chapter 12 fiscal policy and the national debt 12-1 copyright 2005 by the mcgraw-hill companies,...

Chapter 12

Fiscal Policy and the National Debt

12-1Copyright 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Objectives• The deflationary gap

• The inflationary gap

• The multiplier and its applications

• Automatic stabilizers

• Discretionary fiscal policy

• Budget deficits and surpluses

• The public debt

• Crowding-in and crowding-out


Fiscal Policy

• Fiscal policy is the manipulation of the federal budget to attain price stability, relatively full employment, and a satisfactory rate of economic growth– To attain these goals, the government must

manipulate its spending and taxes


• There was no such thing as fiscal policy until John Maynard Keynes invented it in the 1930s– He maintained that

• The only way out of the Depression was to boost aggregate demand by increasing government spending

• If we ran a big enough budget deficit, we could jump-start the economy and, in effect, spend our way out of the depression

Putting Fiscal Policy into Perspective


• It’s important that the aggregate supply of goods and services equals the aggregate demand for goods and services at just the level of spending that will bring about full employment at stable prices



• Equilibrium GDP tells us the level of spending in the economy

• Full-employment GDP tells us the level of spending necessary to get the unemployment rate down to 5 percent (which we have been calling full-employment)

• Fiscal policy is used to push equilibrium GDP toward full-employment GDP



The Deflationary Gap and the Inflationary Gap

• Equilibrium GDP is the level of output at which aggregate demand equals aggregate supply– Aggregate demand is the sum of all

expenditures for goods and services (that is, C + I + G + Xn)

– Aggregate supply is the nation’s total output of final goods and services

– So at equilibrium GDP, everything produced is sold


• Full-employment GDP is the level of spending necessary to provide full employment of our resources– If our plant and equipment is operating at

between 85 and 90 percent of capacity, that’s considered full employment

– If only 5 percent of our labor force is unemployed, that’s full employment





1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Deflationary gapC +I +G +Xn

2

GDP (in trillions of dollars)

Full-employment GDPEquilibrium GDP

The Deflationary Gap

When the full-employment GDP is greater than the equilibrium GDP, there is a deflationary gap. How much is it?

$1 trillion



2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Inflationary gap

500 1,000 1,500 2,000

C +I +G +Xn

500

Full-employment GDP


The Inflationary Gap

Equilibrium GDP

When equilibrium GDP is greater than full-employment GDP, there is an inflationary gap. How large is it?

$200 trillion

Summary

• Equilibrium GDP is above the full-employment GDP– Spending is too high– Results in an inflationary gap

• To eliminate the inflationary gap, we cut G and/or raise taxes


Summary

• Equilibrium GDP is less than full-employment GDP– Spending is too low– Results in a deflationary gap

• To eliminate the deflationary gap, we raise G and/or cut taxes


The Multiplier and Its Applications

12-13

• Any change in spending (C, I, or G) will set off a chain reaction, leading to a multiplied change in GDP

GDP = C + I + G + Xn

How much the multiplied change is depends on the MPC and MPS

Copyright 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Calculating the Multiplier

• Remember– MPC + MPS = 1, therefore, MPS = 1 - MPC

Multiplier = -----------------------1

1 - MPC

Multiplier = ----------------------1

MPS

12-14

Because the multiplier (like C) deals with spending, 1/(1-MPC) is a more appropriate formula)



• The MPC is .5 - Find the multiplier


Calculating the Multiplier(Continued)

• The MPC is .5. Find the multiplier

Multiplier = ---------------- = -------- = ----- = 21

1 - MPC

12-16

1

1 – .5

1

.5




Step-by-Step Working of the Multiplier When MPC is .5

$1,000.00 $ 500.00 $ 250.00 $ 125.00 $ 62.50 $ 31.25 $ 15.625 $ 7.813 $ 3.906 $ etc. $ etc. $2,000.00

