important vocab econ test 3

(Real GDP) the market value of final goods and services produced in an economy, stated in the prices of a given year.

• real GDP divided by the total
• population.

group of macroeconomists who generally favor activist government policy.

• group of macroeconomists who
• generally favor laizzes-faire or nonactivist policies.

• decline in real output that
• persists for more than two consecutive quarters of a year.

large recession

• an upturn that lasts at least 2
• consecutive quarters in a year.

• the percentage of people in the
• economy who are willing and able to work but who are not working.

• unemployment
• resulting from fluctuations in economic activity

• unemployment caused by the
• institutional structure of an economy or by economic restructuring making some
• skills obsolete.

unemployment caused by people entering the job market and people quitting a job just long enough to look for and find another one.

The target rate of unemployment – lowest sustainable rate of unemployment that policy makers believe is achievable given existing demographics and the economy’s institutional structure.

people in an economy who are willing and able to work.

measures the labor force as a percentage of the total population at least 16 years old.

the number of people who are working as a percentage of people available to work.

output that would materialize at the target rate of unemployment and the target rate of capacity utilization.

-2% change in output.

a continual rise/fall in the price level.

• a number that summarizes what happens to a weighted composite of prices of a selection of goods (often called
• a market basket of goods) over time.

• index of the price level of aggregate output, or the average price of the components in total output (GDP)
• relative to a base year.

measures the prices of a fixed basket of consumer goods, weighted according to each component’s share of an average consumer’s expenditures.

measure of prices of goods that consumers buy that allows yearly changes in the basket of goods that reflect actual consumer purchasing habits.

• index of prices that measures average change in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods
• and services over time.

total amount of goods and services produced, adjusted for price level changes.

total amount of goods and services produced measured at current prices.

inflation we expect to occur.

inflation that surprises people.

when inflation hits triple digits – 100% or more per year.