Exam 18: Measuring the Price Level and Inflation

Suppose that the total expenditures for a typical household in 2015 equaled $2,500 per month, while the cost of purchasing exactly the same items in 2017 was $3,000. If 2015 is the base year, the CPI for 2017 equals:

When inflation turns out to be different from what was expected, purchasing power is ________.

On January 1, 2015, Anna invested $5,000 at 5 percent interest for one year. The CPI on January 1, 2015 stood at 2.37. On January 1, 2016, the CPI was 2.40. The real rate of interest earned by Anna was ________ percent.

Because the minimum wage is not indexed to inflation, when there is inflation the nominal minimum wage ________, and the real minimum wage ________.

The process of converting current dollar values into real terms is called ________, while the process of adjusting nominal quantities to maintain their purchasing power is called ________.

Deflation is a situation in which the:

If the annual real rate on a 10-year inflation-protected bond equals 1.9 percent and the annual nominal rate of return on a 10-year bond without inflation protection is 4.4 percent, what average rate of inflation over the ten years would make holders of inflation-protected bonds and holders of bonds without inflation protection equally well off?

A relative price is:

The price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump increased by 10 percent at the same time that the inflation rate was 5 percent. The nominal price of gasoline ________, and the real price of gasoline ________.

The consumer price index for Planet Econ consists of only two items: books and hamburgers. In 2015, the base year, the typical consumer purchased 10 books for $20 each and 200 hamburgers for $1 each. In 2017, the typical consumer purchased 12 books for $23 each and 300 hamburgers for $1.15 each. The consumer price index for 2017 on Planet Econ equals:

The price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump increased by 5 percent at the same time that the inflation rate was also 5 percent. The nominal price of gasoline ________, and the real price of gasoline ________.

Suppose a borrower and lender agree to an interest rate on a loan when inflation is expected to be 6 percent. The borrower would benefit the most if which of the following inflation rates actually occurred?

If both the lender and borrower agree on an 8 percent interest rate, both expect a 4 percent inflation rate, and inflation turns out to be 4 percent, then ________ by the inflation.

Suppose that the total expenditures for a typical household in 2015 equaled $2,500 per month, while the cost of purchasing exactly the same items in 2017 was $3,000. If 2015 is the base year, the CPI for 2015 equals:

The market interest rate in Alpha is 7 percent, and the market interest rate in Beta is 10 percent; the inflation rate in Alpha is 3 percent, and inflation rate in Beta is 8 percent. Which of the following statements is true?

Assume one investor bought a 10-year inflation-protected bond with a fixed annual real rate of 1.5 percent and another investor bought a 10-year bond without inflation protection with a nominal annual return of 4.2 percent. If inflation over the 10-year period averaged 2 percent, which investor earned a higher real return?

The wage paid to workers measured in terms of real purchasing power is called the:

A consumer expenditure survey reports the following information on consumer protein spending:   Using 2016 as the base year, by how much does a "cost of protein" index increase between 2016 and 2017?

The nominal interest rate equals the:

The CPI in 1930 equaled 0.17. The CPI in 1931 equaled 0.15. The rate of inflation between 1930 and 1931 was ________ percent.