Sunday, March 1, 2015

Aggregate Demand & Aggreate Supply


Aggregate Demand
·       There are two parts to a shift in ad
·       Shifts in aggregate demand:
o   A change in c, Ig, and/or Xn
o   A multiplier effect that produces a greater change than the original change in the 4 components
·       Increase = shifts to the right
·       Decrease = shift to the left

Determinants of AD:
o   Consumption
o   Household spending is affect by:
§  Consumer wealth
·       More wealth= more spending (AD shifts ->)
·       Less wealth= less spending (AD shifts <-)
§  Consumer expectations
·       Positive expectations = more spending (AD ->)
·       Negative expectation = less spending (AD <-)
§  Household indebtedness
·       Less debt = more spending
·       More debt = less spending
§  Taxes
·       Less taxes = more spending
·       More taxes = less spending



Gross private investment
·     Investment spending is a sensitive to:
o  the real interest rate
§  Lower real interest rate = more investment (AD ->)
§  Higher real interest rate = less investment (AD<-)
o  Expected returns
§  Higher expected returns = more investment
§  Lower expected returns = less investment
§  Especial returns are influenced by
§  Expectation of future profitability
·     Technology
·     degree of excess capacity (Existing stock of capital)

Gov’t spending
·       More gov’t spending (AD->)
·       Less gov’t spending (AD<-)

Net exports
·       Nets exports are sensitive to:
o   Exchange rate (international value of $)
§  Strong $ = more imports and fewer exports (AD<-)
§  Weak $ = fewer imports and more exports (AD->)
o   Relative income
§  Strong foreign Economies = more exports
§  Week foreign economies = less exports

Aggregate Supply
§  Long Run Aggregate Supply (LRAS) - the period of time where input prices are completely flexible and adjust to changes in the price level.
o   The level of real GDP supplied is independent of price level.
o   It marks the level of full employment in the economy. (FE, Yf, Y' = full employment)
o   Analogous to PPC
o   Since input prices are flexible in long run, changes in price level do not change firms real profits and therefore don't change firms level of output.
o   LRAS is vertical at the economy's level of full employment. 
§  Short Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS) - Period of time where input prices are sticky and don't adjust to changes in the price level
o   The level o real GDP supplied is directly related to the price level.
o   Input prices are sticky in the short run, the SRAS is upward slopping.
o   An increase in SRAS is seen as a shit to the right and decrease to the left
o   The key to understanding shifts in SRAS is per unit cost production
o   Per unit cost production = total input cost



Determinants of SRAS: (affect unit production cost)
1.     Input Prices
a.      Domestic Resource Prices:
                                               i.     wages (75% of all business costs)
                                             ii.     cost of capital 
                                            iii.     raw materials (commodity prices)
b.     Foreign Resource Prices
                                               i.     Strong money: lower foreign resource prices
                                             ii.     Weak money: higher foreign resource prices
c.      Market Power: Monopolies and cartels that control the price of those resources
d.      Increase in resource prices: SRAS <----
e.      Decrease in resource prices: SRAS ---->
2.     Productivity
a.      Productivity = total output/total inputs
                                               i.     More productivity = lower unit production cost --->
                                             ii.     Lower productivity = higher unit production cost <----
3.     Legal - Institutional Environment:
a.      Taxes and subsidies
                                               i.     Taxes (money to government) on business increase per unit production cost, shits SRAS <--
                                             ii.     Subsidies (money from government) to business reduce per unit production cost, shifts SRAS -->
b.     Government Regulation: creates a cost o compliance = SRAS <--
c.      Deregulation: reduces compliance cost = SRAS -->


Full Employment – Equilibrium exists where AD interests SRAS and LRAS at the same point.


