The business cycle
An economic period where growth falls for two or more consecutive quarters.
What is a recession?
A sustained increase in the price of goods and services over time.
What is inflation?
All people who are working or actively looking for work.
What is the labour force?
Income improves living standards because it allows people to afford this.
What are goods and services?
The total number of people willing and able to work in Australia.
What is the labour force?
This happens to economic growth during a recession.
What is economic growth falls?
The index used in Australia to measure inflation.
What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
This rate measures the percentage of the labour force without a job but actively seeking work.
What is the unemployment rate?
High employment increases government revenue through this.
What is taxation (tax revenue)?
This is NOT a method of increasing labour productivity: workplace culture, training, performance feedback, or technology.
What is none of them? (They all increase productivity.)
Two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth is the technical definition of this.
What is a recession?
The Reserve Bank of Australia aims to keep inflation within this target range.
What is 2–3% per year?
A country with high employment usually has higher living standards because more people have this.
What is income?
When more people are employed, governments can better fund this, improving living standards.
What is infrastructure and public services?
If inflation is 7%, this is above the RBA target and may lead to this policy action.
What is increasing interest rates?
The stage of the business cycle where GDP is increasing steadily.
What is economic expansion?
When inflation rises too quickly, the RBA may increase this to slow spending.
What are interest rates?
Automation is mainly used to improve this type of productivity.
What is labour productivity?
A fall in unemployment between 2014 and 2019 suggests this about the economy.
What is that the economy was improving?
If Australia’s unemployment was highest in 2020, this global event likely contributed.
What is COVID-19?
If unemployment is rising and GDP is falling, the economy is most likely in this phase.
What is a recession?
If prices increase but wages do not, this aspect of living standards falls.
What is purchasing power?
Training, technology improvements, and flexible workplaces all help increase this.
What is labour productivity?
If unemployment fell more than 4% over a five-year period, this would indicate strong improvement in this indicator.
What is economic performance?
If income increases but inflation rises faster, living standards will likely do this.
What is decrease?