71) Suppose the change in the government's debt-to-GDP ratio in a given year is 0.026. This figure tells us that the government's debt-to-GDP ratio has
A) fallen by 0.026%.
B) risen by 0.026%.
C) risen by 2.6 percentage points.
D) fallen by 2.6 percentage points.
E) risen by 0.026 percentage points.
72) Suppose the government's debt-to-GDP ratio on January 1 of Year 1 is 32%. The change in the debt-to-GDP ratio during Year 1 is -0.037. On January 1 of Year 2 the government's debt-to-GDP ratio is
A) 31.963%.
B) 32. 037%.
C) 28.3%.
D) 35.7%.
E) Not enough information to determine.
73) Consider the following data about government debt and deficit in a given year:
A) remained unchanged.
B) risen by 50%.
C) fallen by 50%.
D) risen by 0.5 percentage points.
E) fallen by 0.5 percentage points.
74) Consider the following data about government debt and deficit in a given year:
A) 82 percentage points.
B) 8.2 percentage points.
C) 0.82 percentage points.
D) 2.8 percentage points.
E) 0.28 percentage points.
75) Consider the following data about government debt and deficit in a given year:
A) remained unchanged.
B) risen by 0.2 percentage points.
C) fallen by 0.2 percentage points.
D) risen by 2 percentage points.
E) fallen by 2 percentage points.
76) Suppose that the real rate of interest on government bonds is 4% and the growth rate of real GDP is 2%. If the government has a positive stock of outstanding debt and its policy objective is to hold the debt-to-GDP ratio constant at its current level, it must
A) eliminate the overall deficit.
B) run an annually balanced budget.
C) run a cyclically balanced budget.
D) run a primary budget deficit.
E) run a primary budget surplus.
77) Suppose the government's objective is to hold its debt-to-GDP ratio constant at its current level of 30%. If the real interest rate on government bonds is 4% and the growth rate of real GDP is 2%, the government must
A) run a primary budget deficit of 0.6% of GDP.
B) run an overall budget deficit of 6.0% of GDP.
C) run an overall budget surplus of 6.0% of GDP.
D) run a primary budget surplus of 0.6% of GDP.
E) balance the overall budget.
78) Suppose that the real rate of interest is 3% and the growth rate of real GDP is 1%. If the government has a positive stock of outstanding debt and its goal is to hold the debt-to-GDP ratio constant at its current level, then it
A) must run a cyclically balanced budget.
B) must run an annually balanced budget.
C) must run a primary budget deficit.
D) must run a primary budget surplus.
E) must eliminate the overall deficit.
79) Consider a government with an outstanding stock of public debt. If, in any given year, the government has a primary budget surplus and the real interest rate on government bonds is less than the growth rate of real GDP, then
A) debt-service payments will be eliminated.
B) the debt-to-GDP ratio is certainly negative.
C) the debt-to-GDP ratio will certainly rise.
D) the debt-to-GDP ratio will certainly fall.
E) real GDP will certainly rise.
80) Consider a government with an outstanding stock of public debt. If, in any given year, the government has a primary budget surplus and the real interest rate on government bonds is more than the growth rate of real GDP, then
A) the debt-to-GDP ratio will certainly fall.
B) debt-service payments will be eliminated.
C) the debt-to-GDP ratio is certainly negative.
D) the debt-to-GDP ratio will certainly rise.
E) the effect on the debt-to-GDP ratio is uncertain.