Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Malcolm X and Julius Caesar Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Malcolm X and Julius Caesar - Assignment Example His father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, was governor of the province of Asia while his mother, Aurelia Cotta, was from an influential family (Fuller 9). He got the privileged education and as a child, under his father’s watchful eye he would drive a goat chariot, pretending to be a triumphant general, perhaps an early pointer to the triumphs that would later define his adult life. Rome was ruled by such families and from an early age, the young Caesar could have been indoctrinated with the idea that his role in life was to pursue the highest political ambitions and carry on the family name. Malcolm X – born Malcolm Little – on the other hand, was born into a family on the lower ranks of the socioeconomic spectrum. His mother, Louise Norton Little, was a housewife who spent her time taking care of the family’s eight children while his father was a Baptist pastor and civil rights protester. The young Malcolm, therefore, did not have a cozy childhood the which Caesar had. One begins to see how these two men would grow to embrace the causes and have the approaches to life around them that they had in their later lives – one seeking to conquer and the other seeking to be free. Events, however, begin to shape these two lives that started out so different towards a common destiny of greatness. Both Ceasar and Malcolm X grew up in turbulent environments. The background would help give them the steely determination and ruthless ambition which they would later use to advance their respective causes. Caesar’s formative years were a time of turmoil in the Roman Republic; there were several wars from 91 BC to 82 BC. Roman politics was highly polarized. Caesar’s father suddenly died when the young Caesar was in his teens and was forced to be head of the family. He needed a guide and someone to protect him, especially from the then dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who did not like the Caesar family. He found this in the p erson of his distinguished uncle, Gaius Marius, who had achieved a position of immense importance in Roman politics and warfare. Marius was regarded as a champion of the underprivileged of Italy and with his guidance Caesar became a confident young man (Fuller 15). From around 82 BC to 80 BC, though, the dictator, Sulla, began to rid Rome of his enemies and Caesar was among the individuals targeted. Marius had died by now and Caesar was left vulnerable to Sulla’s reign of terror. The environment was so hostile, and he fled Rome to Asia Minor. Malcolm X, too, grew up in a particularly hostile environment. It was at a time when racial discrimination was at its height. His father’s civil rights activism encouraged death intimidation from the white supremacist group, Black Legion, making them migrate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday (Biography 1). It is noted in his biography on his official website that in 1929, Malcolm's family home in Michigan was burned by arsonists, and two years later â€Å"†¦Earl’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks† (1). Malcolm and his other siblings were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages. Hostility would remain with both Malcolm and Caesar even in their adult lives as public figures and eventually lead to their assassination.  Ã‚  

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Representation of War in the Media

Representation of War in the Media CHAPTER III : CASE STUDIES â€Å"War is fought with the will of the government, competence of the armed forces and the support of the nation† Carl Von Clausewitz There is no doubt that the global reach and immediacy of the new media communications technologies and the ability to shape both national and international public opinion has made media a major player in limited conflicts. Such developments could be expected to significantly impact the way conflict is reported and debated by international community. Given the rapid progress and far reaching advances in communications over recent years, correct engagement with the media acts as a force multiplier for the commander on ground to achieve a more comprehensive success. On the other hand, the incorrect media engagement leads to loss of operational security and makes the task of the military commander much more difficult. The media representation of wars has significantly changed over last years. Previously being just an instrument of coverage and propaganda, now media are considered a competent weapon. The war of real objects is partially being replaced by the war of pictures and sounds, information war[1]. Now we shall examine few significant national and international conflicts, where the media extensively covered these operations by the Armed Forces. Some were a success story while others left much to be desired form the way the Armed Forces engage the media. The Gulf War Control of the media during the Gulf war followed the pattern that was established in the Falklands and refined in Grenada and Panama[2]. The pattern included secrecy in planning, demonisation of the enemy, exploitation of the media to enlist national and international support, and the exclusion of the media during the initial phases of the operation[3]. The resultant news vacuum was filled by official  coverage favourable to the military. Later criticisms were stonewalled. In the Gulf, the media were excluded from the planning stages of the initial deployment and the deliberations leading to the change of war aims from that of the defence of Saudi Arabia to offensive action in Kuwait. The demonisation of Saddam Hussein was used to rally national as well as