Web Links

• p. 156: Go to http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/pubs/per.htm to obtain information about inflation and unemployment in other coutries from the International Monetary Fund. Click on "World Economic Outlook Databases."
• p. 160: Go to http://www.nber.org/cycles/recessions.html to learn about how economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research formally determine when a recession is under way.

Issues and Applications Web Resources:

• Learn about the functions of the National Bureau of Economic Research at http://www.nber.org/info.html.
• Find out more about the role of the Council of Economic Advisers in the U.S. executive branch of government at http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/.

Looking at the Unemployment and Inflation Data
This chapter reviewed key concepts relating to unemployment and inflation. In this application, you get a chance to examine U.S. unemployment and inflation data on your own.

     Title: Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment and Unemployment

     Navigation: Use the link http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm to view "Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey."

Application
Perform the indicated operations, and answer the following questions:

1. Click "Get Detailed CPS Statistics" and then select "Most Requested Statistics." Click checkmarks in the boxes for Civilian Labor Force, Employment Level, and Unemployment Level. Retrieve the data. Can you identify periods of sharp cyclical swings? Do they show up in data for the labor force, employment, or unemployment?

2. Are cyclical factors important?

For Group Study and Analysis
Divide the class into groups, and assign a price index to each group. Ask each group to take a look at the index for All Years at the link to the BLS statistics on inflation at http://www.bls.gov/bls/inflation.htm. Have each group identify periods during which their index accelerated or decelerated (or even fell). Do the indexes ever provide opposing implications about inflation and deflation?

Copyright © 1995 - 2010 Pearson Education . All rights reserved. Pearson Addison Wesley is an imprint of Pearson . Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Permissions