Growth, Inflation And Employment Flashcards
Economic Growth
An increase in the capacity of the economy to produce goods and services over a period of time.
How to measure growth?
To measure growth we use the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total value of all final good and services produced in an economy during a given time.
GDP Formula
GDP = GDP2 - GDP1
————– x 100
GDP1
Important to measure the rate of change, how quickly the production the production possibility frontier shifts to the right.
Economic activity missed out of the GDP measure of economic growth all together
Informal Markets - activity is not recorded and payments are made in cash eg. Black markets
Non-Market Output - Output that people do for themselves that could have been done by someone else eg. Childcare, car services
Charity work and Volunteering - eg. Working in an op shop
The value of some economic activity is over-stated
Negative Externalities
Defensive Expenditure
‘Bads’
The value of some economic activity is under-stated
Positive Externalities
Service Sector Activity
BENEFITS of Economic Growth
- Higher material living standards - producing more goods and services
- Better quality goods and services and increased choices for consumers
- Greater employment opportunities
Headline Inflation
Is a measure of total inflation within an economy including commodities such as food and energy prices (eg. oil and gas), which tend to be much more volatile and prone to inflationary spikes - CPI (consumer price index)
Underlying Inflation
Measures the rate of inflation after removing the effect of market forces (supply and demand). This is a more accurate measure because it removes the seasonality from inflation.
‘The Goldilocks Effect’
The reserve bank of Australia’s target rate of inflation is between 2-3%
Inflation
- Rise in the average price level of goods and services
Disinflation
Slowdown in the rate of inflation. The price level is still increasing but at a slower rate.
Deflation
Fall in the average price level of goods and services
Hyper-inflation
Inflation is out of control (over 100% per year) eg. Nazi Germany - when they constantly made more money and costed a wheel barrow of money to buy a loaf of bread.
Costs of Declining Inflation
- Consumers put off purchases because they feel prices will be cheaper in the future (decreases demand)
- Tends to contribute to low cash rate (current situation) - investment is discouraged because low interest rates mean low return on investment
- Encourages the ‘mattress principle’ take money from banks and keep for themselves
- Austerity (cutting govt. spending) - leads to spending cuts on social programs