international support and the media was immediately co-opted into these tasks[4]. The Gulf also demonstrated the familiar pattern of exclusion of the media from the early action, when both the military and the administration were most vulnerable[5]. Before the commencement of the hostilities, USA set up the Joint Information Bureau to handle the media from a base in Dhahran. Journalists were formed into pools or Media Reporting Teams (MRTs).Guidelines were instituted, concurrent with the arrival of the first pool of reporters[6]. Subsequent guidelines gave detailed instructions how the information could be gathered. All interviews could be conducted only in the presence of a military escort, all reports, photos and videos had to be cleared by a security review system before transmission. Beyond these measures, however, the Gulf campaign lent itself to complete media management through absolute control over the means of communication, transport and access. So powerful was this weaponry that there was no need for actual censorship[7]. Censorship was achieved primarily through denial of access and delay in transmission, backed a blanket decision not to allow media access to any event that was a strictly controlled. This was offset by a flow of favourable military sourced information to fill the vacuum created by media restriction. Material ranged from information provided at carefully controlled briefings which bypassed journalists on the spot. The combination of credibility afforded by the briefings and novelty of the new weaponry was enough to satisfy audiences[8]. The realities of war and any real analysis were foregone in favour of a politically  acceptable, sanitised war which showed nothing but success. It was evident too that  the military used the media not only to present its own policies in the best possible light, but to deceive and misinform the Iraqis. Both the administration and the military clearly benefited from this control. CNNs coverage of the 1991 Gulf War, when it became the worlds only instant chronicler of a major conflict, seemed only to confirm the formidable role played by Western news agencies in covering and framing international events. The impact of this kind of media coverage has been dubbed â€Å"the CNN effect,† referring to the widely available round-the-clock broadcasts of the Cable News Network[9]. Indeed, by the mid 1990s, some scholars and certain policymakers had come to the conclusion that CNN in particular was having a measurable impact on the way governments conduct world politics. This proactive engagement of media by the Pentagon ensured that the military remains immune from scrutiny but also garners the voter benefits for the politicians. The only caution is that this form of media containment or partial exclusion can only work for a limited period. If, as in Vietnam; and as may well have happened in the Gulf, such a limited conflict becomes protracted and involves high levels of casualties, then the ascendancy of the military may be challenged and broken as the global media brings to bear the full weight of its capacity for independent news gathering and communications. The 1991 Gulf war was the first televised war of the century wherein pictures of the night sky lit up with firing of weapons. Operation Desert Storm was the most widely and most swiftly reported war in history. In addition to being called the first â€Å"CNN War† this war also marked a turning point for the American’s view of that relationship. US demonstrated will and military potential to influence developing world in consonance of her policies.[10] The world saw the live footage of the 1991 Gulf war. CNN activities during the war were a classic example of the role that civil broadcasts and journalists can play in any future war. Media can be allowed selective access with a view to influencing the international opinion. The media enjoys the support of high technology equipment and access to credible media outlets. The CNN broadcasts provided useful inputs to put into operation diplomatic damage limitation operations to counter the fallout of adverse reports. The examp le at hand is the demonstration of her will and the military potential by the USA in influencing the world opinion, including engaging the media[11]. The first Iraqi war was totally covered by the media and the general opinion was that the media was focussing all their attention on the wars victory and retreating troops. Very few journalists looked after the Arabian people; in fact the Iraqi refugee problem was simply overlooked. In general, the media was very supportive of the American troops in the Persian Gulf. Though the reporting was positive, the coverage did not tell the absolute truth on the battle field. Journalists were more or less welcomed by the battalion commanders. The army was silent to â€Å"embedding† the media, while the Marine Corps was proactive and welcomed media attention. Public satisfaction with press coverage can be largely attributed to the increasing media savvy of the military leadership, who were able to successfully use news coverage to enhance the military’s image and win public support for its operations. General Schwarzkopf was a master at these press briefings. He analyzed the impor tance of the briefings and prepared himself mentally. He decided not to repeat the mistake made in Grenada, where the relations between media and the military had been eroded to an appalling state[12]. Kargil A Water Shed for Indian Media The Kargil conflict was India’s first real war of the information age and it was significant for the impact and the influence of the mass media on the public opinion of both the nation states[13]. During this operation, both the military and the media were interacting for the very first time in the backdrop of the technological