Recessionary Gap - exists when equilibrium occurs below full employment output.
-AD decrease shifts to the left

Inflationary Gap- exists when equilibrium occurs                    beyond full employment output.
-AD increases shifts to the right

Interest Rates and Investments Demand
§  Money spent on expenditures on:
o   New plants ( factories )
o   Capital equipment ( machinery )
o   Technology ( hardware and software )
o   New homes
o   Inventories ( goods sold by producers )
§  How do a business make investment decisions?
o   Cost / Benefits Analysis
§  How does a business determine benefits?
o   Expected rate of return
§  How does a business count the cost?
o   Interest Cost
§  How does a business determine the amount of investment they undertake?
o   Compare expected rate of return to interest cost
§  If expected return > interest cost, then invest
§  If expected return < interest cost, do not invest

Real ( r% ) vs. Nominal ( i% )  (pie)inflation
§  What’s the difference?
o   Nominal is observable rate of interest. Real subtracts out inflation (pie%) and only known ex post facto.
§  How to compute the real interest rate
o   r%= i% - pie%
§  What determines cost of an investment decision?
o   Real interest rate ( r%)
§  What is the shape of investment demand slope?
o   Downward sloping
§  Why?
o   When interest rates are high, few investments are profitable. When interest rate are low, more investments are profitable.


The Investment Demand Curve
§  Cost of production
o   lower cost shifts ID --.
o   Higher cost shifts ID <--
§  Business Taxes
o   lower business taxes shift ID -->
o   higher business taxes shift ID <--
§  Technological Change
o   New technology -->
o   Lack of technology <--
§  Stock of Capital
o   If an economy is low on capital then ID shifts -->
o   If it has much capital then ID shifts <--
§  Expectations
o   positive expectations shift ID -->
o   negative expectations shift ID <--

LRAS: represents a point on an economics production possibilities curve and it is a vertical line at an output level that represents the quantity of goods and services a nation can produce over a sustained period using all of its productive resources as efficiently as possible.
o   Always at full employment
o   Does not change as price level changes
o   Shifts outward if there is a change in technology, resource, or there is economic growth. 

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Unemployment


  • Unemployment - Percentage of people who do not have a job but are part of the labor force 
  • Labor force - The number of people that are classified as either employed or unemployed  
  • Unemployment rate
    • = (The number of unemployed / number of employed + number of unemployed) x 100 
  • Not in the labor force
    • Kids 
    • Retired people 
    • Military personnel  
    • Mentally insane 
    • Incarcerated  
    • Full time student  
    • Stay at home parent 
    • Discouraged workers   
  • Types of unemployment  
    • Frictional - Between jobs because you choose new opportunities new choices new lifestyles and educational levels  
      • Voluntary 
        • Ex. Quit job to go back to school, Leave job at burger king become teacher aid  
    • Structural - Associated with lack of skills or a decline in industry or change in technology 
      • Ex. Can not read or right   
    • Seasonal - People are waiting for the right season to conduct their trade  
      • Ex. Mall Santa, School bus driver, and Lifeguards  
    • Cyclical - Associated with downturns in business cycle 
      • Bad for society  
·       Full employment
o   Occurs when there is no cyclical unemployment present in the economy  
  • Natural rate of unemployment  (NRU) 
    • Achieved when labor market are in balance  
    • Structural unemployment + fictional unemployment  
  • Why is unemployment good? 
    • Less pressure to raise wages  
    • More workers available for future expanses  
  • Why is unemployment bad? 
    • There is not enough consumption  (GDP) 
    • To much poverty  
    • To much government assistance is needed 
  • Okun’s law 
    • For every 1 % of unemployment above the NRU causes a 2 % decline in real GDP  

