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Questions and Answers
Which of the following accurately describes the impact of expansionary fiscal policy in the dynamic aggregate demand and supply model?
Which of the following accurately describes the impact of expansionary fiscal policy in the dynamic aggregate demand and supply model?
What is the primary difference between the traditional fiscal policy model and the dynamic aggregate demand and supply model?
What is the primary difference between the traditional fiscal policy model and the dynamic aggregate demand and supply model?
How does the yield curve typically respond to effective expansionary fiscal policy?
How does the yield curve typically respond to effective expansionary fiscal policy?
Which of the following would be considered a consequence of ineffective fiscal policy?
Which of the following would be considered a consequence of ineffective fiscal policy?
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Which of the following statements about the impact of contractionary fiscal policy in the dynamic model is accurate?
Which of the following statements about the impact of contractionary fiscal policy in the dynamic model is accurate?
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What does the text suggest about the relationship between expansionary fiscal policy and real and nominal interest rates?
What does the text suggest about the relationship between expansionary fiscal policy and real and nominal interest rates?
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Which of the following situations would most likely weaken the effectiveness of expansionary fiscal policy?
Which of the following situations would most likely weaken the effectiveness of expansionary fiscal policy?
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How does contractionary fiscal policy affect the AD curve?
How does contractionary fiscal policy affect the AD curve?
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What is the primary risk associated with fiscal policy aimed at stimulating aggregate demand?
What is the primary risk associated with fiscal policy aimed at stimulating aggregate demand?
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Which of the following accurately describes supply management policies?
Which of the following accurately describes supply management policies?
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In the national income equation, what does the variable 'Y' represent?
In the national income equation, what does the variable 'Y' represent?
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How can a government finance a budget deficit according to the content provided?
How can a government finance a budget deficit according to the content provided?
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What is a key difference between demand-side policies and supply-side policies?
What is a key difference between demand-side policies and supply-side policies?
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What is the primary consequence of central bank financing?
What is the primary consequence of central bank financing?
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What is a negative effect of bond financing?
What is a negative effect of bond financing?
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What is the main argument of John Maynard Keynes regarding government intervention during economic downturns?
What is the main argument of John Maynard Keynes regarding government intervention during economic downturns?
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What can external borrowing potentially cause?
What can external borrowing potentially cause?
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Which of the following best describes expansionary fiscal policy?
Which of the following best describes expansionary fiscal policy?
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What is commonly true about developing countries in relation to deficit financing?
What is commonly true about developing countries in relation to deficit financing?
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During which historical event did government spending significantly increase to combat economic collapse?
During which historical event did government spending significantly increase to combat economic collapse?
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Why is printing money considered the most inflationary way to finance a deficit?
Why is printing money considered the most inflationary way to finance a deficit?
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What happens when the private sector saves more than it invests?
What happens when the private sector saves more than it invests?
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What was the dominant belief regarding government budgets before the Great Depression?
What was the dominant belief regarding government budgets before the Great Depression?
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Which statement accurately describes the relationship between government budget deficits and trade balances?
Which statement accurately describes the relationship between government budget deficits and trade balances?
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What is a potential risk associated with expansionary fiscal policy?
What is a potential risk associated with expansionary fiscal policy?
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What consequence can result from a government consistently running large deficits?
What consequence can result from a government consistently running large deficits?
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What was the main focus of government spending prior to the Great Depression?
What was the main focus of government spending prior to the Great Depression?
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What effect does bond financing have on the economy?
What effect does bond financing have on the economy?
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What does an increase in interest rates from bond financing lead to?
What does an increase in interest rates from bond financing lead to?
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Which of the following is a method governments use to finance budget deficits?
Which of the following is a method governments use to finance budget deficits?
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What does contractionary fiscal policy aim to accomplish?
What does contractionary fiscal policy aim to accomplish?
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What is a likely outcome of unsustainable fiscal policies?
What is a likely outcome of unsustainable fiscal policies?
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What is the 'Guns or Butter' debate primarily concerned with?
What is the 'Guns or Butter' debate primarily concerned with?
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What change occurred in federal government spending after the Great Depression?