It is surely much easier to use the multiplier of 2 (2 X $1,000 = $2000) than to go through this process and add up all the figures

12-18




12-19



Multiplier = ---------------- = -------- = ----- = 411 1

1 - MPC 1 – .75 .25


Applications of the Multiplier

• The Multiplier is used to calculate the effect of changes in C, I, or G on GDP

GDP = 2,500; Multiplier = 3; C rises by 10

What is the new level of GDP

12-20

GDPNew = GDPInitial + (Change in spending X Multiplier)

GDPNew = 2500 + ( 10 x 3)GDPNew = 2500 + ( 30)GDPNew = 2530




GDP = X; Multiplier = 3; C rises by 10

What happens to GDP

12-21


GDPNew = X + ( 10 x 3)GDPNew = X + ( 30)GDP increases by 30




GDP = X; Multiplier = 7; G falls by 5

What happens to GDP

12-22


GDPNew = X + ( -5 x 7)GDPNew = X + ( -35)GDP decreases by 35


Applications of the Multiplier• How big is the multiplier (M)?


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Deflationary gapC +I +G +Xn

2


Full-employment GDP

M = distance between the equilibrium GDP and the full-employment GDP / by the gap

M = 2 / 2 = 1

Applications of the Multiplier• How big is the multiplier (M)?


2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Inflationary gap

500 1,000 1,500 2,000

C +I +G +Xn

500

Full-employment GDP


M = distance between the equilibrium GDP and the full-employment GDP / by the gap

M = 500 / 200 = 2.5

Removing the Deflationary Gap



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

C +I +G +Xn

C1 +I1 +G1 +Xn1

Full-employment GDP

To remove the deflationary gap we raise aggregate demand from C+I+G+Xn to C1+I1+G1+Xn1

This pushes equilibrium GDP to $7 trillion and removes the deflationary gap

Removing the Inflationary Gap


2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Inflationary gap

500 1,000 1,500 2,000

500

2,500

C1 +I1 +G1 +Xn1

C +I +G +Xn

Full-employment GDP

GDP (in billions of dollars)

To remove the inflationary gap we lower aggregate demand from C+I+G+Xn to C1+I1+G1+Xn1

This pushes equilibrium GDP down to 1,000 and removes the inflationary gap

The Automatic Stabilizers

• The automatic stabilizers protect us from the extremes of the business cycle– Personal Income and Payroll Taxes

• During recessions, tax receipts decline

• During inflations, tax receipts rise

– Personal Savings• During recessions, saving declines

• During prosperity, saving rises



• The automatic stabilizers protect us from the extremes of the business cycle– Credit Availability

• Credit availability helps get us through recessions

– Unemployment Compensation• During recessions more people collect

unemployment benefits



• The automatic stabilizers protect us from the extremes of the business cycle– The Corporate Profits Tax

• During recessions, corporations pay much less corporate income taxes

– Other Transfer Payments• Welfare (or public assistance) payments,

Medicaid payments, and food stamps rise during recessions


Discretionary Fiscal Policy

• Making the Automatic Stabilizers More Effective– Public Works

• The main fiscal policy to end the Depression was public works

– Transfer Payments• The government could extend the benefit period

for unemployment compensation and increase welfare payments, Social Security, and veterans’ pensions


Without the automatic stabilizers, real GDP would fluctuate much more widely. But you will note that, while the stabilizers do smooth out the cycle, they do not eliminate it.Copyright 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-31


• Making the Automatic Stabilizers More Effective– Changes in Tax Rates

• To fight inflation, the government can raise taxes• To fight recession, the government can cut taxes• Corporate incomes taxes can be raised during periods of

inflation and lowered when recessions occur

– Using tax rate changes as a counter cyclical policy tool provides a quick fix, however, temporary tax cuts carried out during recessions should not become permanent



• Making the Automatic Stabilizers More Effective– Changes in Government Spending

• The government increases spending and cuts taxes to fight recessions

• The government decreases spending and raises taxes to fight inflation

• In brief, we fight recessions with budget deficits and inflation with budget surpluses


Who Makes Fiscal Policy?

