Macroeconomics Unit 6 Assignment

Denise Brown
AB204-03
Unit 7
April 28, 2013

Question:
1. Use the Kaplan electronic library and databases to research and compose a 5- paragraph essay (APA format) to identify a minimum of 3 economic concepts and/or theories from this course and how they relate to some current event (properly cite a minimum of three electronic references).
The first concept I am going to discuss is recession. A recession is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity is reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for two or more consecutive quarters. During my search, I came across an article titled “America’s Response to a Deep Recession”. In this article it states that in March 2009 more than nine in ten Americans (93 percent) rated the nation’s economy negatively, as no-so-good or poor, while only 7 percent said it was excellent or good (Blendon & Benson, 2009).
Recessions hurt the middle class and the poor. Many lose their jobs, have their hours or pay cut and have cut back on most everything but the necessities, which brings me to my next topic about inflation.

The second concept I am going to discuss is inflation. Inflation is a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. Inflation is important to understand because it can directly affect the average consumer. Minimum wage increases can lead to increased inflation. The article that I came across is titled “Do minimum Wage Increases Cause Inflation?” In the article, it states that minimum wage increases can lead to negative impacts by reducing the demand for labor or by increasing the output prices (Cuong, 2011). Minimum wage is the lowest monthly paying wage for a single worker, which is required to ensure the basic needs of the worker and their families. During inflation, prices go up and minimum wage must go up as well. We are seeing minimum wage getting higher and higher all the time, but we also see the prices on groceries and everyday products getting higher and higher as well. However, the demand for labor is lower, which brings me to my next topic about unemployment.

The third concept I am going to discuss is unemployment. America continues to suffer from the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression (Kochan, 2013). During my search, I came across an article titled “THE AMERICAN JOBS CRISIS AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR THE FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT POLICY:
A CALL FOR A NEW JOBS COMPACT” which states that three and a half years after the recession there are 3.6 million fewer jobs. It also states that the economy has encountered a slower recovery from the job losses from the Great Recession of 2007-2009 since the recession in 1980. According to (Kochan) in January 2013 , the economy still needed 3.6 million jobs to get back to the level just prior to the start of the recession and another 5.2 million jobs to account for the growth in the labor force. I happen to be one of them that are on unemployment. I lost my job in July 2012 and I have been applying and applying for jobs. Out of the last 9 months, I have only gotten two phone calls out of all the jobs I have applied for. There are jobs out there, it just seems they are not hiring for the positions that are listed or filling the positions that they have listed.

2. Record the methods you used to discover these sources.
Some methods I used while searching were Articles and Reports, Basic Search, Advanced Search, Business Source Complete, Academic Search Premier, Newspaper Source and News & Current Topics. I used search words or phrases like Recession, Recession in America, Inflation, Inflation in America, Causes of Inflation, Unemployment and Causes of Unemployment. I also looked for articles that contained economics or macroeconomics

3. Which databases did you search? What combination of search terms did you use?
Which methods resulted in the most hits? Which methods resulted in few or no hits? I used several of the databases in Kaplan library while doing my research. The one that I used for all three of my searches was Business Source Complete basic search under Articles and Reports. My first topic was recession and I first just searched recession, which yielded 53,763 results. I narrowed it down by searching recession in America, which yielded 2,005 results. My second topic was inflation and I first just searched inflation, which yielded 83,594 results. I narrowed that down by searching inflation in America, which yielded 3,198 results. I then narrowed it down even further by searching causes of inflation, which yielded 1,665 results. My third topic was unemployment and I first just searched unemployment, which yielded 45,018 results. I narrowed my search down by searching unemployment in America, which yielded 1,302 results. I then narrowed it down even further and searched causes of unemployment, which yielded 1,178 results.

With Kaplan Library, I was easily able to research three concepts or theories. I was also able to search using a single keyword, or multiple words for my research. Kaplan Library provides many databases to research many topics, which returns many articles. All of the articles were related to my research topics.

References

Blendon, R., & Benson. J. (2009). America’s Response to a Deep Recession. Challenge (05775132), 52(4), 32-52. doi:10.2753/0577-5132520404

Cuong, N. (2011). Do Minimum Wage Increases Cause Inflation?. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 28(3), 337-359. Doi:10.1355/ae28-3d

KOCHAN, T.A. (2013). THE AMERICAN JOBS CRISIS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT POLICY: A CALL FOR A NEW JOBS COMPACT. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 66(2), 291-314.

References: Blendon, R., & Benson. J. (2009). America’s Response to a Deep Recession. Challenge (05775132), 52(4), 32-52. doi:10.2753/0577-5132520404 Cuong, N. (2011). Do Minimum Wage Increases Cause Inflation?. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 28(3), 337-359. Doi:10.1355/ae28-3d KOCHAN, T.A. (2013). THE AMERICAN JOBS CRISIS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT POLICY: A CALL FOR A NEW JOBS COMPACT. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 66(2), 291-314.