advances made in the last two three decades or so. The Kargil news stories and war footage were often telecast live on the TV, while many websites provided in-depth analysis of the war. This conflict became the first live war in South Asia[14]. The Indian Army tried to implement the â€Å"pool† methodology of the Gulf war after consulting some reputed and esteemed media persons. There were daily briefings in Delhi through the operational staff and journalists were allowed to enter the war zone[15]. The site tours were discontinued after some time and media persons got total freedom to move around on their own except where their lives could be in danger. But unlike the Gulf war, there was to be no censoring of media reports and there was to be no deviation from the truth[16]. The military and the media did not indulge in any deliberate disinformation drive. But they effectively exposed Pakistan’s lies and disinformation tactics. The media for once highlighted defence requirements of weaponry and ammunition which otherwise do not get any significance for reporting in the normal sequence of events.[17]. The ‘Kargil War’, also brought into focus the significance of both the print and the electronic media[18]. The nation made a very clever use of the Internet and dedicated an exclusive Website www.vijayinkargil.com to show case the heroics of the Indian Army. Trained PR officers manned chat sites on the web to establish a real time inter face with the youths of the country for possibly the very first time. Television was able to invade the living rooms of the people to shape public opinion. The war received a human face because of the wide scale coverage of the war by the news channels like Aaj Tak, Zee News and NDTV Network. The media both Indian and overseas was predominantly compassionate to the Indian cause, with editorials in newspapers based in the west and other neutral countries observing that our western adversary was in principal answerable for the conflict[19]. Some analysts believe that Indian media, which was both larger in number and more credible, may have acted as a force multiplier for the Indian military operation in Kargil[20] and served as a morale booster. As the fighting intensified, the Pakistani version of events found little backing on the world stage. This helped India gain valuable diplomatic recognition for its position. Media reportage on Kargil converged around a single dramatic image of a nation at war. In the initial phase, news coverage was restrained on the logic of operational security. The Army permitted first media coverage on 15 May 1999. In Jun 1999, travel permits of press personnel were cancelled again quoting compromise of security. The failure of understanding was due to incorrect handling of media by army as well as character and content of reportage. There was a tendency to trivialise and sensationalise news by many sections of media. The semantics of reportage of certain events like return of six tortured bodies, led to a proliferation of exaggerated stories. However, media did not act as the force multiplier throughout. At crucial junctures, the over ecstatic media reported the crucial attack plans of the Indian army on the news in advance. This gave the all important operational intelligence to the adversary. The glaring example of this was the attack on Tiger Hill, where in after capture of Tiger Hill, the captured Pakistani troops revealed that they received the inputs about the Indian Army’s plans through the news channels. Also the telecast at times showed the location of the artillery gun bases, deployment areas and the logistic installations which was then suitably interpreted by the enemy to bring out effective fire on these locations. Mumbai Terrorist Attacks of 26/11 Medias reporting of terrorist activities is fast becoming critical in today’s scenario when no country is left untouched by terrorism. War on terrorism is a test for the Indian media. How much should be broadcast, whether broadcast of terrorist actions amounts to glorifying terrorism and violence and whether it incites people, creates new recruits and gives publicity to terrorists who seek to grab world attention are topics of debate across nations in the post 9/11 world. Similar debates have begun in India, more so after 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The well coordinated terror attack on Mumbai brings about essential lessons, both for the media as well as the Armed forces. The news media with a lack of understanding of where the medium can reach in such a situation, reported the move of National Security Guard (NSG) from Delhi to Mumbai being declared by the Home Minister[21]. There is increasing questioning of the medias conduct in the face of such attacks and more so after the live telecast of the 60 hour long Mumbai attacks. Concerned over the way many aspects of its operations got â€Å"jeopardized† due to live images being broadcast by TV during the 6- hour siege, the National Security Guard (NSG) pressed for restrictions on media coverage wherever its commandos are engaged to combat[22]. The case in point is the way NSGs operations at Nariman House were broadcast live. Questions were raised over the way Havaldar Gajender Singh fell to a terrorists bullet at Nariman House. As per the narration of incidents by an NSG commando â€Å"TV broadcasted our commandoes landing from a helicopter on the roof over Nariman House. By the time our men landed and started taking positions, the terrorists were already waiting for us and opened fire[23]†. In contrast the operations at Oberoi could be conducted more smoothly since TV channels were kept beyond a one-kilometer radius[24]. This zone was put under virtual curfew with no access allowed to television crews. The operations there took the least time, just under 