ECO - 252 Macroeconomics

9. For each of the following, decide if the increase in price of the following goods will be reflected in the U.S. GDP deflator and / or the CPI or neither.

a. Australian-made shoes imported into the United States.

b. Domestically-produced industrial robots.

c. Tractors imported into the United States from Russia.

d. Dairy products produced domestically.

e. Imported olive oil produced by a U.S. company in Spain.

f. A fighter jet bought with the national defense budget.

Scenario:

Around September, one year ago, an employee in the United States Government became a celebrated anonymous whistleblower who disclosed the unethical dealings by the President of the United States. The whistleblower alleged that the President sought foreign interference in the US 2020 elections on a July phone call with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Requirement:

Without digging into the facts of the case, discuss the laws surrounding the issue of whistleblowing and whether as the President alleged, the whistleblower had committed a treasonous act.

During recent decades, the rate of increase in the output per hour in the United States has been lower than in the early 1960s. This development has caused enormous concerns in Washington and elsewhere. In recent years, some observers have asserted that the productivity slowdown has been due in part to a decline in the rate of innovation in the United States. Have you seen this trend in your industry? If so, identify the cause and effects. If not, what innovations have you experienced?

1) What is the important legal contribution of each court decisions (see below, see 2)? What impact did these court decisions have on society and life/business in the United States?  

2) Which did you find the most interesting?

1824 Gibbons v. Ogden

1942 Wickard v. Filburn

1964 Katzenbach v. McClung

2000 United States v. Morrison

2012 National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius

Reporting Alternatives and International Harmonization Accounting procedures for business combinations historically have differed across countries. Pooling-of-interests, for many years a preferred method in the United States, was not acceptable in most countries. In some countries, accounting standards permit goodwill to be written off directly against stockholders’ equity at the time of a business combination.

Should U.S. companies care about accounting standards other than those that are generally accepted in the United States? Explain.

JAPANESE CASE STUDY #1

This case study is a composite of actual situations. Marianne, who is American, and Ken Shimizu, who is Japanese, have worked in Tokyo for over 30 years as Methodist missionaries. They have annual furloughs and occasional sabbaticals, during which they visit relatives and sponsoring organizations and engage in continuing education in the United States. They met as college students in the United States, and their three grown children have established their own careers in the United States.

Ken’s 98-year-old mother resides with Marianne and Ken. She is not Christian but has always been extremely supportive of Ken and Marianne’s work. Ken teaches at a large Christian university, whereas Marianne has served in various church-related positions over the years. As missionaries, they live in subsidized post–World War II housing near Ken’s university. Marianne has been a frugal housewife, preparing local foods in the Japanese style for her family.

Ken, who is nearly 60, recently learned that he has glaucoma. By the time it was discovered, he had lost a significant amount of peripheral vision. Although Marianne delivered all three children at a Christian hospital in Tokyo, she gets her annual physical examination when visiting relatives in the United States. She has never believed that the Japanese health system is as proactive as that in the United States. On her most recent visit to the United States, Marianne learned that she has hypertension. Her physician prescribed a medication that is readily available in Japan, but the physician was concerned about the level of stress in Marianne’s life. Mother Shimizu is quite confused and requires considerable care, but it is unthinkable for Ken, the only child, to put his mother in a long-term-care facility. Even if he would, the

quality of facilities in Japan leaves much to be desired. Most of the responsibility for Mother Shimizu falls on Marianne, in addition to her work. Marianne’s relatives are urging her to consider placing Mother Shimizu in a church-related life-care community near Marianne’s family in the United States, where Marianne and Ken would like to retire. Marianne’s own parents lived in this facility at the end of their lives. She is considering these issues as she returns to Tokyo.

1. In what ways might you consider Ken to be countercultural as a Japanese man?

2. What social pressures might Marianne have faced, given some of her choices, as a housewife in Japan?

3. What pressures will Ken likely experience as he considers how to meet the needs of both his mother and his wife?

9. Compare and contrast the fertility and mortality rates of Japan and the United States.

10. Do the traditional Japanese maintain sustained eye contact with strangers? Why or why not?

11. To which drugs might Japanese people have greater sensitivity than that of white ethnic populations?

12. How do most Japanese people meet their need for calcium?

1. In 1920, when Presidential candidate Warren G Harding called for "return to normalcy" he was advocating
increased support for Progressive Era programs and the League of Nations
increased farm production and an emphasis on the rural lifestyle
reduced international involvement and less government regulation of business
reduced racial segregation and the elimination of discrimination against women

2. After World War I, most Americans wanted the United States to follow a foreign policy of
remaining involved in overseas affairs
supporting the League of Nations
isolationism in world affairs
using United States forces to maintain peace in Europe

