[经济学]经济周期.pptVIP

Take a few moments in class to describe various facts about the Great Depression and its impact. Strive to reinforce your students’ understanding of the importance of this watershed event. The fact that real GDP fell by about 30 percent from 1929 to 1933 is impressive, but in an abstract fashion. Emphasize the unemployment rate, because it is easy for students to identify with unemployment. Point out that the unemployment rate peaked at between 20 to 25 percent for several years and averaged over 10 percent for the decade of the 1930s. To really bolster what these unemployment rates mean, remind the students that an unemployment rate of 25 percent means that one out of every four workers is unemployed. Ask them to imagine what it must have been like to be unemployed at that time, especially because this was an era with no major transfer programs such as unemployment compensation. Indeed, discuss with the students that at the time there were sincere doubts whether the capitalist system would continue; many people looked to other forms of economic organization—socialism, communism, or fascism—as answers to the Great Depression. Continue by describing how the Great Depression still affects our economy today. In particular, such institutions as Social Security, federal insurance for bank deposits, and unemployment compensation were initiated during the 1930s. Perhaps more importantly, the idea that the federal government should take an active role in the nation’s economy matured during this decade. These features are so common that it is hard to envision their absence. But in a real way, we owe their presence — whether for good or bad — to the Great Depression! The RBC approach distinguishes itself from the other theories by positing that fluctuations have their origins in real phenomena, not money, business sentiments, or rational expectations not being fulfilled. Intuitively, it is appealing to students: they are all aware of technical progress, and it is intuitively