30 hours, as compared to the other two places. As per NSG officials while terrorists holed up inside probably did not have access to live TV images on the second and third day of operations, they still had phones and were probably getting â€Å"instructions† from people watching those live images on TV. The media in turn can question the NSG that was there any spokesman of NSG to guide the media? The media showed what they saw. Can you blame them for showing what was happening? [1] Gulf War Was A Perfect Television War http://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/gulf-war-was-a-perfect-television-war-media-essay.php> [2] Young and Jesser, Loc cit, pp 280-281 [3] Ibid, pp 176 [4] Ibid [5] Ibid, pp189 [6] Ibid [7] Ibid [8] Aradhana Sharma, Journalism in Democracies during times of war: Examining the Role of Indian and US Media, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi 2010 [9]The CNN Effect: Strategic Enabler or Operational Risk? Margaret H. Belknap http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/02autumn/belknap.htm [10] Brig VK Nair,VSM,Retd. War in the Gulf: Lessons For The Third World, Lancer Papers, pp 106. [11] Ibid [12] Vice Admiral J Metcalfe, The Press and the Grenada 1983, Franc Cass Co. Ltd, London pp 168 [13] Operation Vijay 1999 Victory Over Pak Treachery Col J P Singh, Retd News Bharti English 25 Jul 2014 [14] Kargil War –Wikipedia, online http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kargil_war. [15] Kargil War –Wikipedia, online http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kargil_war [16] Ibid. [17] Ibid. [18] Aradhana Sharma, Journalism in Democracies during times of war: Examining the Role of Indian and US Media, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi 2010 [19]Article titled The Significance of the Kargil Crisis pp18-19, RAND Publications http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1450/MR1450.ch2.pdf [20] Ibid [21] Rahul K Bhonsle, Mumbai 26/11- Security Imperatives for the Future, New Delhi Vij Books (India) Pvt Ltd pp 50-51 [22] Media has Blood of NSG Commandoes http://nomadmolouges.blogspot.in/2008/12/media-has-blood-of-nsg-commando.html> [23] Ibid [24] Indian Media And War Maturity Essay http://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/indian-media-and-war-maturity-media-essay.php>

Friday, October 25, 2019

Electrolysis :: Papers

In chemistry, the production of chemical changes by passing an electric current through a solution or molten salt (the electrolyte), resulting in the migration of ions to the electrodes: positive ions (cations) to the negative electrode (cathode) and negative ions (anions) to the positive electrode (anode). During electrolysis, the ions react with the electrode, either receiving or giving up electrons. The resultant atoms may be liberated as a gas, or deposited as a solid on the electrode, in amounts that are proportional to the amount of current passed, as discovered by English chemist Michael Faraday. For instance, when acidified water is electrolysed, hydrogen ions (H+) at the cathode receive electrons to form hydrogen gas; hydroxide ions (OH-) at the anode give up electrons to form oxygen gas and water. One application of electrolysis is electroplating, in which a solution of a salt, such as silver nitrate (AgNO3), is used and the object to be plated acts as the negative electrode, thus attracting silver ions (Ag+). Electrolysis is used in many industrial processes, such as coating metals for vehicles and ships, and refining bauxite into aluminium; it also forms the basis of a number of electrochemical analytical techniques, such as polarography. Faraday's laws ============== Three laws of electromagnetic induction, and two laws of electrolysis, all proposed originally by English scientist Michael Faraday: Induction (1) a changing magnetic field induces an electromagnetic force In a conductor; (2) the electromagnetic force is proportional to the rate of change of the field; (3) the direction of the induced electromagnetic force depends on the orientation of the field. Electrolysis (1) the amount of chemical change during electrolysis is proportional to the charge passing through the liquid; (2) the amount of chemical change produced in a substance by a given amount of electricity is proportional to the electrochemical equivalent of that substance. Faraday's constant ================== Constant (symbol F) representing the electric charge carried on one mole of electrons.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Midterm 2 with Solutions Econ311

Intermediate Macroeconomics 311 (Professor Gordon) Final Examination Fall, 2009 YOUR NAME:________________________________ INSTRUCTIONS 1. The exam lasts 2 hours. 2. The exam is worth 120 points in total: 30 points for the multiple choice questions, 60 points for the analytical questions, and 30 points for the essays. 3. Write your answers to Part A (the multiple choice section) in the blanks on page 1.You won’t get credit for circled answers in the multiple choice section. 4. Place all of your answers for part B in the space provided. 5. You must show your work for part B questions. 6. Write your essays with a pen. Write clearly! 7. Good Luck and Happy Holidays! PART A (45 points) Choose the ONE alternative that BEST completes the statement or answers the question. Your answers must be in the space provided below. USE CAPITAL LETTERS. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PART B (45 points) Please show your wor k and write down the formulas you use for partial credit. Question 1 (5 points) (a) What monthly rate of inflation causes the price level to increase by a factor of 5 (500 percentage points) over a year? (2 points) (HINT: Use the LN and EXP formulas from Chapter 9, Problem 2, further examples of which were presented in lecture on November 11). Using the log formula: p = 100*log(5)/12 = 13. 