• The President and Congress make fiscal policy– This is complicated and can be time

consuming, especially when one political party controls Congress while the president belongs to the other party

– No one seems to be in charge of making fiscal policy


The Deficit Dilemma

• Deficits, Surpluses, and the Balanced Budget– When government spending is greater than

tax revenue, we have a federal budget deficit• The government borrows to make up the

difference

• Deficits are prescribed to fight recession


The Deficit Dilemma

• Deficits, Surpluses, and the Balanced Budget– When the budget is in a surplus position, tax

revenue is greater than government spending

• Budget surpluses are prescribed to fight inflation


The Deficit Dilemma

• Deficits, Surpluses, and the Balanced Budget– We have a balanced budget when

government expenditures are equal to tax revenue

• We’ve never had an exactly balanced budget• We’re dealing with a budget of nearly $4 trillion

in taxes and spending• Perhaps, if the deficit or surplus were less than

$20 billion, we’d call that a balanced budget


The Deficit Dilemma

12-38

Deficits and Surpluses: The Record


The Federal Budget Deficit, Fiscal Years 1970-2003Economic Report of the President and Economic Indicators

The Deficit Dilemma

12-39

How does our deficit compare with those of other nations?


The Surplus or Deficit as a Percentage of GDP, Selected Countries , 2003

The Economist, May 24, 2003

Why Are Large Deficits So Bad?

• Large deficits raise interest rates• The federal government has become

increasingly dependent on foreign savers to finance the deficit

• Until, the mid-1990s the deficit sopped up more than half the personal savings in this country, making much less available to large corporate borrowers seeking funds for new plant and equipment


Must We Balance the Budget Every Year?

• In a word, “no!” – We couldn’t , even if we tried– During recessions, the budget will automatically go

into deficit– Events beyond our control can force the federal

government to spend great sums of money• However, some believe that barring national

emergencies and possibly recessions, the government should be legally bound to balance its budget every year. – During the 1990s, several attempts were made to

pass a constitutional amendment requiring this– None were successful


The Public Debt

• Differentiating between the Deficit and the Debt– The deficit occurs when federal government

spending is greater than tax revenue– The debt is the cumulative total of all the federal

budget deficits less any surpluses• Suppose that our deficit declined one year from $200

billion to $150 billion• The national debt would still go up by $150 billion• So every year that we have a deficit – even a declining one

– the national debt will go up


The Public Debt


National Debt, 1980-2004

Economic Report of the President, 2003

The Public Debt

• Who holds the national debt?– Private American citizens hold a little less than half

– Foreigners hold almost one-third

– The rest is held by banks, other business firms, and U.S. government agencies (mainly the social security trust fund and the Federal Reserve)

• Is the national debt a burden that will have to borne by future generations?– As long as we owe it to ourselves, the answer is no

– If we did owe it mainly to foreigners, and if they wanted it paid off, it could be a great burden


The Public Debt

• When do we have to pay off the debt?– We don’t. All we have to do is roll it over, or

refinance it, as it falls due

– Each year more than one trillion dollars worth of federal securities fall due

• By selling new ones, the Treasury keeps us going

– In the future, even if we never pay back one penny of the debt, our children and our grandchildren will have to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in interest

• At least to that degree, the public debt will be a burden to future generations


The Public Debt

• Why not go ahead and just pay off the debt?– Economists predict that following this course would

have catastrophic consequences

– If we tried to pay off the debt too quickly, it might even send us into a deep depression

– When the economy is experiencing high unemployment, we need to run budget deficits

– During prosperity, particularly when inflation is a major problem, we need budget surpluses, paying off the debt

• This is the part we have ignored during the last three decades


chapter 12 fiscal policy and the national debt 12-1 copyright 2005 by the mcgraw-hill companies,...

Documents

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