Much of the language used to describe monetary policy,such as "steering the economy to a soft landing" or "a touch on the brakes

admin2014-09-27  28

问题     Much of the language 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 link 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 rear-view mirror and a faulty steering wheel.
    Given all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late. 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 had 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 couple of years, inflation has been consistently 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 America’s, have little productive slack. America’s capacity utilization, 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 upended the old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.
According to the text, making monetary policy changes______.

选项 A、is comparable to driving a car
B、is similar to carrying out scientific work
C、will not influence the economy immediately
D、will have an immediate impact on the inflation rate

答案C

解析 细节题。不会马上影响到经济。参阅文章1段第4句:And there are long,variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy.(政策改变对经济的影响之间有很长的滞缓持续时间),由此可知政策改变不会马上影响到经济。选项[A]意为:就好比开车。原文是说the conduct of monetary policy(掌管货币政策)如同开车,犹如开一辆挡风玻璃被遮住,后视镜已毁坏,方向盘出毛病的汽车。而题干问的是making monetary policy changes(进行货币政策改变);选项[B]意为:如同开展科研工作。选项[D]意为:会对通货膨胀率有直接的影响。以上各项都不合题意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/xkfsFFFM
0

随机试题
最新回复(0)