4%. b) If the rate of monthly inflation is 25%, by what factor would prices have risen over a year? (3 points) Let’s call the initial price level P0 and the price level at the end of the year P12 25 = 100*log(P12/P0)/12 P12/P0 = exp(25*12/100) = 20. Question 2 (10 points) Consider an economy where inflation expectations are given by the equation pet = . 4 pt-1 + . 6 pet-1 . Also assume that when the log of the output ratio increases by 1 points, inflation increases by 4 points. a) Write down the SP equation, both its general form and its specific form with these particular parameter assumpt ions inserted. (2 points) pt = pet + gYt-1 + zt = . 4pt-1 + . 6pet-1 + 4Yt-1 + zt ) Write down the DG equation (no need to derive anything, just write it down). (1 point) Y = Y-1 + [pic] – p c) Combine the SP and DG equations to express p as a function of pt-1, pet-1, Yt-1,[pic]t, and zt. (2 points) (HINT: Your answer must have p on the left side of the equation and terms not including current p on the right side, with all the relevant parameters inserted and solved out. ) p = 0. 4p-1 + 0. 6pe-1 + 4Y + z = 0. 4p-1 + 0. 6pe-1 + 4(Y-1 + [pic] – p) + z 5p = 0. 4p-1 + 0. 6pe-1 + 4Y-1 + 4[pic] + z p = 0. 08p-1 + 0. 12pe-1 + 0. 8Y-1 + 0. 8[pic] + z For the remainder of the problem, assume that in period t=1 the economy has values given by: p0 = 3pe0 = 3Y0 = 0 ) Suppose there is no supply shock in period 1 (z1 = 0) and that [pic]1 = 5. Solve for period 1 values p1 and Y1. (2 points) p1 = 0. 08(3) + 0. 12(3) + 0. 8(0) + 0. 8(5) + 0 = 4. 6 Y1 = 0 + 5 – 4. 6 = 0. 4 e) Sup pose instead that there is a period 1 supply shock that increases the value of z from 0 in period 0 to 1 in period 1. Find the period 1 values p1,[pic]1 and Y1 as well as the expected period 2 inflation, pe2, if the government adopts an accommodating policy. (3 points) Accommodating Policy means Y1 = 0, so from the DG equation p1 =[pic]1 and from the SP equation: p1 = . 4(3) + . 6(3) + 4(0) + 1 = 4 = [pic]1 pe2 = . 4(4) + . 6(3) = 3. 4 Question 3 (15 points)Consider a country whose Central Bank issued 100$ of High-Powered Money (H). Citizens' cash holdings (dollar bills) amount to 10% (. 1) of their deposits while each commercial bank has to have reserves for 15% (. 15) of the volume of deposits. a) What is the level of deposits? (2 points) D = H/(c+e) = 100/(. 1+. 15) = 400 b) What is the level of the Money Supply defined as dollar bills and deposits? (3 points) M = (1+c)D = 1. 1*400 = 440 c) Suppose the Central Bank wants to increase Money Supply to 528. How many extra units of Hi gh-Powered Money do they have to circulate? (4 points) M = (1+c) H / (c+e) 528 = 1. 1 H / . 25 H = 120 So they should print 20 extra units of H ) Assume now that the Central Bank still wants to set the Money Supply to 528 but the Government forbids them from printing High-Powered Money. What option is left to the Central Bank? (Hint: restrict your attention to this simplified model where there is nothing like direct lending or any other exotic policy) (2 points) Change the reserve requirement e) Given your suggested policy, which of the parameters of the model would they be changing? To which new value? (Remember that here H=100 and cannot be changed by assumption and M=528) (4 points) M=(1+c) H / (c+e) 528=1. 1 * 100 / (. 1 + e) e=. 1083 = 10. 8% Question 4 (15 points) Consider two nations, Richland and Poorland.Both nations have the same Cobb-Douglass production function, Y=AKbN(1-b). Let Poorland have an economy with technology level A=18, capital elasticity of production b=(1/3) , population growth rate n=. 13, capital depreciation rate d=. 07, and savings rate s=. 3 a) Rewrite the production function as a function relating Y/N and K/N. (2 points) Y/N = A(K/N)b = 2(K/N)(1/3) b) Solve for the steady state values of the capital-labor ratio (K/N) and per-capita GDP (Y/N). (6 points) s(Y/N) = (n+d)(K/N) sA(K/N)b = (n+d)(K/N) (K/N) = [sA/(n+d)]1/(1-b) (K/N) = [. 1*18 /(. 2)]3/2=27 (Y/N) = (n+d)(K/N)/s (Y/N) = (. 2)(27)/. 1=54 c) Richland has a per-capita GDP that is triple that of Poorland. Given hat Richland has the same production function as Poorland, the capital-labor ratio in Richland is what multiple of the capital-labor ratio in Poorland? (In other words, if Poorland has a capital-labor ratio of K/N= x and Richland has a ratio of K/N= y, what is y/x? ). (3 points) [pic] d) Compute the marginal products of capital in the two nations. (3 points) MPK = b(Y/N)/(K/N) MPKA = (1/3)(54)/(27)=2/3=. 6667 MPKb = (1/3)(162)/(729)=2/81=. 0247 e) Judging from your answ er in part (d), does the Solow model predict that poor countries have a higher or lower rate of return on capital? (1 point) The Solow model predicts a higher rate of return for poor countries.This is one of the critiques of the Solow growth model. PART C (30 points) WRITE YOUR NAME AND ID NUMBER ON YOUR BLUE BOOK. As stated on the syllabus (p. 3) and in numerous in-class and e-mailed reminders, you must write your answers in pen not pencil. This is a single multi-part essay question. You should write in your blue book for 30 minutes. 1. Write a coherent essay on the causes of the 2008-09 recession and on the policy responses to this event. Your essay should cover the following specific points a. First, establish the facts. What were similarities in the duration and magnitude of the 2001 recession and subsequent recovery as compared to the 2008-09 recession and recovery so far?Include comments on GDP, the GDP gap, labor market variables, and any other distinguishing features of thes e two episodes. b. What were the most important causes of the 2008-09 recession? Include comments on which causes were the same as in the 2001 recession, and which were different. c. In what sense, if any, did monetary or fiscal policy partially contribute to the causes of the 2008-09 recession? d. Evaluate the response of monetary policy since early 2008. What were the similarities and differences between this response and the monetary policy response to postwar recessions in 2001 and earlier? What aspects would you praise or criticize? e.Evaluate the response of fiscal policy since early 2008. What aspects would you praise or criticize? Multiple Choice Questions Make sure to write you answers on the blanks on page 1! 