Macro – Policies Flashcards
What are Demand-Side Policies?
Policies that focus on changing aggregate demand to achieve macroeconomic goals.
What are Supply-Side Policies?
Policies that focus on changing aggregate supply to achieve macroeconomic goals.
What are the Types of Demand-Side Policies?
1) Monetary Policy
2) Fiscal Policy
What are the Types of Supply-Side Policies?
1) Market-based Policy
2) Interventionist Policy
What are the Goals of Monetary Policy?
- Inflation targeting (low and stable)
- Low unemployment
- Reduction of business cycle fluctuations
- Stable economic environment for growth
- External balance
Explain how Interest Rates are Determined
The interest rate is determined by the supply of money. Central banks are able to chante the supply of money according to their needs: an increase will cause a lower interest rate, whereas a decrease will cause a higher exchange rate.
How do Commercial Banks create Money?
Money is created through loans. Hence, the lower the minimum reserve requirement, the higher quantity of loans can be given. This increases the money created hence increasing the money supply.
What are the Tools of Monetary Policy?
- Open-market operations (bonds)
- Minimum reserve requirements
- Changes in central bank minimum lending rate
- Quantitative easing (bonds on large scale)
How can the Real Interest Rate be Calculated?
Nominal interest rate - rate of inflation
Distinguish between Contractionary and Expansionary policy
Expansionary MP describes the attempt of banks to curb deflationary gaps: the interest rate will hence be decreased in order to increase AD. Contractionary MP is used to curb inflationary gaps: the interest rate will be increased to reduce AD.
What are the Advantages of Monetary Policy?
- Changes can be incremental
- Flexible (can change according to needs)
- Easily reversible
- Short time lags
- Not subject to political debate
- No budget deficit or debt
- No crowding out
What are the Disadvantages of Monetary Policy?
- Possibly ineffective in recession
- Affects on exchange rate (political conflict)
- May be inflationary (expansionary policy)
- Cannot deal with cost-push inflation or stagflation
What are the Sources of Government Revenue?
1) Taxes
2) Sales of goods and services
3) Sales of state-owned assets
What are the Types of Government Expenditure?
1) Current expenditure (recurrent expenditures)
2) Capital expenditure (public investments)
3) Transfer payments
What are the Goals of Fiscal Policy?
- Low and stable inflation
- Low unemployment
- Reduce business fluctuations
- Stable economic environment for growth
- External balance
- Equitable distribution of income
What are the Tools of Fiscal Policy?
- Government spending
- Personal income taxes
- Corporate taxes
- Combination of government spending and taxes
What are the Disadvantages of Fiscal Policy?
- Long time-lags
- Political constraints
- Government debt
- Tax cuts may not always be effective in recession
- Cannot be used to reach a specific target of output
- May be inflationary
- Cannot deal with cost-push inflation/stagflation
- Crowding out (caused by government taking a loan)
What are the Advantages of Fiscal Policy
- Curb recession
- Can target specific sectors of the economy
- Directly impacts AD
- Can deal with rapid escalating inflation
- Can affect potential output (investment)
- Automatic stabilizers