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LevelAP Macroeconomics
SubjectAP Macroeconomics
Year2025 BS
Exam sessionModel questions
Full marks90
Time allowed130 minutes
Questions10, all with step-by-step solutions
A

Multiple Choice

Select the best answer.

10 questions·1 mark each
1Multiple choice1 mark

Which of the following transactions would be included in the calculation of the United States' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2025?

  • a

    A consumer purchasing a used car from a private seller

  • b

    A family purchasing a newly constructed home from a builder

  • c

    An investor buying 100 shares of Apple stock on the NYSE

  • d

    A government transfer payment such as a Social Security check

Correct answer: b

A family purchasing a newly constructed home from a builder

GDP measures the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a given period. A newly constructed home represents new production. Used goods, stock purchases, and transfer payments are excluded.

gdp
2Multiple choice1 mark

Cost-push inflation occurs when:

  • a

    Consumer demand increases faster than the economy's productive capacity

  • b

    Rising production costs—such as increases in wages, raw material prices, or energy costs—force firms to raise prices, shifting the aggregate supply curve to the left

  • c

    The central bank increases the money supply too rapidly

  • d

    Government spending increases during an economic expansion

Correct answer: b

Rising production costs—such as increases in wages, raw material prices, or energy costs—force firms to raise prices, shifting the aggregate supply curve to the left

Cost-push inflation originates from the supply side. When firms face higher input costs, they pass these on to consumers. Graphically, this is a leftward shift of the SRAS curve, resulting in higher prices and lower output—sometimes called "stagflation."

inflation
3Multiple choice1 mark

The natural rate of unemployment includes which types of unemployment?

  • a

    Only cyclical unemployment

  • b

    Frictional unemployment (workers between jobs) and structural unemployment (workers whose skills no longer match available jobs), but NOT cyclical unemployment

  • c

    Only structural unemployment

  • d

    All unemployment, including cyclical unemployment

Correct answer: b

Frictional unemployment (workers between jobs) and structural unemployment (workers whose skills no longer match available jobs), but NOT cyclical unemployment

The natural rate prevails when the economy is at full employment. It includes frictional unemployment (normal job search time) and structural unemployment (skills mismatch). Cyclical unemployment, which results from recessions, is excluded.

unemployment
4Multiple choice1 mark

During a recession, an appropriate expansionary fiscal policy would be:

  • a

    Increasing taxes and reducing government spending to balance the budget

  • b

    Increasing government spending and/or cutting taxes to stimulate aggregate demand, accepting a larger budget deficit as a short-term cost of economic recovery

  • c

    Raising interest rates to discourage borrowing

  • d

    Reducing the money supply to control inflation

Correct answer: b

Increasing government spending and/or cutting taxes to stimulate aggregate demand, accepting a larger budget deficit as a short-term cost of economic recovery

Keynesian fiscal policy prescribes deficit spending during recessions. Government spending directly adds to aggregate demand, while tax cuts increase disposable income. The multiplier effect amplifies both impacts.

fiscal-policy
5Multiple choice1 mark

If the Federal Reserve wants to combat inflation, it would most likely:

  • a

    Lower the federal funds rate and purchase government securities

  • b

    Raise the federal funds rate and sell government securities through open market operations, making borrowing more expensive and reducing the money supply to slow aggregate demand

  • c

    Increase government spending on infrastructure

  • d

    Decrease the required reserve ratio for banks

Correct answer: b

Raise the federal funds rate and sell government securities through open market operations, making borrowing more expensive and reducing the money supply to slow aggregate demand

Contractionary monetary policy raises borrowing costs and removes money from the banking system. Both actions cool an overheating economy by reducing aggregate demand.

monetary-policy
6Multiple choice1 mark

According to the theory of comparative advantage, a country should specialize in producing goods for which it has the:

  • a

    Absolute advantage—the ability to produce more of the good than any other country

  • b

    Lowest opportunity cost of production, even if another country can produce that good more efficiently in absolute terms, because specialization and trade make both countries better off

  • c

    Largest labor force available

  • d

    Most advanced technology

Correct answer: b

Lowest opportunity cost of production, even if another country can produce that good more efficiently in absolute terms, because specialization and trade make both countries better off

David Ricardo's theory demonstrates that trade is mutually beneficial even when one country has an absolute advantage in all goods. What matters is relative efficiency—the opportunity cost of production.

international-trade
7Multiple choice1 mark

An increase in consumer confidence would be represented on the AD-AS model as:

  • a

    A leftward shift of the aggregate demand curve

  • b

    A rightward shift of the aggregate demand curve, because increased confidence leads consumers to spend more and save less at every price level

  • c

    A rightward shift of the short-run aggregate supply curve

  • d

    A movement along the aggregate demand curve

Correct answer: b

A rightward shift of the aggregate demand curve, because increased confidence leads consumers to spend more and save less at every price level

When consumers feel optimistic, they spend more and save less at every price level, shifting the AD curve right. The result is higher real GDP and, in the short run, a higher price level.

aggregate-demand-supply
8Multiple choice1 mark

The government spending multiplier is larger than the tax multiplier because:

  • a

    Government spending is always more efficient than private spending

  • b

    Government spending directly increases aggregate demand by the full amount, whereas a tax cut increases demand only by the fraction that is spent (the marginal propensity to consume), with the rest being saved

  • c

    Taxes have no effect on aggregate demand

  • d

    The government can print unlimited money

Correct answer: b

Government spending directly increases aggregate demand by the full amount, whereas a tax cut increases demand only by the fraction that is spent (the marginal propensity to consume), with the rest being saved

The spending multiplier is 1/(1-MPC) while the tax multiplier is -MPC/(1-MPC). One dollar of government spending injects a full dollar into the spending stream, whereas one dollar of tax cut is partly saved, producing a smaller initial impact.

gdpfiscal-policy
9Multiple choice1 mark

The quantity theory of money (MV = PQ) suggests that if velocity (V) and real output (Q) are constant, an increase in the money supply (M) will:

  • a

    Decrease the price level

  • b

    Lead to a proportional increase in the price level (P), meaning that printing more money without increasing real output results in inflation

  • c

    Increase real output

  • d

    Have no effect on the economy

Correct answer: b

Lead to a proportional increase in the price level (P), meaning that printing more money without increasing real output results in inflation

If V and Q are constant, any increase in M must produce a proportional increase in P. This is the basis for the monetarist argument that "inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon."

monetary-policyinflation
10Multiple choice1 mark

The Phillips Curve illustrates the short-run tradeoff between:

  • a

    GDP and government spending

  • b

    Inflation and unemployment, suggesting that policymakers can reduce unemployment by accepting higher inflation, though this tradeoff may break down in the long run

  • c

    Exports and imports

  • d

    Tax rates and tax revenue

Correct answer: b

Inflation and unemployment, suggesting that policymakers can reduce unemployment by accepting higher inflation, though this tradeoff may break down in the long run

The Phillips Curve shows an inverse short-run relationship between inflation and unemployment. However, the stagflation of the 1970s showed this tradeoff can break down. The long-run Phillips Curve is vertical at the natural rate of unemployment.

unemploymentaggregate-demand-supply

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