Assignment:
Part 1
1. In what market structure do most industries end up (Baran, Sweezy)?
2. What type of business dominates most industries?
3. What did Marx see?
4. List advantages these firms have.
5. Capture the essence of Figure 1.
6. What social welfare programs existed since Marx's time?
7. Why do Baran and Sweezy criticize monopoly capitalism?
8. What is the inevitable outcome of monopoly capital?
9. What is the accusation about the Gap and Microsoft?
10. What happens to price in mature industries?
11. Where is there price competition?
12. What does Shepherd say about mergers?
13. What is true about large companies and innovation?
14. How does Balan define surplus?
15. If firms are profitable, what happens to investment?
16. Describe what happened to investment in the 1990's.
17. What is the connection between the sales effort and the savings rate?
18. Describe the manipulative practice of branding.
19. How does advertising fit into capitalism?
20. What has the service economy produced?
21. What does David Gordon say about supervision?
22. Give points to support the "irrational system".
Part 2
A. Fed Raises Rates by Paying the Banks
1. What were the peak federal fund rates?
2. What are the federal fund rates?
3. What are the current reserve requirements for checking accounts?
4. What happens to excess reserves?
5. Why did the Fed pay interest on reserves?
6. Give one example of quantitative easing.
7. Where are bank reserves held?
8. In recent years, who was the main lender in the federal funds market?
9. How did large banks react to the Federal Funds rate?
10. What is the Wolfson's punchline?
B. Dollar Dominance
11. What was the Bretton Woods Conference?
12. What was the central feature in the arrangements?
13. What is the function of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?
14. What happened in 1971?
C. Exit, Pursued By Bear
15, 16, 17 Give the three reasons why economics become stuck.
18. What is the "QE"?
19. Has the author's forecast on interest rates been true or false?
D. Sticky Superpower
20. What percent of world GDP does China have?
21. The U.S.?
22. Where is America's lout increasing?
23. What share of the global market do U.S. investment banks have?
24. How does foreign demand for the dollar help U.S. government?
25. What was the Marshall Plan?
26, 27, 28. Give three reasons why it is difficult for enlightened U.S. self-interests.
29. What is the purpose of the IMF?
30. What is the WTO good at?
What percent of the dollar zone accounts for:
31. World population
32. GDP
33. What are the two main financial centers in Asia?
34. Who is the world's biggest commodity buyer?
Readings:
The Fed Raises Rates
By Marty Wolfson
Attachment:- US Monopoly Capitalism.rar