Many phrases used to describe monetary policy, such as "steering the economy to a soft landing" or "a touch on the brakes", make

admin2010-07-06  34

问题    Many phrases used to describe monetary policy, such as "steering the economy to a soft landing" or "a touch on the brakes", makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The relation between interest rates and inflation is uncertain. And there are long, variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rearview mirror and a faulty steering wheel.
   Given all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 2.3% last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 2.5% this July. This is a long way below the double-digit rates which many countries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s.
   It is also less than most forecasters has predicted. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that America’s inflation rate would average 3.5% in 1995. In fact, it fell to 2.6% in August, and is expected to average only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past few years, inflation has been continually lower than expected in Britain and America.
   Economists have been particularly surprised by favourable inflation figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies, and especially that of America, have little productive slack. America’s capacity utilisation, for example, hit historically high levels earlier this year, and its jobless rate (5.6% in August) has fallen below most estimates of the natural rate of unemployment -- the rate below which inflation has taken off in the past.
   Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some economists argue that powerful structural changes in the world have up-ended the old economic models which were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.  
The text suggests that

选项 A、the previous economic models are still applicable.
B、an extremely low jobless rate will lead to inflation.
C、a high unemployment rate will result from inflation.
D、interest rates have an immediate effect on the economy.

答案B

解析 文章表明:选项A:先前的经济模式仍然适用。错误,与文章最后一段意思相反。选项B:极端的低失业率导致通货膨胀。正确,由第四段最后一句话可知,极低的失业率会导致通货膨胀。选项C:通货膨胀导致高失业率。错误。选项D:银行利率对经济有直接影响。错误,没涉及。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/YeisFFFM
0

最新回复(0)