The 1970s were not as prosperous as the 1960s because ________, ________, and _________ all worked against the 1970s US economy.

A) The civil rights movement; a labor shortage; increased globalization

B) Classical economic policies; inadequate minimum wage; automatic stabilizers

C) The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil price increases; the Vietnam War; increased international manufacturing competition

D) The Military draft; the foreign weapons trade; high domestic investment

E) A technological revolution; poor allocation of resources; irresponsible business practices

High housing prices and low interest rates led to increased competition in __________ and allowed _________ to proliferate.

A) Supplying mortgages; subprime loans

B) Rent-seeking; foreclosures

C) Commodities trade; stock brokers

D) The bond market; regulations

E) International trade; tariffs

Subprime loans "infected" the global economy via ___________ in which subprime loans were _________.

A) The Internet; illegally traded.

B) Black markets; used to buy drugs and weapons

C) International trade; destroyed

D) The securitizations market; packaged into assets and sold

E) The SEC; used as collateral for securities

What sparked the subprime mortgage crisis?

A) High housing supply, low housing demand, and skyrocketing foreclosures

B) The overextension of US resources due to the war in Iraq

C) The vigilance of financial institutions and homeowners

D) Misguided government spending

E) Stifling regulation of the securitizations market

The subprime mortgage crisis grew to the Financial Crisis of 2008 because

A) Financial institutions didn't understand the assets they owned

B) Consumption dropped as access to credit was restricted

C) The securitizations market halted

D) Financial institutions couldn't judge the health of potential trade partners

E) All of the above

Unemployment spiked in the fall of 2009 because businesses couldn't _______ and so __________ and __________ dropped.

A) Trade commodities; revenue; growth

B) Access credit; new investment; aggregate demand

C) Manage expectations; morale; commitment

D) Afford new tariffs; imports; production

E) Securitize labor; asset values; interest rates

The Troubled Asset Relief Program was __________, and its biggest component was the __________.

A) Designed to only stabilize the automotive industry; Ford Assistance Program

B) A $750 billion spending bill designed to assist the poor; Food Purchase Program

C) A $750 billion spending bill centered on investing in struggling firms and purchasing poisonous assets; Capital Purchase Program

D) Put in place in order to spark a new technological revolution; Innovation Incubation Program

E) Signed by President Bush in order to completely buy out the entire financial industry; Nationalization Program

Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was a similarly sized bill to Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) in terms of the money it commanded, but one main difference was that

A) The ARRA was effective and TARP was not

B) The ARRA focused on the tech industry

C) TARP focused more on infrastructure

D) The ARRA was intended to lower rent levels, while TARP tried to support land owners

E) The ARRA focused more on broad spectrum spending as opposed to investment

Why did President Obama emphasize the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA's) ability to put "shovel ready jobs" into action?

A)He claimed there were thousands of jobs in infrastructure that were merely waiting for funding to move forward, and so the ARRA would immediately lower unemployment

B) He knew that Americans wanted to do manual labor, and so the ARRA would surely improve his approval ratings

C) He wanted to contrast the ARRA with Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), because TARP was seen as favoring white-collar jobs more than blue-collar jobs

D) He planned to make "shovel ready" the slogan of his 2012 re-election campaign, and wanted to get early exposure to a large audience of potential voters

E) He knew that the financial establishment had to be demolished, and so he wanted to make Americans believe they could play a part in doing so

The Federal Reserve responded to the financial crisis by __________ and __________.

A) Pegging interest rates; establishing a monetary rule

B) Lowering interest rates; increasing the money supply, which doubled from 2008 to 2016

C) Firing chairman Ben Bernanke; hiring Paul Volcker to replace him

D) Increasing interest rates; decreasing the money supply

E) Asking the US Treasuring to sell bonds; buy euros

What was a negative impact on the US economy of the September 11 attacks?

When taking into account stock market wealth, $2 trillion in losses

A) Low business confidence

B) Low consumer confidence

C) Large expenses from the Iraq war

D) All of the above

Uncertainty surrounding how the United States will be able to pay off its high national debt has led to ____________.

A) Less investment and innovation in the business sector

B) Foreign competitors imposing tariffs

C) High unemployment in the private sector

D) The US Congress scrambling to come up with a solution

E) A bold approach to investment in the business sector

The miraculous growth of Japan's economy in the 1970s and the 1980s was driven by _________.

A) Its abundance of economically useable land

B) Its service sector

C) A strong fishing trade

D) Partnering with China

E) Postwar industrialization and the ensuing manufacturing boom

Japan's economy faces problems in the public and private sector because of ______________ and _______________.

A) Unwanted growth in the labor population; an unsustainable rise in the minimum wage

B) Poor relations with the United States; competition with Chinese manufacturers

C) Long distances between work places; poor voter representation

D) A disconnect between research and entrepreneurship; mismanagement of debt servicing and fiscal budgets

E) Child labor endangering future generations; stubborn international trade policy

Growth in the long run in Germany will depend upon ________, which in turn will depend upon _________.

A) Increasing imports; deregulating trade law

B) Investing in its labor force; socializing higher education

C) Reducing export dependence; a structural economic change

D) Improving relations with France; a cultural revolution

E) Improving trade policies; removing Angela Merkel from office

An irony of the current German economy is

A) Even though it deals primarily in euros, it still adheres to the gold standard

B) Despite its aging workforce, it just had its biggest year in terms of childbirths of the 21st century

C) Immigration rates are at their lowest in years, but Germans are still concerned about an immigration crisis

D) It is lauded for its balanced budget, but its public sector is mismanaged

E) It balances its budget by exporting to countries that must take on debt in order to trade with it

China's plan to reduce its dependence on investment and exports, and thus experience slower growth, is part of a contingency known as _____.

A) The "soft landing"

B) The "hard landing"

C) The Master Plan

D) The Marshall Plan

E) The 21^st Century Plan

China has taken what policy steps to ensure that the "soft landing" doesn't turn into a recession?

A) Improved its trade relations with the United States

B) Lowering interest rates and increasing its own investment in infrastructure

C) Increased regulations on its private sector

D) Encouraged the proliferation of green energy

E) Increased imports from countries such as Brazil

What policy trends have gained support as the United States, Japan, Germany, and China have all experience falling growth, price levels, unemployment, and low interest rates since the 2008 financial crisis?

A) Greater control of exchange rates

B) Increased trade between each country

C) Greater regulation of fiscal policy

D) More monetary policy

E) More fiscal spending and less monetary policy

Of the four countries covered, which is the most likely to lead the world in growth in the future?

A) The United States

B) Japan

C) China

D) Germany

E) Future growth will be so slow it is impossible to say