1. The current account includes all of the following except: A) net exports B) net income from abroad C) net unilateral transfers D) foreign direct investment 2. In what way was the international economy cited as a source of the U. S. housing bubble in 2003-06? A) che aper prices of imported building materials B) support of dollar by foreign central banks C) immigration of skilled foreign construction workers D) high pay of top executives of foreign investment banks 3.Which of the following were not cited in the course as a reason for France and other European nations to be reluctant to endorse an Obama-like fiscal stimulus for their own countries? A) high unemployment in Europe B) low fiscal multipliers C) social welfare system D) unemployment insurance system 4. Suppose we have an economy in which G = 1100, t = 0. 26, Y = 3800, and YN = 4000. At Y the difference between the actual deficit and structural deficit is A) 60. B) 112. C) -172. D) -112. E) 52. 5. The failure of U. S. net exports to improve dramatically in the mid 1980? s despite the weakening of the dollar suggests that A) U. S. industries supply of competitive goods was inelastic over the period.B) LDC debt repayment schedules and lack of financing kept U. S. exports low. C) NCIs mai ntained fixed exchange rates vis a vis the dollar and U. S. exports low. D) All of the above. 6. In the reading period assignments from the Economist, the United States is faulted relative to Europe and Japan for each of the following reasons except: A) labor and capital markets B) primary and secondary education C) personal saving rate D) infrastructure 7. In the reading period article about France, the French are praised for each of the following reasons except A) infrastructure B) household debt C) output growth rate D) medical care system 8. The mechanism of ? international crowding-out? s that a government budget deficit ________ the domestic interest rate, which makes the dollar ________ expensive for foreigners, which then ________ net exports. A) raises, less, lowers B) raises, less, raises C) raises, more, lowers D) lowers, less, lowers E) lowers, more, raises 9. Which of the following effects takes place as a result of automatic stabilization? A) extra tax revenues are gen erated in a boom. B) tax revenues remain constant during a recession. C) leakages increase during a recession, helping to stimulate the economy. D) Both A and C are correct. 10. If the Federal Reserve intervenes in the foreign-exchange markets and buys foreign currencies A) the U. S. oney supply rises and foreign currencies depreciate. B) the U. S. money supply falls and foreign currencies depreciate. C) the U. S. money supply rises and foreign currencies appreciate. D) the U. S. money supply falls and foreign currencies appreciate. 11. Activists-believe that AD is unstable because A) business and consumer attitudes and expectations shift. B) monetary policy is variable. C) fiscal policy effects are unpredictable. D) Both B and C are correct. 12. Assuming constant wages implies that A) an increase in the price of goods raises profits and SAS is vertical. B) a decrease in the price of goods lowers profits and SAS is horizontal.C) an increase in the price of goods lowers profits and S AS is vertical. D) an increase in the price of goods raises profits and SAS is positively sloped. [pic] 13. Consider the above figure with equilibrium initially at E0. If the money supply is increased and prices are flexible, in the short run prices and output will ___. In the long run output and prices will ___. A) be as at E2; return to E0. B) be as at E1; be as at E2. C) be as at E2; be as at E3 D) be as at E2; be as at E1. E) be as at E1; be as at E3. 14. According to the readings, a common feature of the Great Depression and the recent economic crisis was A) mortgage credit B) deposit insurance C) unemployment rate D) monetary policy 15.The sources of the current problems of running monetary policy are often cited as A) Quantitative easing B) Zero lower bound C) Excess bank reserves D) A) and B) E) B) and C) 16. An acceleration of nominal GDP growth from, say 4% to 6% will A) permanently raise the rate of inflation. B) temporarily lower the rate of inflation. C) leave real GDP unaffected in the long run. D) Both A and C. 17. The short-run Phillips Curve gives A) the actual short-run level of real GDP and inflation. B) all possible combinations of real GDP and inflation, for a given set of expectations. C) all possible combinations of real GDP and inflation, for fully adjusted expectations. D) the response of real GDP and inflation to supply shocks. 18.The Fed is criticized for the â€Å"one-way option† regarding asset bubbles. The criticism is that the Fed __________ when asset prices increase and __________ when asset prices decrease A) raises interest rates; lowers interest rates B) leaves interest rates unchanged; leaves interest rates unchanged C) raises interest rates; leaves interest rates unchanged D) leaves interest rates unchanged; lowers interest rates E) lowers interest rates; raises interest rates 19. Which of the following was not a source of the Great Moderation, according to the textbook? A) growth rate rule for money supply B) finan cial deregulation in late 1970s, early 1980sC) magnitude of supply shocks after early 1980s D) government military spending 20. In the short-run, the impact of an adverse supply shock is to A) reduce real GDP and leave the inflation rate unchanged if the growth of nominal GDP remains the same. B) reduce real GDP and leave the inflation rate unchanged if the growth of nominal GDP is reduced enough. C) maintain the same level of real GDP and reduce the inflation rate if the growth if nominal GDP is increased enough. D) All of the above. 