2. A public works program that employs workers to dig deep holes on one day and then fill them in again the next day has exactly the same impact on current economic growth ($-for-$) as a private firm investing in a new factory.

3. Economists note that the automatic stabilisers in the government's budget increase deficits (or reduce surpluses) in times of slack aggregate demand. This sensitivity of the budget outcome to the business cycle would be eliminated if the government followed a balanced budget fiscal rule.

4. If a nation is enjoying an external deficit, then one other sector must be spending more than it is earning.

5. Premium Question: It is clear that the central bank can use balance sheet management techniques to control yields on public debt at certain targetted maturities. However, this capacity to control the term structure of interest rates is diminished during periods of high inflation.

6. Special Xmas Holiday Question: Santa Claus and his elves are in danger of becoming environmental refugees because:

the sea ice in the Arctic shrank a dramatic 18 per cent in the year to September 2012, accelerating a trend observed in recent years.
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Arctic Report Card predicts that the Arctic will be free of summer sea ice within 30 years.
as the sea melts the methane deposits around the shoreline will be released into the atmosphere further accelerating global warming.
there is no threat - I believe in Santa Claus and climate change is just a rumour spread by socialists.