Discussion:
1. Go to the BEA website www.bea.gov. On the left tab under Publications, go to the Interactive Data Tables. Select National Income and Product Accounts. From Table 1.1.6 and 1.1.7 examine all four components of GDP (C, I, G, and Xn). Which of these four components of AD declined the most during the 2007 and 2009 recession? Do you think an increase in government's spending (G) can boost the Aggregate Demand (AD) in a recession? Analyze why the economy may operate below full-employment GDP in the short run. How can the multiplier have a negative effect? What is the relationship between the multiplier and the marginal propensities? Explain.
2. Give an example of an event or incident that has taken place in the U.S. economy which has a major economic impact--be specific, e.g., 9/11 attack, natural disaster, rise or fall in oil prices due to OPEC policies, consumer optimism or pessimism about an expected economic expansion or downturn, increase in government spending on healthcare, tightening of the legal and institutional environment, and so forth. What effect would this event have on AD or AS, other things being constant? What would be the resulting effect on equilibrium price level? Explain. What will be the effect of the different tools of fiscal policy to stabilize the economy? Give an example of a built-in stabilizer and explain how it would work to reduce this rise or fall in the level of AD.