3. The League of Nations, the Washington Naval Conference, and the Kellogg-Briand Pact were designed to keep
peace in the Northern Hemisphere. Why did these agreements fail to prevent World War II?
Independence movements in developing countries were too strong to be stopped
The United States was not a participant in any of the agreements
The agreements lacked enforcement powers
The United States was too involved in military rearmament

4. After World War I, the United States demonstrated its return to a policy of isolationism by
lowering tariffs on imports
refusing to sign the Treaty of Versailles
promoting the Marshall Plan
liberalizing immigration policies

5. After World War I, why did American farmers fail to share in the general economic growth of the United States?
Many immigrants were settling in the west and competing with the farmers
The Federal Government reduced the number of acres in which farmers could grow subsidized crops
Farmers could not produce enough to keep up demand
Overproduction and competition caused falling prices

6. Which action best demonstrated the United States effort to isolate itself from European conflicts after World War I
lowering tariffs
attempting to improve relations with Asia
failing to sign international disarmament agreements
refusing to join the League of Nations

7. One motivation for the passage of the immigration quota acts of 1921 and 1924 was
congressional support for free, unlimited immigration
the industrialists need for workers from southern and eastern Europe
the prevailing mood of welcome to foreign ideas
a recurrence of nativist attitudes following World War I

8. During the 1920s, the prevailing view of the governments' role in the United States economy was that the government
should
control the means of production
promote the welfare state
play a major role through regulatory action
interfere as little as possible

9. Which characteristic of the 1920s is best illustrated by the Red Scare, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan
increased nativism
belief in unlimited progress
growth in humanitarian causes
faith in big business

10. The economic boom and the financial speculation, of the 1920s, were caused in part by
installment buying and an unregulated stock market
the expansion of civil rights to women and minorities
the mobilization of the economy for war
increased government restrictions on big business

1. Suppose that under the terms of an international agreement, U.S. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 200 million tons and those of Brazil by 50 million tons.

Here are the policy options that the United States and Brazil have to reduce their emissions:

United States:

Policy Options: Total Emissions Reduction: Cost:

A: Efficient Machinery 60 12

B: Reforestation 40 20

C: Replace coal-fueled power plants 120 30

Brazil:

A: Efficient Machinery 50 20

B: Reforestation 30 3

C: Replace coal-fueled power plants 40 8

A) which policies are most efficient for each country in meeting their reduction targets? How much will be reduced using each option, at which cost, if the two countries must operate independently? Assume that any of the policy options can be partially implemented at a constant marginal cost. For example, the United States could choose to reduce carbon emissions with efficient machinery by 10 million tons at a cost of $2 billion. (Hint: start by calculating the average cost of carbon reduction in dollars per ton for each of the six policies)

B) Suppose a market of transferable permits allow the United States and Brazil to trade permits to emit CO2. Who has an interest in buyng permits? Who has an interest in selling permits? What agreement can be reached between the United States and Brazil so that they can meet the overall emissions reduction target of 250 million tons at the least cost? Can you estimate a range for the price of a permit to emit one ton of carbon? (Hint: use your average cost calculations for the first part of the questions)

1:The 1929 New York bank insurance fund (“Safety Fund”) (a) would not have enough money to pay for all noteholders if things really went bad, then why would it increase the public’s confidence in banks? (b) What did it mean that the Fund represented the idea that “banking was a system... not just an aggregation of free agents?"

2:In the 1820s, two Massachusetts legal cases ruled in favor of defendants who caused economic damage to others while pursuing activities that helped their own businesses. Years later that same court ruled in favor a company whose employees were seriously injured at work. Briefly discuss how these cases could be explained as decisions which encouraged social change and economic progress.

3:In 1807, President Jefferson stopped all trade between the United States and Europe with the Embargo Act. (a) How did that Act help United States manufacturers? (b) Why did the Embargo Act particularly support the manufacturing of cotton goods (textiles) in the northeast United States?

4:Henry Clay and the Whig Party supported tariffs. (a) What were tariffs and how would they protect domestic industry? (b) How, in particular, would they protect “infant industries”? (c) What other important role did tariffs provide to the United States in the 19th century?

5:More than most other countries, the courts play a vital role in the evolution of law in the United States. How do courts do this (a) when there already exists written (statutory) law and (b) when there is no particular statute law regarding a particular issue, that is, what is “common law”?

Alyssa states: “when capital per hour worked increases in the United States the Natural Unemployment rate increases but economic growth increases at an increasing rate.” Do you agree or disagree? Carefully Explain your answer.