Monetary Policy (CIE IGCSE Economics)

Topic Questions

11 mark

What is the most likely result of an increase in interest rates?

  • a fall in consumer spending

  • a fall in productivity

  • a rise in borrowing

  • a rise in investment

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21 mark

What can a central bank increase in order to reduce consumer borrowing?

  • commercial bank deposits

  • government spending

  • the exchange rate

  • the rate of interest

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3
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1 mark

What is a monetary policy measure?

  • increasing interest rates

  • increasing taxation

  • reducing the power of trade unions

  • selling state-owned enterprises

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41 mark

Which government policy would reduce economic growth?

  • cutting the rate of corporation tax

  • increasing expenditure on education

  • lowering the rate of income tax

  • raising interest rates

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51 mark

The government uses monetary policy and reduces the interest rate.

What might be a consequence of this?

  • a decrease in the rate of inflation

  • an increase in the level of investment

  • an increase in the level of savings

  • an increase in unemployment

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11 mark

The table shows possible sequences between the rate of interest and other economic variables. Which sequence is the most likely?

  interest rate borrowing investment GDP

A

B

C

D

higher

higher

lower

lower

decrease

increase

decrease

increase

increase

decrease

decrease

increase

increase

decrease

decrease

increase

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21 mark

Which statement about interest rate changes is accurate?

  • A fall in interest rates will always increase inflation.

  • A rise in interest rates may increase cost-push inflation.

  • A rise in interest rates will raise the level of investment in a country.

  • Interest rate changes have no impact on the level of production.

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3
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1 mark

What best describes a 'bond'?

  • The price of one currency in terms of another

  • When the central bank creates new money & uses it to buy open-market assets

  • Currency and other liquid assets held by the central bank to settle payments

  • The government borrows money from private firms/individuals and promises to pay it back in the future with interest

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4
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1 mark

How does a central bank use quantitative easing as part of its monetary policy?

  • By decreasing the money supply through open market sales

  • By raising interest rates to control inflation

  • By purchasing financial assets to increase the money supply

  • By reducing government spending to stimulate the economy

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5
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1 mark

What is a main motivation for investors engaging in hot money flows?

  • Long-term economic growth

  • Stable and predictable returns

  • Supporting local businesses

  • Speculative short-term gains

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11 mark

In recent years some central banks have reduced interest rates below 1% per year.
What is the purpose of this monetary policy?

  • to discourage lending by the commercial banks

  • to encourage investment to stimulate the economy

  • to increase individual savings

  • to reduce inflation

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21 mark

What is an example of expansionary monetary policy?

  • a decrease in income tax rates

  • a decrease in the budget deficit

  • a decrease in the money supply

  • a decrease in the rate of interest

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31 mark

What is the most likely effect of a government reducing the money supply?

  • Employment will decrease.

  • Growth will increase.

  • Inflation will increase.

  • Tax rates will decrease.

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41 mark

What is likely to assist a government’s policy of reducing inflation?

  • allowing businesses to borrow money for longer periods

  • encouraging the public to spend more money

  • increasing lending to members of the public

  • raising the interest rate on credit card borrowing

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5
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1 mark

Which of the following is not a strength of monetary policy?

  • The Bank of England is independent from the government

  • It only considers a short term outlook

  • It targets inflation & maintains stable prices

  • Depreciating the currency can increase exports

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