Should Investors Prepare for Inflation or Hyperinflation?
Inflation is a general increase in the price level. If inflation is extremely high, hyperinflation is said to exist. The video Should Investors Prepare for Inflation or Hyperinflation? by TD Ameritrade explores economic conditions that existed in the spring of 2021 that led some economists to be concerned that investors should be preparing for high inflation.
1.
How might the Federal Reserve’s response to the economic conditions that existed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic lead to a higher rate of inflation than the United States has experienced over the previous few decades?
2.
What suggestions does the video provide to investors who want to protect the value of their savings from being negatively impacted by inflation? Do some research to find out how much inflation has occurred since the spring of 2021 and how an investor who followed the advice would have fared.
Unemployment Explained
The video Unemployment Explained, produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), explores how economists think about unemployment. The basic economic tools of supply and demand are used to explain what causes unemployment. In this video, you will also learn about how economists categorize different types of unemployment and why a zero rate of unemployment is not likely or even desirable.
3.
List the types of unemployment presented in the video, giving an example of each type.
4.
Choose three countries and find out what unemployment has been in each of those countries over the past decade. Do you detect any patterns in the unemployment rates in those countries over time or across the three different countries? Tell which type of unemployment you think has been most prevalent in each country, and explain your reasoning.