What change occurred in federal government spending after the Great Depression?
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How do governments risk creating inflation when financing deficits?
How do governments risk creating inflation when financing deficits?
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Which scenario describes a trade deficit?
Which scenario describes a trade deficit?
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What indicates a healthy balance of payments?
What indicates a healthy balance of payments?
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Which of the following components of the equation "Y C I G X m" represents government spending?
Which of the following components of the equation "Y C I G X m" represents government spending?
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How does fiscal policy indirectly impact consumption (C)?
How does fiscal policy indirectly impact consumption (C)?
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What is the primary goal of fiscal policy in relation to aggregate supply?
What is the primary goal of fiscal policy in relation to aggregate supply?
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Which of the following is NOT a type of tax system?
Which of the following is NOT a type of tax system?
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What does a progressive tax system imply?
What does a progressive tax system imply?
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What does 'Internal Balance' refer to in the context of fiscal policy?
What does 'Internal Balance' refer to in the context of fiscal policy?
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How can fiscal policy promote 'External Balance'?
How can fiscal policy promote 'External Balance'?
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Which of the following is NOT a goal of fiscal policy?
Which of the following is NOT a goal of fiscal policy?
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Flashcards
Fiscal Policy
Fiscal Policy
Government actions like tax cuts to influence demand.
Aggregate Demand Shift
Aggregate Demand Shift
Increase in overall demand due to more disposable income.
Inflation Risk
Inflation Risk
Potential increase in prices as demand rises.
Savings-Investment Balance
Savings-Investment Balance
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Supply Management
Supply Management
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Fiscal Policy Equation
Fiscal Policy Equation
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Components of GDP (Y)
Components of GDP (Y)
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Consumption (C)
Consumption (C)
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Investment (I)
Investment (I)
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Government Spending (G)
Government Spending (G)
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Progressive Tax System
Progressive Tax System
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Internal Balance
Internal Balance
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External Balance
External Balance
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Private Sector Borrowing
Private Sector Borrowing
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Foreign Borrowing
Foreign Borrowing
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Inflationary Finance
Inflationary Finance
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Inflation Tax
Inflation Tax
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Bond Financing
Bond Financing
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External Financing Risks
External Financing Risks
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Developing Countries Vulnerability
Developing Countries Vulnerability
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Pre-Great Depression Fiscal Policy
Pre-Great Depression Fiscal Policy
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Contractionary Fiscal Policy
Contractionary Fiscal Policy
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Dynamic Aggregate Demand & Supply Model
Dynamic Aggregate Demand & Supply Model
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Expansionary Fiscal Policy
Expansionary Fiscal Policy
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Aggregate Demand Shift Right
Aggregate Demand Shift Right
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Employment and Inflation Trade-off
Employment and Inflation Trade-off
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Contractionary Policy Effects
Contractionary Policy Effects
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Effective vs. Ineffective Fiscal Policy
Effective vs. Ineffective Fiscal Policy
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Yield Curve Steepening
Yield Curve Steepening
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Current Account Balance
Current Account Balance
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Trade Surplus
Trade Surplus
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Trade Deficit
Trade Deficit
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Fiscal Balance
Fiscal Balance
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Sustainable Fiscal Policy
Sustainable Fiscal Policy
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Capital Outflows
Capital Outflows
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Borrowing from the Central Bank
Borrowing from the Central Bank
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Issuing Government Bonds
Issuing Government Bonds
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Keynesian Revolution
Keynesian Revolution
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Guns or Butter Debate
Guns or Butter Debate
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Aggregate Demand (AD)
Aggregate Demand (AD)
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Government Spending During Crises
Government Spending During Crises
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Economic Cycle
Economic Cycle
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Study Notes
Week 1 - Definition of Fiscal Policy
- Fiscal policy is how the government spends money and collects taxes to influence the economy.
- The goal is to maximize economic growth, lower unemployment, and control inflation.
- Key aspects include tax, spending, and borrowing.
- Government actions, at national, regional and local levels, all play a role in fiscal policy.
Tools of Fiscal Policy
- Two main fiscal policy tools:
- Government Expenditure (Spending): Funds infrastructure, education, healthcare and defence.