21. According to the textbook, the main losers due to the redistributive effect of the postwar inflation in the United States were A) households. B) corporations. C) government. D) A) and B) 22. Disgruntled? workers who quit their jobs to find ? a more reasonable boss? are experiencing A) involuntary unemployment. B) mismatch unemployment. C) cyclical unemployment. D) turnover unemployment. 23. Policy solutions to mismatch unemployment include A) fisca l policies to raise the AD curve B) monetary policies to raise the AD curve C) policies other than fiscal and monetary policies D) accommodative policies to deal with supply shocks 24. Over a year, the money supply in a nation grew by 6 percent, while velocity rose by 2 percent and real GDP rose by 3 percent. This results in an inflation over the year of ________ percent. A) 5 B) 11 C) 1D) 7 25. The the Fed’s quantitative easing after mid-2008 is not described by A) increased open-market purchases of Treasury securities B) increased open-market purchases of private securities C) increased open-market purchases of corporate stock D) A) and B) E) A) and C) 26. Which of the following increased by the largest percentage between mid-2007 and mid-2009? A) excess bank reserves B) M2 C) high-powered money D) total bank reserves E) M1 [pic] 27. Initially, the economy is at point G in the figure above. An increase in per capita savings from s0 to s1 will in the short run result in ____ ____ and in the long run result in ________.A) excess per capita saving; more rapid growth in per capita output B) excess per capita saving; less rapid growth in per capita output C) more rapid growth in per capita output; more rapid growth in per capita output D) more rapid growth in per capita output; no change in the long run rate of growth in per capita output 28. Which of the following will not affect steady state per capita income in the Solow growth theory? A) The savings rate. B) The initial capital stock. C) The population growth rate. D) The production function. 29. The Solow growth model predicts that nations that are initially poor should have A) slower growth rates than nations that are rich. B) faster growth rates than nations that are rich. C) growth rates equal to those of nations that are rich. D) negative growth rates. 30.Two readings in the course packet for Chapter 11 cite a particular technological innovation for improved economic growth in poor tropical countri es. This is: A) television B) internet C) mobile phones D) new drugs to fight malaria 31. Several structural changes that occurred over the past two decades were a theme of lectures. Which of the following was not one of these changes? A) greater importance of structural unemployment and less importance of frictional unemployment B) smaller response of core inflation to oil price shocks C) larger decline of employment to declines in output in recessions D) larger increase of productivity to increase in output in recoveries E) More reliance on wage flexibility rather than layoffs in 2008-09 recession 32.In the Cobb-Douglas production function Y=AKbL1-b, the variable A has several different names. Which of the following is not one of them? A) autonomous growth factor. B) infrastructure. C) multifactor productivity. D) residual. 33. The formula for the growth rate of multifactor productivity is: A) a = y + bk + (1 – b)n. B) y = a + bk + bn. C) a = y – bk – (1 †“ b)n. D) y = a – b/k(1 – b)n. 34. Which of the following does not affect multifactor productivity? A) a tax on low-efficiency firms B) a higher saving rate C) Environmental regulation. D) Technological progress. 35. Relative growth rates of the standard of living in the United States and Europe indicate that workers in ________ have chosen to ? spend? _______ of their higher productivity on leisure rather than on consumption of market goods and services. A) Europe, a significant part B) the United States, a significant part C) Europe, almost none D) the United States, almost all 36. Which of the following would cause labor? s share of national income to decrease? A) Labor productivity increases less rapidly than the real wage rate. B) Labor productivity increases more rapidly than the real wage rate. C) Labor productivity has increased at the same rate as the real wage rate. D) Labor? s share of national income is not affected by the relative growth rates of labor p roductivity and the real wage rate. 37.Once monetary policy is dedicated to controlling the level of nominal GDP, then fiscal policy can be used to A) choose the overall level of interest rates, with a high budget surplus implying a high level of interest rates. B) choose the overall level of interest rates, with a high budget deficit implying a high level of interest rates. C) control the rate of inflation, with a high budget surplus implying a faster rate of inflation. D) control the rate of inflation, with a high budget deficit implying a faster rate of inflation. 38. A major side-effect of a stimulative fiscal policy is that it will A) discriminate in favor of housing. B) crowd out private expenditures.C) increase the natural rate of unemployment. D) permanently raise the rate of inflation. 