ECON 312 Week 4 Discussion

ECON 312 Week 4 Discussion | Devry University

Week 4: Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Initial Post (up to 10 points)

Follow the steps below to obtain real-world information about GDP growth pattern from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to assess GDP current situation. Use your findings to answer the questions below.

1.   Go to www.bea.gov (Links to an external site.).

2.   Click on the National tab (on the top left-hand side).

3.   Click on Interactive Tables: GDP and the National Income and Product Account (NIPA) Historical Tables (Links to an external site.) (on the left-hand side under subtitle Gross Domestic Product (GDP)).

4.   Click on Begin Using the Data (found under GDP & Personal Income).

5.   Click on SECTION 1: Domestic Product and Income.

6.   Click on Table 1.1.1. Percent Change from Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product (A) (Q).

To expand your search after you click on the Table, click on Modify on the top middle portion of the table above the results, then change the First Year to 2005 and Last Year to the current year, and then change the Series to Annual, and then click on Refresh Table. Note what happened before and after the recession of 2007–2008.

Also, explore other tables, particularly Table 1.1.2. and Table 1.1.4 to learn about changes in prices and how and why GDP changes.

For your initial post, answer one of the following questions.

1.   What is the current GDP growth rate? Also, examine the trend of GDP growth over the past few years. What stage of the business cycle is the U.S. economy currently in given the trend of GDP growth?

2.   What components of GDP tend to decline significantly during recessions (particularly during the 2008 recession), and what GDP components rise during expansion? In other words, what aspects of GDP are mostly affected when the economy slows down? and why?

Multimedia Post (up to 15 points)

Create a short 1- to 2-minute slide presentation with a voice narration or a video using any technology you are comfortable with to explain one of the economic concepts listed below. Suggestions: Kaltura video post, or a narrated PowerPoint.

Start the presentation by introducing yourself (name and your topic of choice), and then give a brief explanation of at least one of the concepts listed below, including an example to support your presentation.

·         GDP income approach

·         GDP expenditure approach

·         Nominal GDP versus real GDP

·         Potential GDP

·         Economic growth

·         Determinants of economic growth

·         Production possibilities curve

Peer Response Post (up to 10 points)

Respond to at least one of your peers' initial posts or multimedia posts.

Your response should add new facts, ideas, knowledge, and/or corrections to the initial post or the multimedia post. Also, provide examples to support your response post.