- Taxes: Government collects money from people and businesses.
- Fiscal policy can be expansionary (to boost the economy) or contractionary (to slow the economy or lower inflation).
- Expansionary policy:
- Increase government spending, e.g., building roads, unemployment benefits.
- Reduce taxes to give people more money for spending.
- Contractionary policy:
- Decrease government spending, e.g., cut budgets.
- Increase taxes to remove extra cash from people.
- Expansionary policy:
Taxes as a Tool
- Taxes are the government's primary way to fund public services.
- The tax system has different types.
- Direct taxes : Income tax, capital gains tax, corporate tax
- Indirect taxes : Sales tax, VAT
- Other taxes : Excise duties, custom duties, property tax.
Week 1 - Types of Taxes
- Income Tax : Taken from salaries.
- Sales Tax : Added to purchases (VAT, GST).
- Corporate Tax : Paid by businesses on their profits.
- Excise Tax : Applied to specific goods (e.g., alcohol, tobacco).
- Custom Duties : Taxes on imports/exports.
Week 1 - Simple Explanation of Key Concepts
- Fiscal Deficit: When government spending is more than the revenue earned. (Government needs to borrow money.)
- Surplus Budget: When government earns more than it spends. (Rare)
- Balanced Budget: Government spending exactly equals tax revenue. (Theoretical ideal)
Week 1 - Government Expenditure
- To grow the economy, the government spends on projects that matter.
- Three main areas of government spending:
- Transfer Payments: Welfare payments. (e.g., pensions, unemployment benefits)
- Current Spending: Government spending on daily operations. (e.g., salaries for teachers and nurses)
- Capital Spending: Long-term investment in infrastructure. (e.g., roads, hospitals, prisons).
Week 1 - Government Expenditure Tools
- The government uses three main ways to fund spending:
- Taxation.
- Natural Resources (e.g., oil, gas).
- Deficit Financing: Borrowing money when spending is greater than revenue.
Week 1 - Government Expenditure vs. Taxes
- Government purchases directly impact aggregate demand.
- Example: New highways boost demand for materials and services.
- Taxes indirectly impact aggregate demand.
- Example: Lower taxes increase disposable income, boosting consumer spending.
Week 1 - Key Takeaways
- Fiscal policy impacts key economic indicators, including output, employment, inflation, and balance of payments.
- Fiscal policy influences aggregate supply by directing resources to essential sectors.
Week 2 - Uses of Fiscal Policy
- Pre-Great Depression: The dominant belief was that governments must balance their budgets annually. Large government projects were already funded through borrowing.
- Keynesian Revolution (1936): John Maynard Keynes challenged the idea of always balancing budgets. He argued that if private sector consumption and investment fall, governments must increase spending, or reduce taxes to support aggregate demand.
Week 2 - Government Spending During Crises
- The graph shows the share of federal government spending over time.
- The Great Depression (1930s): Large increases in government spending to combat economic collapse.
Week 2 - Key Takeaways
- Modern economies rely on active fiscal policy, especially during crises.
- Policymakers use spending to stabilize economies in good and bad times.
Week 2 - Expansionary vs. Contractionary Fiscal Policy
- Expansionary fiscal policy is used during economic downturns (high unemployment), to increase aggregate demand e.g increase government spending or cut taxes.
- Contractionary fiscal policy is used during periods of high inflation to reduce aggregate demand, e.g., reduce government spending or increase taxes.
Week 2 - Dynamic Aggregate Demand & Aggregate Supply Model
- Traditional fiscal policy models assume static GDP and prices.
- Real economies evolve dynamically, with long-term GDP growth and shifting price levels.
Week 2 - Expansionary Fiscal Policy in Dynamic Model
- The economy starts in long-run equilibrium.
- Government increases spending to bring economy back to full employment
- Policy Response: Increase spending/tax cuts
- Result: Shifts AD to right, increasing GDP, but also increasing price level/inflation
Week 2 - Contractionary Fiscal Policy in Dynamic Model
- Economy starts in long-run equilibrium, with demand being too high, leading to inflation.
