As the United States began to feel the economic effects of the Covid–19 pandemic in March 2020, an article in the Wall Street Journal referred to the U.S. economy as experiencing a “supply shock.”

a. What does the article mean by a “supply shock”?

b. In what sense did the Covid–19 pandemic result in a supply shock to the U.S. economy? How did the supply shock from the pandemic differ from most previous supply shocks to the U.S. economy?

c. What effect did the supply shock have on the U.S. economy’s short-run aggregate supply curve?