Some US policymakers have questioned the Taylor rule’s prescriptive ability because one of its inputs is the gap between a “real” value for this quantity and “potential output,” a target value for this quantity. For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this quantity. This quantity is the total value of final goods and services produced within the borders of a country over a given period.
ANSWER: GDP [or Gross Domestic Product; reject “GNP” or “Gross National Product”; reject “GNI” or “Gross National Income”]
[10h] The Taylor rule is a numerical formula that can be used to guide the setting of this quantity by the Federal Open Market Committee. This quantity is the interest rate commercial banks charge each other for overnight loans.
ANSWER: federal funds rate [or fed funds rate]
[10m] Short-term fluctuations due to these periodic phases are typically mitigated in potential GDP estimates. Hodrick and Prescott developed a smoothing spline to remove fluctuations due to these periodic phases from time series data.
ANSWER: business cycles [or cyclical fluctuations]
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