLS Occupational Wage Estimates May 2010 National
Maryland Fastest Growing Occupations 2004-2014
a. What is the job title you chose and what is the average annual salary for the position nationally? Now check the local salary for the same occupation. Keep in mind that these are by no means starting salaries!! This is what that average person with that title makes...there are many years of experience that are reflected in those wages! Are you surprised by the salary? Is it more or less than you expected? Perhaps you, like many other students, never really knew how much you could expect to make in your chosen career path. 

I chose the job title of Urban and Regional Planner. The average annual salary for the position nationally is $66,000. The local salary is $73,240. I was surprised by the salary because I expected it to be more.

b. Now take a look a look at the Maryland job growth link. Is your occupation listed there? If you cannot find your occupation in the graph try a link on this page. Did you find your occupation? If so, where?

 My occupation is listed for Maryland as having job growth rate of 140.

c. Now that you have some statistical knowledge about your chosen career, do you plan to make any changes to your career path? Why or why not?

I do not plan to make any changes to my career path because I still think I will enjoy this career, and the salary is fairly good.

Chapter 23 group b discussion question

1. Write out the GDP equation and give it's purpose(s). Give a brief (1 to 2 sentence) explanation of each of the four components and give one specific example of each.

Gross Domestic Product (Y) is the sum of spending in consumption (C), investment (I), government purchases (G), and net exports (NX), as expressed in the equation Y=C+I+G+NX. This equation helps explain how the economy is using its scarce resources among various types of spending. Consumption is the amount households spend on goods and services, such as the amount a household spends on food. Investment is the amount spent on goods to be used to produce more goods and services. This includes capital equipment, inventories, and structures. The purchase of a new house is an example of an investment spending on structures because the household will use this purchase for future goods and services. Government purchases are categorized as local, state, and federal spending on goods and services. An example is the amount spent on salaries of government workers. Net exports equal the amount spent on domestically produced goods by foreigners, which are exports, minus the amount spent on foreign goods by domestic residents, which are imports. For example, if a household purchases a foreign-produced car, net exports are reduced by the amount this car was purchased for because the car is an import.

2. What is the difference between nominal GDP and real GDP? Answer question 4a fromProblems and Applications in your book.

Nominal GDP is the production of goods and services valued at current prices, while real GDP is the production of goods and services valued at constant prices. Real GDP is not affected by changes in prices. In question 4a from the Problems and Applications section in the book, for the year 2005, nominal GDP is calculated as $200, real GDP is calculate as $200, and the GDP deflator is 100. In year 2006, nominal GDP is $400, real GDP is $400, and the GDP deflator is 100. For year 2007, nominal GDP is $800, real GDP is $400, and the GDP deflator is 200.\

3. Each month, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes revised GDP data for the nation. Go to http://www.bea.gov and find the following information.
Has GDP increased or decreased over the past 6 months?
What is the biggest component of GDP?
What is the smallest component?
What component of GDP has increased the most from last quarter?
What component has increased the least or decreased the most?

GDP has increased over the past 6 months. The largest component of GDP is personal consumption expenditures. The smallest component of GDP is net exports of goods and services. Personal consumption expenditures have increased the most from last quarter. Net exports of goods and services have decreased the most.

4. Indicate which components of GDP, if any, each of the following transactions would affect? Explain.

A family buys a new refrigerator.
This would affect consumption because a household is spending on good and services.

Aunt Jane buys a new house.
This would affect investment because it is spending on structures that will be used in the future for more goods and services.

Ford sells a Mustang from its inventory.
Who purchases the Mustang will affect which component of GDP will be affected. Since Ford is a domestic company, if the car was purchased by a foreigner, then this transaction will count as a net export.
 
You buy a pizza.

This would affect consumption because a household is spending on the nondurable good of food.

California repaves Highway 101.
This would affect government purchases because the state government is spending money on goods and services to repave the highway.

Your parents buy a bottle of French wine.
This would affect net exports because domestic residents are spending on foreign goods.

Honda expands its factory in Marysville, OH.
This would affect investment because it is spending on capital equipment, inventories, and structures for future use to produce more goods and services. 

chapter 3 discussion question group B

For a Sociology class I took last semester, we had a group project that we were working on all semester long. For this project, division of labor and specialization were beneficial because it was too much work for one person in the group to do by themselves, so we divided up the work based on who was better on which aspects of the assignment. One aspect of the project involved driving to different locations in another town, so the group member with a car had absolute advantage in this part. We determined that he should do this task. The other two aspects of the project involved calling local businesses to find out information about rent prices, and creating a poster to present the information our group found. After discussing our strengths and weaknesses on these tasks, the remaining group member and I decided that I had the comparative advantage in calling businesses and she has the comparative advantage in creating the poster. Therefore, we divided up the labor accordingly. Without specializing, this project would have taken a lot longer to do.

Introduction

My name is Felicia Kiefer. I am a rising Junior at Virginia Tech, double majoring in Urban Affairs and Planning and Sociology, with a minor in Psychology. This is my first time taking a class through Montgomery College.