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1.What are the 5 phases of the business cycle?

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1.What are the 5 phases of the business cycle?

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-The Peak
-Contraction/Recession
-Trough
-Recovery
-Expansion

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2. How do economists measure business cycles? What determines whether a business cycle has begun or ended?

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2. How do economists measure business cycles? What determines whether a business cycle has begun or ended?

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-They measure business cycles from peak to peak, through Real GDP.
-The nations economy such as the U.S economy decided where they measure the cycle from, for example from 1854 to 2014, and once again a cycle begins at its peak and ends at another peak

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3. The characteristics of each of the 5 phases of the business cycle?

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3. The characteristics of each of the 5 phases of the business cycle?

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-The peak is a temporary high when the GDP is high, employment rates are high, goods and services are being produced at a good rate.
-The contraction is caused when the real GDP decreases and if it stays consecutive for two quarters of a year the the economy is referred to as being in recession, where unemployment rates are high and the standard of living declines.
-The trough is the lowest point in real GDP before it begins to turn up again.
-The recovery is when real GDP is rising which begins at the tough and ends at the initial peak.
-The expansion is determined when the real GDP is beyond the recovery.

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4. Why might an economist say the US is "experiencing a recession"? What phase of the business cycle do they observe and for how long? 

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4. Why might an economist say the US is "experiencing a recession"? What phase of the business cycle do they observe and for how long? 

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-An economist might say that the U.S is experiencing a recession when unemployment rates start to rise, prices increase and the standard of living decreases, therefore people loose jobs or their property etc.
-They observe the contraction and if it prolongs more than two quarters of the year then that is when they start considering the U.S in recession.

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5. What are three possible leading indicators of good economic performance? For each one, what do these indicators show about the mindset of investors, business-owners, or the federal government?

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5. What are three possible leading indicators of good economic performance? For each one, what do these indicators show about the mindset of investors, business-owners, or the federal government?

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-Leading: These indicators point to upturns or downturns in the future that affect the economy (in real GDP).
-Coincident; These indicators occur in the present and the clarify what the state of the economy is.
-Lagging; These indicators confirm a pattern that is in progress
These indicators show how investors, business-owners and the federal government like to predict the state of the economy and try to calculate what state the economy will be at in the future so that they can make decisions that will determine their success

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6. Who/what is the main driver of economic activity? What actions/decisions do these actors take that influence the performance of the economy? How might these actions/decisions lead to economic expansion? How might these actions/decisions lead to economic contraction?

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6. Who/what is the main driver of economic activity? What actions/decisions do these actors take that influence the performance of the economy? How might these actions/decisions lead to economic expansion? How might these actions/decisions lead to economic contraction?

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Money Supply: The main driver is the government and consumers. Consumers buying or not buying goods and services influence the economic performance. An increase in money supply means more buying so it leads to economic expansion. A decrease in money supply means buying less goods and services which leads to economic contraction
BI, RC, and GS: The main driver is the firms and government. Firms and other companies investing in machinery or buildings influence economic performance. An increase of investments and spending will ultimately lead to expansion. Cutbacks and less investments on buildings, or machinery will lead to contraction.
Politics: The main driver is politicians. The action of trying to get reelected, politicians will try their best to keep the economy in its best shape in order to get the votes. The months between getting reelected or elected it is possible that the politicians will pass bills and increase the economy and therefore expansion. The months after being reelected bills will most likely be cut and the politicians efforts to keep up the economy will go down, so the economy will move towards contraction.
Innovation: The main driver are companies. The action of developing new innovations and companies trying to copy the innovator. Companies will invest heavily and so the economy will go in expansion. Investments tend to decrease overtime so the economy slows down and contracts.
Supply Shocks: Wars and natural disasters are the main driving factors. A drastic decrease or increase in supply caused by wars or natural disasters such as population and resources. A increase of supply due to a good year of whether and harvest might boost of the economy into expansion. A decrease or cutback on oil production due to disagreements between countries, will severely bring the economy into contraction.

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7. Which one of these possible causes do you think has the biggest impact in an economy? Why do you think that is?

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7. Which one of these possible causes do you think has the biggest impact in an economy? Why do you think that is?

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I think politics plays one of the huge roles in the economy because it contributes heavily to other factors such as government spending, wars, and money supply. They decide what bills to pass, they decide who they agree with and who they disagree with, all the decisions that politicians make often make an impact in what our life as citizens look like and therefore an impact on the economy and the future of it.