ECON 2302.03 Homework: Macroeconomic data gathering and analysis
From the 2013 Economic Report of the President (yes, we are using the 2013 report because it actually has more historical data than more recent reports), please find data on the following annual series from 1973 to 2012.
- Nominal GDP (simply called GDP in the ERP)
- Real GDP
- Real Government Purchases (called Government Consumption Expenditures and
Gross Investment in the ERP; real means the numbers are in constant dollars)
- Real Personal Consumption
- Real Gross Private Domestic Investment
1. Show the above requested data pulled from the ERP in one table. Display ONLY the above requested data, not the original data tables; i.e., construct your own table with the data you gathered.
2. Derive/calculate the annual GDP price index (GDP deflator) using the GDP numbers for each year, starting in 1974. Then calculate the annual inflation rate for each year starting in 1974.
3. For each year, calculate the percentage of:
- Real government purchases to real GDP
- Real personal consumption to real GDP
- Real gross private domestic investment to real GDP
4. Graph nominal GDP and real GDP onto one graph. Based on the graphs, describe/comment on the conclusions/relationships you observe between real and nominal GDP.
5. On another graph, graph the percentages of real government purchases to real GDP, real personal consumption to real GDP, and real gross private domestic investment to real GDP. Based on the graphs, describe/comment on the conclusions/relationships you observe among government purchases, personal consumption, and gross private domestic investment.
6. Calculate the annual growth rates for real GDP and gross private domestic investment for each year starting in 1974. Show the annual growth rates in one graph and comment about what you see.