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crowding out
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a decrease in investment that results from government borrowing
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bond
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a certificate of indebtedness
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budget surplus
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an excess of tax revenue over government spending
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budget deficit
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a shortfall of tax revenue from government spending
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market for loanable funds
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the market in which those who want to save supply funds and those who want to borrow to invest demand funds
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mutual fund
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an institution that sells shares to the public and uses the proceeds to buy a portfolio of stocks and bonds
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stock
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a claim to partial ownership in a firm
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financial intermediaries
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financial institutions through which savers can indirectly provide funds to borrowers
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financial system
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the group of institutions in the economy that help to match one person's saving with another person's investment
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private savings
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the income that households have left after paying for taxes and consumption
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financial markets
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financial institutions through which savers can directly provide funds to borrowers
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national savings
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the total income in the economy that remains after paying for consumption and government purchases
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public savings
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the tax revenue that the government has left after paying for its spending
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unemployment insurance
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a government program that partially protects workers' incomes when they become unemployed
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strike
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the organized withdrawal of labor from a firm by a union
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frictional unemployment
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unemployment that results because it takes time for workers to search for the jobs that best suit their tastes and skills
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discouraged workers
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individuals who would like to work but have given up looking for a job
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unemployment rate
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the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed
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job search
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the process by which workers find appropriate jobs given their tastes and skills
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labor-force participation rate
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the percentage of the adult population that is in the labor force
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labor force
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the total number of workers, including both the employed and the unemployed
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natural rate of unemployment
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the normal rate of unemployment around which the unemployment rate fluctuates
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collective bargaining
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the process by which unions and firms agree on the terms of employment
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cyclical unemployment
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the deviation of unemployment from its natural rate
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union
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a worker association that bargains with employers over wages, benefits, and working conditions
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structural unemployment
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unemployment that results because the number of jobs available in some labor markets is insufficient to provide a job for everyone who wants one
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efficiency wages
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above-equilibrium wages paid by firms to increase worker productivity
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Federal Reserve
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the central bank of the United States
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money supply
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the quantity of money available in the economy
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federal funds rate
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the interest rate at which banks make overnight loans to one another
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leverage
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the use of borrowed money to supplement existing funds for purposes of investment
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capital requirement
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a government regulation specifying a minimum amount of bank capital
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money multilpier
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the amount of money the banking system generates with each dollar of reserves
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money
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the set of assets in an economy that people regularly use to buy goods and services from other people
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fractional-reserve banking
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a banking system in which banks hold only a fraction of deposits as reserves
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discount rate
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the interest rate on the loans that the Fed makes to banks
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reserve ratio
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the fraction of deposits that banks hold as reserves
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bank capital
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the resources a bank's owners have put into the institution
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open-market operations
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the purchase and sale of U.S. government bonds by the Fed
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leverage ratio
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the ratio of assets to bank capital
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fiat money
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money without intrinsic value that is used as money because of government decree
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monetary policy
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the setting of the money supply by policymakers in the central bank
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demand deposits
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balances in bank accounts that depositors can access on demand by writing a check
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reserves
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deposits that banks have received but have not loaned out
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central bank
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an institution designed to oversee the banking system and regulate the quantity of money in the economy
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store of value
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an item that people can use to transfer purchasing power from the present to the future
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unit of account
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the yardstick people use to post prices and record debts
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commodity money
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money that takes the form of a commodity with intrinsic value
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reserve requirments
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regulations on the minimum amount of reserves that banks must hold against deposits
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liquidity
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the ease with which an asset can be converted into the economy's medium of exchange
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currency
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the paper bills and coins in the hands of the public
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medium of exchange
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an item that buyers give to sellers when they want to purchase goods and services
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velocity of money
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the rate at which money changes hands
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quantity equation
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the equation M×V=P×Y, which relates the quantity of money, the velocity of money, and the dollar value of the economy's output of goods and services
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classical dichotomy
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the theoretical separation of nominal and real variables
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monetary neutrality
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the proposition that changes in the money supply do not affect real variables
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quantity theory of money
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a theory asserting that the quantity of money available determines the price level and that the growth rate in the quantity of money available determines the inflation rate
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real variables
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variables measured in physical units
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menu costs
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the costs of changing prices
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nominal variables
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variables measured in monetary units
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fisher effect
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the one-for-one adjustment of the nominal interest rate to the inflation rate
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shoeleather costs
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the resources wasted when inflation encourages people to reduce their money holdings
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inflation tax
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the revenue the government raises by creating money