Quiz #455

• 1. A fiscal surplus indicates that the national government is:
• You cannot conclude anything about the government's policy intentions.
• Trying to reduce public debt.
• Trying to slow the economy down to contain inflation.
• Options (a) and (b)
• 2. Excessive real wage demands by workers can cause such mass unemployment.
• False
• True
• 3. The Australian National Accounts data came out this week and showed that annual real GDP growth was running at 2.8 per cent per annum. Labour productivity growth over the last few years is around 1.3 per cent per annum, while the labour force has on average grown at 1.65 per cent per annum over the last two years. If the current GDP growth rate is sustained, average weekly working hours are unchanged, and the other aggregates behave according their recent averages then we should expect to see the unemployment rate rising.
• False
• True