- Policy Response: Decrease spending/increase taxes
- Result: Shifts AD to the left, reducing inflation, but also reducing GDP.
Week 2 - Effective Fiscal Policy
- Expansionary fiscal policy boosts GDP and inflation, and increases nominal & real interest rates.
- It supports investment in riskier assets.
- Key takeaway: Well-executed fiscal policy stimulates economic activity and encourages investment.
Week 2 - Ineffective Fiscal Policy
- If people believe stimulus is temporary, they save, not spend, which offsets government spending.
- Example: If people expect future tax hikes, they save more, canceling out the stimulus effect.
Week 2 - Loss of Control: Hyperinflation & Crisis
- If governments print too much money (to finance deficit) inflation spirals out of control,
- Markets lose confidence, potentially causing rapid inflation, currency depreciation, and higher interest rates.
- Market collapse can be common in unstable economies.
Week 2 - The "Magic Factors" Behind Fiscal Policy Effectiveness
- The multiplier effect: an initial change in spending leads to a larger overall economic impact.
- Tax cuts: More disposable income leads to more consumption (higher output).
- Government spending/investment spending: Creates public demand (risk of inflation)
Week 2 - Calculating the Tax Multiplier
- The tax multiplier shows how much output (Y) decreases when taxes (T) increase.
- The size of the multiplier depends on the MPC (marginal propensity to consume).
Week 2 - Simple vs. Complex Tax Multipliers
- Simple tax multiplier assumes tax cuts only affect consumption, no impact on investment or trade.
- Complex tax multipliers account for how tax cuts may impact all GDP components and potential leakages (savings, imports, taxes)
Week 2 - Factors Affecting Fiscal Multipliers
- Openness: More imports reduce the impact of government spending.
- Closed economies: Spending stays domestic.
- Exchange rate system: Fixed rates lead to stronger effects.
- Debt levels: High debt may indicate lower multipliers.
Week 2 - Modern Views of the Fiscal Multiplier
- 1960s-1970s: Strong belief in government spending effect on growth
- 1970s Stagflation: Keynesian theory began to weaken, shifting to monetarism.
- Fiscal policy's effectiveness varies by economic environment, including confidence of people in economic policies.
Week 2 - Automatic Stabilizers
- Policies that adjust automatically to economic changes without new laws.
- Reduce severity of recessions and slow overheating economies.
- Examples: Progressive taxes, unemployment benefits.
Week 2 - Consumption Stabilization in the EU
- EU stabilizers are even stronger than income stabilization (70% consumption loss absorbed by taxes, benefits, and reduced savings).
- Households reduce savings when income falls, keeping spending stable.
Week 3 - Fiscal Policy Lags
- Recognition time lag (9-18 months) is needed to identify economic problems, like a recession or inflation.
- Action time lag: Governments take time to debate and implement policies.
- Effect time lag: Delayed impact on the economy from the implemented policies.
Week 3 - Problems with Proper Timing (Economic Stability)
- Fiscal Policy can be a double-edged sword. Proper timing can stabilize the economy, bad timing can make things worse.
- Examples: If a government increases spending to late in a recovery, it might trigger inflation instead of growth.
Week 3 - One Solution: Automatic Stabilizers
- Policies that automatically adjust to economic changes.
- Examples: Progressive taxes, unemployment benefits.
- Goal: To reduce recession severity and cool down overheated economies.
Week 3 - How Automatic Stabilizers Work in Different Phases of the Economy
- During a recession: Unemployment benefits. Income falls → Taxes decrease.
- During an overheated economy: Higher wages, higher employment → Higher taxes, unemployment benefits reduced.
Week 3 - Automatic Stabilizers in the EU
- Stabilizers in the EU are around 35% effective. Variation in efficiency, between countries.
Week 3 - Consumption Stabilization in the EU
- Consumption loss is stabilized by an average of 70% in the EU. (due to taxes, benefits, and reduced savings).
- Households reduce savings when income falls (keeping spending stable).
Week 3 - Fiscal Position/Balance
- Fiscal balance is the difference between government revenue and spending.
- A positive balance is a surplus. A negative balance is a deficit.
