Which of the following is true? a. During the contractionary phase of the business cycle, the rate of unemployment is generally quite low b. A depression is a recession that is mild and relatively brief c. The stages of a business cycle are contraction, recession, expansion, boom d. GDP includes spending on recreation and travel, but it does not cover leisure time

Tonight, you and your friends are planning to see Captain America for which you have a $3 off coupon. Without the coupon, the ticket is $10. Once you are at the cinema, your friends now want to see Black Panther. Both movies start and end at the same time. Assume that you have nothing else to do. If you decide to see Black Panther with your friends, what is your opportunity cost?

a. the value of seeing Captain America + $3 b. $10 c. $3 d. the value of seeing Captain America + $10

Which of the following statements about GDP is not correct? a. Real GDP will increase when prices increase or output increases b. Nominal GDP equals real GDP in the base year c. Nominal GDP values production at current prices, whereas real GDP values production at constant prices d. The GDP deflator is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP multiplied by 100 Productive efficiency means that a. if all available resources are being used, it is possible to produce more products and services b. given the available inputs and technology, it is impossible to produce more of one good without decreasing the quantity that is produced of another good c. the particular mix of goods being produced represents the equal distribution of resources among different industries d. the particular mix of goods being produced represents the allocation that society most desires

1. How can currency value create a trade barrier? Explain the basis for this claim that China is a currency manipulator. What is the effect of the currency value on Chinese firms and on American firms? What would be China’s motivation for such manipulation? From the U.S. point of view, how should the currency value change and for what purposes?

2. Is Germany a currency manipulator, as suggested in the NPR story? Should the U.S. treat Germany the same as China–for administrative, trade, and international policy purposes? Why or why not?

Explain the trade relationship between US and China, and what are the effect on both sides and the world economy?

China has a trade surplus and the People’s Bank of China (PBC, China’s central bank) purchases all the excess foreign currency earning of the country’s exporters. This policy is equivalent to bond purchases by the PBC through open market operations.

1. What is the impact of the PBC’s policy of foreign currency purchase on the country's money supply?
2. If all foreign conditions are exogenous and the aggregate real income, the price level, and the future conditions of the Chinese economy (including the expected exchange rate) can be taken as given, what is the consequence of the policy for the current interest rate and the spot exchange rate in China?

In 1997, 35 countries signed the convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to make it a crime to bribe foreign officials. In May 1999, the OECD issued a series of six principles (updated in 2004) that have since become the basis of the corporate governance position of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, in 2015 alone:

• In February 2015, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. agreed to pay $16.2 million to settle charges from the SEC under FCPA for the payment of bribes in Kenya and Angola to increase tire sales. Goodyear subsidiaries were accused of paying more than $3.2 million in bribes to employees of state-owned and private companies between 2007 and 2011.

• In May 2015, BHP Billiton paid $25 million to settle SEC charges in relation to FCPA offenses. BHP had been accused of improperly sponsoring foreign government officials as guests at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The case was settled through an internal administrative order without going to court.

• In July 2015, New Jersey-based construction management company Louis Berger International paid $17.1 million to resolve FCPA criminal offenses. In the resolution, the company admitted paying bribes to foreign officials in India, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Vietnam in order to win contracts. The settlement included a deferred prosecution agreement that will require a compliance monitor for at least three years.

• In September 2015, Hitachi Ltd. paid $19 million to resolve SEC charges. The case was brought in relation to payments made to South Africa’s ruling page 123political party in connection with contracts to build two multimillion-dollar power plants.

American companies operating under increasing federal and regulatory scrutiny face real consequences from trying to do business in a global business environment in which foreign business seems to function on the basis of “gifts” at every stage of the transaction.

• In December 2012, the SEC charged Eli Lilly and Co. with violations of the FCPA for improper payments made by subsidiaries to foreign government officials in Russia, Brazil, China, and Poland; and accepted a settlement in the amount of $29 million for offenses including the following:

  The SEC alleged that the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company’s subsidiary in Russia used offshore ‘marketing agreements’ to pay millions of dollars to third parties chosen by government customers or distributors, despite knowing little or nothing about the third parties beyond their offshore address and bank account information.

  Employees at Lilly’s subsidiary in China falsified expense reports in order to provide spa treatments, jewelry, and other improper gifts and cash payments to government-employed physicians.

  Lilly’s subsidiary in Poland made eight improper payments totaling $39,000 to a small charitable foundation that was founded and administered by the head of one of the regional government health authorities in exchange for the official’s support for placing Lilly drugs on the government reimbursement list.

  In November 2012, the Department of Justice issued a 120-page “Resource Guide” to the FCPA, including numerous case studies designed to clarify what actions would and would not be considered to be violations of the law. The guide was written as a resource for DOJ attorneys, but attorneys in private practice are encouraging their clients to become familiar with it.

QUESTIONS

1. Is it ethical for U.S. regulations to put U.S. companies at an apparent disadvantage to their foreign competitors? Explain why or why not.
2. If foreign companies pay bribes, does that make it OK for U.S. companies to do the same? Explain why or why not.
3. If you could prove that new jobs, new construction, and valuable tax revenue would come to the United States if the bribe were paid, would that change your position? Explain your answer.

Answer in your own words

Your essay must be written concisely and not exceed 700 words. Indicate your choice clearly

2. Discuss the possible impact of budget deficits on interest rates and private investment in small island economies in the Pacific.

How are household patterns anticipated to change over the next few years? What will be the impact of such changes on the Palestinian demand for different goods?

Consumer buying behavior is playing a vital role on consumer decision making process What do we mean by this concept and how it affects the consumer decision and what are those decisions that the marketer desire to achieve? Identify also types of risk consumers might perceive in the context of purchasing a car?

how does providing organization-wide training be effective in eliminating workplace bullying?

Suppose a community faces a pollution problem because of emissions from a polluter with MAC=36- 2E. The information on pollution damages is given by MD=E .
(a) If there is a tax rate on emissions of $ 9/unit, then what is the emission level choosen by the polluter in equilibrium? What is the amount of its compliance costs?
(b) What is the socially efficient tax rate in the given situaton?
(c) Now imagine a situation where the polluter bargains with the community ( let's say, with the community government) and offers to pay $6 for each unit of emission ( i.e. $6/unit) it is allowed to produce. What level of emissions is the community likely to allow? What is the likely net gain to the community from allowing those units of emissions?

1. Identify and discuss the key macro and micro environmental factors affecting TOYS R US Company. How has the company responded to these challenges?

Think of the ‘legacy cost’ problem associated with those US steel firms which face the prospect of bankruptcy.  That is, the problem of retirees having their firm-provided pensions and health benefits threatened.  Many commentators agree that a suitable policy response to this issue would be the US government putting a strong emphasis on assisting with legacy costs provided that the steel companies concerned permanently close their high-cost steel plants.  By contrast, the use of tariffs (taxes on imported steel) has been widely criticized.  So why is the use of tariffs, in some ways, a politically easier option?  Also consider the steel tariffs put in place by President Trump.  Note which exporting countries are most heavily impacted