A. Provide a written assessment of the current state of the U.S. economy. Base your assessment on reputable media sources (e.g., The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Time, major network news, etc.) as well as data obtained from government websites (e.g., www.bls.gov, www.bea.gov, websites for the Federal Reserve Bank and each of the 12 district banks). Questions to consider:
Using a macroeconomics demand/supply analysis, where do you think current output is relative to what the economy is capable of producing?Look at recent trends in the data.
What are economists saying in media reports?
What is economic growth currently?
What is the current inflation rate?
What is the current unemployment rate?
What are the recent trends in the components of aggregate demand (consumption spending, investment spending, government purchases, and exports and imports?
What monetary policy implementations has the Federal Reserve Bank recently undertaken?
B. Based on your assessment of the current state of the U.S. economy, what recommendations would you suggest for fiscal policy and monetary policy and why?
