GIVE ALL THREE CHARTS PLZ ***

- Go to BLS.gov and look for 1) the Unemployment Rate, and 2) the Consumer Price Index (inflation). Once in the CPI page go to More Formatting Options and request the 12 Month Percent Change.

- Get the Effective Federal Funds Rate from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank FRED database.

The relation between interest rates, unemployment, and inflation is clearly stated in the Federal Reserve document accompanying these instructions.

The purpose of the box is to analyze these variables within a common framework with emphasis on the Fed's mandate during the Great Recession with the Taylor Rule in mind [25 points]. Make sure you plot the variables separately [25 points each]. The charts should have a title and have the axis labeled (with time in x-axis, and label the variable and its units in the y-axis).

SHORTCUT:

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis compiles and stores economic data from many sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One-stop shopping for the data in this box can be found here:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

The series are:

- Unemployment Rate (UNRATE)

- Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average (CPIAUCSL) ---it is in levels, so you have to go to Edit Graph and in Units request it as "Percent Change from a Year Ago" to have the year over year change in prices.

- Effective Federal Funds Rate (DFF) ---it is in daily frequency, so you have to request it as monthly to match the other variables.

You can use the ready-made charts from FRED, though I encourage you to develop further your graphing and communication skills in Excel.