39. Which of the following was a policy of Roosevelt’s New Deal which is not a part of the Obama stimulus package? A) tax reductions B) infrastructure improvements C) Direct interventi on to stop financial institutions from failing D) Federal government direct hiring of the unemployed 40. The Barro-Ricardo Equivalence Theorem assumes all of the following except: A) Individuals value the welfare of their heirs as much as their own welfare. B) Interest rates will remain constant. C) All individuals have children D) Markets for consumer housing and durable goods are perfect. 41.Which of the following will cause the date that the Social Security trust fund runs out of money to be pushed further into the future? A) A decrease in the rate of real GDP growth. B) An increase in the population growth rate. C) A decrease in the growth of the real wage. D) All of the above. 42. A fixed money-supply rule will have the greatest stabilizing effect on output when A) money demand is unstable and commodity demand is stable. B) both money and commodity demand are unstable. C) both money demand and commodity demand are stable. D) the velocity of money is unstable. 43. M1 is a defini tion of money largely confined to which function(s) of money? A) unit of account B) store of valueC) medium of exchange D) B and C. 44. In the empirical validation of the theory of the political business cycle discussed in lecture, which of the following variables measured over the year before the election has been the best predictor of the outcomes of presidential elections? A) the unemployment rate B) the inflation rate C) the growth rate of per capita real GDP D) the level of the federal government fiscal deficit 45. In the empirical validation of the theory of the political business cycle discussed in lecture, which of the following elections is a clear outlier as violating that empirical evidence? A) 1932 B) 1936 C) 1972 D) 1992 E) 2000

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Great Leap Forward of China

Great Leap Forward (1958-1960), economic and social plan initiated by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), with the intent of radically increasing agricultural and industrial production in the People's Republic of China, and of bringing China to the brink of a utopian communist society. The Great Leap Forward was a reaction to the Hundred Flowers Campaign, a more moderate development program in China in 1957. In this earlier program, Mao Zedong tried to win the support of Chinese intellectuals by calling for their constructive criticism of the policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, such an unexpected torrent of dissatisfaction fell on party leaders that in June 1957 the CCP abandoned the Hundred Flowers plan and moved in much more radical directions, imposing strict controls on freedom of expression and dismissing or imprisoning many intellectuals. The CCP then called upon all Chinese to engage in physical labor to transform the economy, forcing over 100 million people into projects such as land reclamation and the construction of irrigation systems, which were designed to increase agricultural production. During the Leap, huge self-sufficient communes were established in the Chinese countryside, and China proclaimed that it would overtake England in the production of major products in 15 years. Chinese leaders thought that China was on the verge of establishing a Communist utopia, in which all people would work together to make China productive and totally self-sufficient. Over the next several years, production targets for communes grew continually larger, and officials competed against each other to see who could proclaim the highest yields. The CCP leadership believed the targets to be accurate and used them, rather than actual production figures, as the basis for determining taxes, which were collected in grain rather than currency. As a result, the amount of grain available to the people of China dropped almost 25 percent. Between 1959 and 1962, more than 20 million people died during a massive famine caused by this practice. In 1958, as an immediate result of the massive peasant mobilization, industrial and agricultural output increased significantly. In 1959, however, agricultural production started to fall, reaching its low in 1962, when it was only about two-thirds of the 1958 total. Industrial production gradually fell as well, but less severely, always surpassing production totals for 1957. Socially, the Leap produced great enthusiasm among most Chinese in 1958, but as it became clear that the Leap programs were not working and that people were starving, popular dissatisfaction began to grow. During 1959 party leadership tried to correct some of the problems of the Leap. But these efforts were not sufficient for the Defense Minister, Peng Dehuai (P'eng Te-huai), who in mid-1959 criticized Leap policies and argued strongly for a more moderate stance. Mao Zedong took exception to Peng's ideas and had him removed from power. Mao's harsh response to Peng's criticism essentially intimidated the party into giving up the idea of retrenchment, enabling Mao to reassert the policies of the Leap. By the middle of 1960 it became clear to party leaders that the Leap could not be sustained. Emergency measures were taken to bring the economy under control, including importing grain from the West and decentralizing the communes. Professional management, which had been attacked as counterrevolutionary during the Leap, was actively encouraged. Originally Mao Zedong went along with these policies, but he increasingly felt that they betrayed his vision of socialism. He grew suspicious of other CCP leaders, such as Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-p'ing), who had advocated moderate policies. His differences with Deng and others drove Mao to launch the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to purge his perceived opponents and to try to restore his ideal of a Chinese revolution.