Question

The Fed increased the supply of US dollars at an average rate of 6 percent per year over the 1980-2005 period. Based on the theory of production capacity, if the Fed had instead increased the money supply at the rate of 7 percent per year during that period, given other policies: (Select all that apply.)

Answer 1

Answer:

These are the options for the question:

A. The average inflation rate during 1980-2005 would have been one percentage point higher than it actually was in that period.

B. The economy would have enjoyed a much higher level of output in the mid-2000s.

C. The price level in 2005 would have been about 28 percent higher than what it actually reached in that year.

D. The output of the economy in the mid-2000s would not have been very different from the levels it actually reached.

And this is the correct answer:

A. The average inflation rate during 1980-2005 would have been one percentage point higher than it actually was in that period.

Explanation:

According to the production capacity theory, if the money supply is increased, but the quantity of output is not, or is not increased at the same rate, then, inflation will set in.

In this case, the question is telling us that the Fed would have increased the money supply by one percentage point, but output (GDP growth) would have stayed the same.

For this reason, all else being equal, this higher amount of money supply would have simply created more inflation.