Questions Set 1

What is "Gross Domestic Product"?

What is the difference between real and nominal GDP?

What is a seasonal adjustment?

What is an annualized rate? Write down the formula for an annualized rate.

Supposed headline real GDP in the first quarter of 2022 was $1 trillion. Does this mean $1 trillion worth of goods and services was produced in 2022? If not, what does the $1 trillion represent?

What is the great moderation?

What are the three methods of measuring GDP?

Questions Set 2

What is the difference between "firm side" and "household side" data in the context of understanding the strength of the labor market?

What is "unemployment"? What is the unemployment rate? Can you determine unemployment rates from "firm side data" alone?

What is the labor force participation rate?

Why is private data, like those from ADP, a useful supplement to conventional data?

Why does an economist say that "growth in payroll jobs are better predictors of GDP growth"? Is this statement useful on its own for a company trying to forecast GDP growth? How would you make this information useful?

Is "Sahm's rule" useful for trying to predict a recession?

What is Okun's law? In what context is it most useful?

What is the best time for a company to restructure its workforce? How does this relate to the job polarization episodes we saw in the data? What is a risk of restructure your business during a recession?