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Vocabulary Focus
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Ex. 1. Match the nouns below to make noun partnerships that are found in the text. Give their Russian equivalents.
| A | B |
| 1) business | a) economy |
| 2) market | b) programmes |
| 3) interest | c) Rate |
| 4) Share | d) level |
| 5) recovery | e) cuts |
| 6) price | f) price |
| 7) tax | g) phase |
| 8) austerity | h) cycle |
Ex. 2. Using a dictionary and add as many words as possible into the table.
| Noun | Verb | Adj./Adv/ |
| Creative | ||
| expand | ||
| payment | ||
| election | ||
| contraction | ||
| Independent | ||
| fluctuate |
Ex. 3. Match the Russian words combinations with their English equivalents.
| A | B |
| 1) работать на полную мощность | a) a boom |
| 2) процентная ставка | b) to work at full capacity |
| 3) платежный баланс/ сальдо | c) domestic output |
| 4) создавать задолженность, влезать в долги | d) a balance of payments |
| 5) быстрый подъем (деловой активности) | e) tax cuts |
| 6) внутренний выпуск продукции | f) a recession |
| 7) низшая точка цикла/дно цикла | g) a trough |
| 8) экономический спад | h) to work at below potential |
| 9) снижение налогов 10) работать ниже потенциальных возможностей | i) to run up debts j) a monetary expansion |
| 11) увеличение объёма количества денег 12) цены на акции 13) режим строгой экономии | k) austerity programmes l) an interest rate m) share prices |
Ex. 4. Express in one word.
Beliefs about what will happen in the future.
1. The amount of something produced by a company, a country, and so on.
2. Spending on new machines, factories, and so on.
3. Spending on goods and services.
4. To dismiss employees.
5. Concerning the number of births, deaths, population movements, and so on
6. An absence of luxury and comfort.
7. Constant changes, instability
Words for reference: fluctuations; investment; to lay off; expectations; demographic; consumption; austerity; industrial output.
Comprehension
Ex. 1. Complete the sentences using the words given below.
1. Recurrent rises and falls in real GDP over a period of years is called the _________.
2. A (an) ______ is officially defined as two consecutive quarters of real GDP decline.
3. ____ is measured by the annual percentage change in real GDP in a nation.
4. The phase of the business cycle during which real GDP reaches its maximum after rising during a recovery is called a _______.
5. A _______ is a phase of the business cycle during which real GDP reaches its minimum after falling during a recession.
6. An upturn in the business cycle during which real GDP rises is called a ___.
7. A slowdown in the pace of economic activity
Words for reference: recovery; peak; trough; economic growth; business cycle; recession; contraction
Ex. 2. Match up the following half sentences:
| A | B |
| 1) Companies may have to reduce investment or the size of the work force 2) Companies only invest 3) During a period of economic growth 4) External theories of the business cycle 5) Governments often stimulate the economy 6) Increases in interest rates 7) Internal theories of the business cycle 8) People can demand higher pay 9) People tend to spend less | a) consumers borrow a lot of money. b) if labour costs increase too much. c) if their company's sales are increasing. d) include psychological factors. e) include technological and population changes. f) prior to general elections. g) result in higher rents and mortgages. h) when they are afraid of becoming unemployed. i) while consumption is increasing. |
Ex. 3. Choose the right answer.
1. The _______ phase of the business cycle follows a recession.
a. recovery;
b. recession;
c. peak;
d. trough.
2. The GDP gap is the difference between:
a. frictional unemployment and actual real GDP;
b. unemployment rate and real GDP deflator;
c. full-employment real GDP and actual real GDP;
d. full-employment real GDP and real GGDP deflator.
3. A recession is a business contraction lasting at least:
a. one years;
b. six months;
c. three months;
d. one month.
4. When is the GDP gap largest?
a. During peak periods in the business cycle;
b. During trough periods in the business cycle;
c. When unemployment rates are relatively low;
d. When cyclical unemployment is close to zero.
Ex. 4. Answer the questions on the text.
1. What is a business cycle?
2. What macroeconomic variables is it characterized by?
3. What are the phases of a business cycle?
4. What are they marked by?
5. What are internal /external theories of business cycle based on?
Text 2
Skim the text to define unemployment, its negative and positive sides.
Unemployment and its Costs
Unemployment is the number of adult workers who are not employed and are seeking jobs. To be classified as unemployed, a person must be able and willing to work, be actively seeking work, and be without a job. Everyone who fits this description is unemployed. The labour force is the total number of employed and unemployed workers. The unemployment rate is unemployment expressed as a percentage of the labour force.
Some economists believe that unemployment is inevitable, and a necessary evil to prevent inflation. To the individual worker, unemployment is a tragedy; one that the government should do something about. To the economist, who is looking at the big picture, unemployment is a necessity, and a certain amount of unemployment is necessary to maintain a healthy economy. That is, if there is full employment, it tends to mean there is an undersupply of labour, and this means the cost of employing anyone becomes exceedingly high.
Unemployment has negative sides both for economy as a whole and for individuals. The most obvious economic cost of unemployment is the loss of output and the loss of income..Loss of tax revenue is another economic cost - unemployed people aren't earning and they therefore aren't paying tax. Apart from that, a high rate of unemployment is followed by an increase in government expenditure – the government has to pay out benefits to support the unemployed. Along with the loss of tax this is a 'double whammy'.
Perhaps the main cost of unemployment is a personal one. Prolonged unemployment seriously lowers the value of a person’s human capital, i.e. the value of a person’s education and acquired skills. When unemployment is prolonged, human capital depreciates or deteriorates – skills lose their value. A rise in the unemployment rate also causes an increase in the amount of crime. When people cannot earn an income from legitimate work, they sometimes turn to crime. A high crime rate is also one of the costs of high unemployment. A final cost that is difficult to quantify is the loss of self-esteem that is human dignity, which afflicts people.
It is clear therefore that unemployment carries substantial economic and social costs. In this connection many governments focus their labour market policies on improving the employment prospects of the long-term unemployed.
Ex. 1. Match the Russian words combinations with their English equivalents.
| A | B |
| 1) естественный уровень безработицы | a) a natural rate of unemployment |
| 2) снижение выпуска продукции | b) a double whammy |
| 3) издержки безработицы | c) a labour turnover |
| 4) текучесть рабочей силы; размер текучести рабочей силы | d) costsof unemployment |
| 5) официальная, законная работа | e) a loss of output |
| 6) беспокоить; причинять боль, страдания (кому-л.) | f) a human dignity |
| 7) недостаточное предложение рабочей силы | g) legitimate work |
| 8) человеческое достоинство | h) to afflict |
| 9) двойной удар | i) undersupply of labour |
Ex. 2. Answer the questions:
1. What is unemployment?
2. What do they call the total number of employed and unemployed workers?
3. What are the negative sides of situation with full employment?
4. What are the positive sides of unemployment for individuals and economy as a whole?
5. What are the economic costs of unemployment?
6. What social costs of unemployment do people suffer from?
Text 3
To check your comprehension do the tasks that follow.