Introduction to Real World Macro Policy Options

Neither fiscal nor monetary policies are as mechanical and surgical effectively as we learned about in earlier modules. Fiscal policy is subject to crowding out, but crowding out only reduces the effectiveness of fiscal policy it doesn’t eliminate it. Monetary policy may be better at slowing an economy down than stimulating it. Expectations clearly matter to economic decision making and economic policy, but do real world actors have Ricardian Equivalence and Rational Expectations? Most economists would say no. Where does that leave us? Read on to learn more about the real-world applications of these policies.

Self Check: Real World Macro Policy Options

Answer the question(s) below to see how well you understand the topics covered in the previous section. This short quiz does not count toward your grade in the class, and you can retake it an unlimited number of times.

You’ll have more success on the Self Check if you’ve completed the Reading in this section.

Use this quiz to check your understanding and decide whether to (1) study the previous section further or (2) move on to the next section.