AEB 2014: Economic Issues, Food and You
Professor: Carlos Pitta
Answers to Problem Set # 4
Page  1
Here are the suggested answers to your problem set # 4. Of course, your working
and mine would differ, but as long as you recognized in your answers the basic
economic principles involved, you answer is as valid as mine.
Carlos Pitta
Chapter 23/Measuring a Nation’s Income
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
3.
Consumption increases because a refrigerator is a good purchased by
a household.
Investment increases because a house is an investment good.
Consumption increases because a car is a good purchased by a
household, but investment decreases because the car in Ford’s
inventory had been counted as an investment good until it was sold.
Consumption increases because pizza is a good purchased by a
household.
Government purchases increase because the government spent money
to provide a good to the public.
Consumption increases because the bottle is a good purchased by a
household, but net exports decrease because the bottle was imported.
Investment increases because new structures and equipment were
built.
If GDP included goods that are resold, it would be counting
particular year, plus sales of goods produced in a previous
double-count goods that were sold more than once and would
GDP for several years if they were produced in one year
another.
output of that
year. It would
count goods in
and resold in
5.
Year
2000
1999
Nominal
GDP
(billions)
$9,873
$9,269
GDP
(base
1996)
118
113
Deflator
year:
a.
The growth rate of nominal GDP is ($9,873 − $9,269)/$9,269  100%
= 6.5%.
b.
The growth rate of the deflator is (118 − 113)/113  100% = 4.4%.
c.
Real GDP in 1999 (in 1996 dollars) is $9,269/(113/100) = $8,203.
d.
Real GDP in 2000 (in 1996 dollars) is $9,873/(118/100) = $8,367.
e.
The growth rate of real GDP is ($8,367 − $8,203)/$8,203  100% =
2.0%.
f.
The growth rate of nominal GDP is higher than the growth rate of real
GDP because of inflation.
7. Many answers possible.
AEB 2014: Economic Issues, Food and You
Professor: Carlos Pitta
9.
11.
Answers to Problem Set # 4
Page  2
a.
GDP is the market value of the final good sold, $180.
b.
Value added for the farmer: $100.
Value added for the miller: $150 – $100 = $50.
Value added for the baker: $180 – $150 = $30.
c.
Together, the value added for the three producers is $100 + $50 +
$30 = $180. This is the value of GDP.
If the government cares about the total income of Americans, it will
emphasize GNP, because that measure includes the incomes of Americans
that is earned abroad and excludes the incomes of foreigners living in the
United States. If the government cares about the total amount of economic
activity occurring in the United States, it will emphasize GDP, which measures
the level of production in the country, whether produced by domestic citizens
or foreigners.
Chapter 24/ Measuring the Cost of Living
1.
a.
Find the price of each good in each year:
Year
2006
2007
b.
Cauliflower
$2
$3
Broccoli
$1.50
$1.50
Carrots
$0.10
$0.20
If 2006 is the base year, the market basket used to compute the CPI is
100 heads of cauliflower, 50 bunches of broccoli, and 500 carrots. We
must now calculate the cost of the market basket in each year:
2006: (100 x $2) + (50 x $1.50) + (500 x $.10) = $325
2007: (100 x $3) + (50 x $1.50) + (500 x $.20) = $475
Then, using 2006 as the base year, we can compute the CPI in
each year:
2006: $325/$325 x 100 = 100
2007: $475/$325 x 100 = 146
3.
c.
We can use the CPI to compute the inflation rate for 2007:
(146 − 100)/100 x 100% = 46%
a.
The percentage change in the price of tennis balls is (2 – 2)/2 × 100%
= 0%.
The percentage change in the price of golf balls is (6 – 4)/4 × 100% =
50%.
The percentage change in the price of Gatorade is (2 – 1)/1 × 100% =
100%.
b.
The cost of the market basket in 2006 is ($2 × 100) + ($4 × 100) +
($1 × 200) = $200 + $400 + $200 = $800.
AEB 2014: Economic Issues, Food and You
Professor: Carlos Pitta
Answers to Problem Set # 4
Page  3
The cost of the market basket in 2007 is ($2 × 100) + ($6 × 100) +
($2 × 200) = $200 + $600 + $400 = $1,200.
The percentage change in the cost of the market basket from 2006 to
2007 is (1,200 – 800)/800 × 100% = 50%.
5.
c.
This would lower my estimation of the inflation rate because the value
of a bottle of Gatorade is now greater than before. The comparison
should be made on a per-ounce basis.
d.
More flavors enhance consumers’ well-being. Thus, this would be
considered a change in quality and would also lower my estimate of
the inflation rate.
a. introduction of new goods;
b. unmeasured quality change;
c. substitution bias;
d. unmeasured quality change;
e. substitution bias
7.
9.
a.
If the elderly consume the same market basket as other people, Social
Security would provide the elderly with an improvement in their
standard of living each year because the CPI overstates inflation and
Social Security payments are tied to the CPI.
b.
Because the elderly consume more health care than younger people
do, and because health care costs have risen faster than overall
inflation, it is possible that the elderly are worse off. To investigate
this, you would need to put together a market basket for the elderly,
which would have a higher weight on health care. You would then
compare the rise in the cost of the "elderly" basket with that of the
general basket for CPI.
In deciding how much income to save for retirement, workers should consider
the real interest rate, because they care about their purchasing power in the
future, not the number of dollars they will have.
AEB 2014: Economic Issues, Food and You
Professor: Carlos Pitta
Answers to Problem Set # 4
Page  4
Chapter 25/ Production and Growth
1.
The facts that countries import many goods and services yet must produce a
large quantity of goods and services themselves to enjoy a high standard of
living are reconciled by noting that there are substantial gains from trade. In
order to be able to afford to purchase goods from other countries, an
economy must generate income. By producing many goods and services, then
trading them for goods and services produced in other countries, a nation
maximizes its standard of living.
3.
a.
Private consumption spending includes buying food and buying
clothes; private investment spending includes people buying houses
and firms buying computers. Many other examples are possible.
Education can be considered as both consumption and investment.
b.
Government consumption spending includes paying workers to
administer government programs; government investment spending
includes buying military equipment and building roads. Many other
examples are possible. Government spending on health programs is an
investment in human capital. This is truer for spending on health
programs for the young rather than those for the elderly.
a.
When a German firm opens a factory in South Carolina, it represents
foreign direct investment.
b.
The investment increases U.S. GDP because it increases production in
the United States. The effect on U.S. GNP would be smaller because
the owners would get paid a return on their investment that would be
part of German GNP rather than U.S. GNP.
5.
7.
Greater educational opportunities for women could lead to faster economic
growth in the countries of South Asia because increased human capital would
increase productivity and there would be external effects from greater
knowledge in the country. Second, increased educational opportunities for
young women may lower the population growth rate because such
opportunities raise the opportunity cost of having a child.
9.
a.
Political stability could lead to strong economic growth by making the
country attractive to investors. The increased investment would raise
economic growth.
b.
Strong economic growth could lead to political stability because when
people have high incomes they tend to be satisfied with the political
system and are less likely to overthrow or change the government.