04 Aggregate Demand Flashcards
What are the components of aggregate demand (AD)?
C + I + G + X - M
- Consumption (C)
- Investment (I)
- Government Spending (G)
- Net Exports (X - M)
A rise in the price level causes…
a contraction in AD
As fall in the price level causes…
an extension in AD
Define consumption.
Consumer expenditure on goods and services which includes the demand for ‘durables’ and ‘non-durables’.
Define savings.
The part of disposable income that households don’t spend on goods or services over a period of time.
Disposable income.
Households’ net income over a period of time.
Define the interest rate.
The costs of borrowing and the reward from saving.
What the determinants of consumption?
- Level of disposable income
- Interest rates
- Consumer confidence
- Asset prices
- Household indebtedness
- Availability of credit
- Changes in income tax
- Wealth
- Share prices
How would a reduction in unemployment lead to a rise in AD?
- It means that there would be a higher level of disposable income
- Therefore consumers are likely to increase spending (consumption) on goods and services, increasing AD
How is the marginal propensity to consume calcuated?
Change in consumption/change in income
How is the marginal propensity to save calculated?
Change in saving/change in income
Define investment.
Spending by firms on capital goods, used to produce goods and services.
What are the determinants of investment?
- Interest rates
- Business confidence and profits - increased profits - more money for investment in capital goods
- Corporation tax
- Spare capacity
- Level of competition
- Price of capital
- Consumer spending (the accelerator effect)
- Subsidies
- Availability of loans
Why are consumption and investment often positively correlated?
If there is a high level of consumer spending then this will boost investment as:
- Consumption should increase profits for firms
- There should be a boost to business confidence and investment becomes less risky
Define the Accelerator Effect.
When a rise/fall in AD causes a larger percentage rise/fall in investment. This can be positive or negative.
E.g.:
- Economic growth falls by 2%, investment falls by 5%
- Economic growth increases by 5%, investment will rise by more than 5%
Explain the accelerator effect.
In an industry where demand is rising quickly
- Firms may respond initially by using their existing productive capacity more intensively or running down stocks finished products
- If they expect high demand will be sustained - they may increased spending on plant and machinery, factories and new technology in order to increase their supply capacity
- Cause an accelerator effect
What are some examples of the accelerator effect in action?
- Investment to create extra capacity in cloud computing storage services
- Investment in 4G mobile networks to meet rising household and business demand
- Expanding the fleet sizes of growing airlines especially for low-cost short destinations
- Capital investment in renewable energy as the balance of energy supply shift towards renewables
What is the negative accelerator effect?
- When the rate of growth of demand in an industry slows than net investment spending by businesses often often falls
Define government spending.
The sum of all spending by the government.
Define the budget.
The Chancellor’s plans for taxation and government spending over the coming year.
Define budget deficit.
When the government spends more than it received in tax revenue in a given year i.e., G > T.
Define budget surplus
When the govt receives more tax revenue than govt spending in a given year i.e., G < T.
The budget is balanced when…
T = G
Define national debt.
The sum total of all previous debts the government has run up.