- Fiscal balances are used to measure financial health and the government's ability to meet its financial obligations.
Week 3 - The Federal Government Debt
- When government spending exceeds revenues it borrows money.
- Debt increases during major crises or wars.
Week 3 - Budget Deficits & Recessions
- Government deficits tend to increase during recessions. (due to lower tax revenue and increased spending).
Week 3- How Should the Fiscal Position Be Assessed?
- Measuring a fiscal position is complex, with no one size-fits-all method.
- Challenges arise due to varying economic conditions.
- The IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manuel (GFSM 2014) describes a framework, providing a basis for assessing fiscal health
Week 3 - Coverage of the Public Sector
- Public sector is the group of entities responsible for fiscal activities.
- Public sector includes different levels of government. (National, Subnational, social security funds, public corporations)
Week 3 - When to Record Government Transactions
- Commitment basis: government records transaction when they commit to it. (e.g., when issuing or signing a contract).
- Accrual basis: records transactions when economic event actually happens. (e.g., services/goods are delivered).
- Due-for-payment basis: Transactions are recorded before any penalties or fees are charged.
- Cash basis: Transactions recorded when cash is received/paid.
Week 3 - Main Fiscal Indicators
- Flow indicators measure economic activities over a specific period. (E.g., government revenue and expenditures in 2024)
- Stock indicator measure the value of assets and liabilities at a specific point in time. (E.g., the total national debt at the end of 2024)
- Types of Fiscal indicators: Primary, Operational balances.
Week 4 - Debt Accumulation: A Vicious Cycle
- Uncontrolled debt growth due to interest payments.
- Budget deficit: more spending than revenue
- Higher interest payments: increased debt
- Debt accumulation/debt growth → vicious cycle
Week 4 - Operational Budget Deficit Formula
- Basic equation for the deficit: ∆D = G^N + rD- T
- D = Total government debt;
- G^N =Non-interest government spending; r= interest rate on debt; T = Taxes collected.
Week 4 - Linking Debt Growth to Economic Growth
- Debt grows at the interest rate.
- GDP grows at a rate g.
- If GDP growth is faster than interest rate, debt-to-GDP ratio decreases.
Week 4 - Understanding Debt Ratio Changes
- Debt-to-GDP ratio depends on the difference between interest rate and GDP growth rate ( g > r, a positive debt-to-GDP ratio change)
Week 4 - Final Message
- Debt isn't always a problem - economic growth can keep debt under control.
- Debt becomes a problem when interest rate is above GDP growth rate.
Week 4 - Fiscal Stimulus and Crisis of Confidence
- Governments lose confidence in their ability to repay debt if people anticipate future taxes.
- This reduces consumption and slows the economy.
Week 4 - The Paradox of Thrift
- If everyone tries to save more, total spending falls and the economy contracts.
- Keynesians warn that excessive saving can cause recession.
Week 4 - Household Debt and the 2008 Financial Crisis
- Household debt-to-income ratio skyrocketed before the 2008 recession.
- After recession, household debt fell but remained high.
- Excessive debt can worsen a recession or make stimulus less effective.
Week 4- France's Fiscal Response to COVID-19
- France spent heavily on direct crisis spending and loan guarantees for businesses.
- Extensive support measures including more money for health and insurance, subsidized wage payments and support for small businesses.
- Post-covid recovery plan introduced. €100 billion investment in two years
- Focus to improve competitiveness (green energy)
Week 4 - Limits of Fiscal Policy After a Crisis
- Government borrowing can increase interest rates reduce private investment.
- Excessive spending or intervention can trigger inflation.
- Delays in policy implementation can reduce effectiveness.
Week 4 - Exam Cheat Sheet
- Solvency: Long-term ability to pay debts.
- Liquidity: Short-term ability to pay bills.
- If interest rate is greater than GDP growth then debt is considered unsustainable.
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Description
Test your understanding of the dynamic aggregate demand and supply model, focusing on fiscal policy's impact. This quiz explores both expansionary and contractionary policies, their effectiveness, and their consequences in economic contexts. Dive deep into the nuances between traditional and dynamic fiscal models.