Inflation


  • Inflation  
    • Definition: rise in the general level of prices 
    • Standard inflation rate 2% to 3% 
  • Measuring Inflation 
    • Inflation rate 
      • Measures the percentage increase in the price level over time  
      • Key indicator of the economy’s strength  
    • Deflation 
      • A decline in the general price level
    • Disinflation 
      • It occurs when the inflation rate itself declines  
    • Consumer price index 
      • Measures inflation by tracking the yearly price of a fixed basket of consumer goods and services  
      • Indicates changes in the price level and cost of living  
    • Solving inflation Problems 
      • Finding inflation rate by using market basket data 
        • (Current year market basket value - base year market basket value / base year market basket value) x 100  
      • Finding inflation rate using Price indexes 
        • Current year price index - base year price index / base year price index )x 100 
      • Estimating inflation using the rule of 70 
      • Used to calculate the number of years it will take for the price level to double at any give rate of inflation 
        • Years needed to double inflation = 70/ annual inflation rate  
      • Real wages  
        • = (Nominal wages / price level) ×100  
      • Finding real interest rates 
        •  = Nominal interest rate - inflation premium  
      • Cost of borrowing or lending money that is adjusted for expected inflation 
        • Nominal interest rate 
        • Unadjusted cost of borrowing or lending money  
      • Demand pull inflation 
        • Caused by excess of demand / output that pulls prices upwards 
      • Cost pushed inflation 
        • Caused by a rise in per unit production cost due to increasing resource cost 
      • Effects of inflation 
        • Anticipated  
        • Unanticipated  
      • Inflation Helps When:
        • Borrowers 
          • Debt will be repaid with cheaper dollars than those that were loaned out 
        • Fixed Contract 
      • Inflation Hurts When:
        • Fixed income 
          • Social security 
        • Savors 
          • People that save money  
        • Lenders / creditors  
          •  Not going to be repaid back 

Nominal and Real GDP


  • Nominal GDP - Value of output produced in current prices  
    • = P x Q 
    • Can increase from year to year if either output or price increase 
  • Real GDP - Value of output produced in constant or based year prices  
    • Adjusted for inflation  
    • = P x Q  
    • Can increase from year to year only if output increases  
  • Price index - measure inflation by tracking changes in the price of a market basket of goods compared to the base year 
    • = price of market basket of goods in current year / price of market basket of goods in base year  
  • GDP deflator 
    • Also a price index that is used to adjust from nominal to real GDP 
    • In the base year the GDP deflator with 
      • = 100 Years after base years  
      • = >100 For years before the base year  
      • = <100 (Nominal GDP/ Real GDP)  ×100 
  • Inflation 
    • (New GDP deflator - Old GDP deflator / Old GDP deflator) ×100 

Expenditure Approach


  • Expenditure approach
    • Add up the market value of all domestic expenditures made on final foods and services in a single year 
    • C+Ig+G+Xn 
  • Income approach
    • Adding up all the incomes earned by households and firms in a single year 
      • Income Approach=W+R+I+P+ Statistical adjustments 
        • W=Wages 
        • R=Rents  
        • I= Interest 
        • P=Profit 
  • Budget 
    • Government purchases of good + services + government transfer payments - government tax and fee collection 
      • Positive number = deficit  
      • Negative number = surplus 
  • Trade 
    • Exports- Imports 
  • GNP 
    • GDP+ net foreign factor payment 
  • NNP - net national product 
    • GNP- depreciation 
  • NDP 
    • GDP - DEPRECIATION 
  • National income 
    •  GDP - Indirect business taxes - depreciation - net foreign factor payment  
    • Compensation of employees + proprietary’s income + rental income + interest income  + corporate profits  
  • Disposable personal income  
    • National income - personal household taxes + government transfer payments  

Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Product


  • Gross domestic product - Total dollar value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders within a given year 
  • Gross national product- total value of all final goods and services produced by Americans’ in a year 
  • GDP Equation
    • =C + Ig+ G + Xn (Included) 
  • Gross Domestic Product 
    • (C) Consumption  
      • 67% to the economy  
      • Purchasing finish goods and services 
      • Last state 
    • (Ig) Gross Private Domestic Investment 
      • Factory equipment maintenance 
      • New factory equipment  
      • New construction housing  
      • Unsold inventory of products built in a year 
  • (G) Government spending 
    • Ex. Military, ft bend 300 new teachers 
  • (Xn) Net exports 
    • =Exports-imports 
  • Excluded in GDP
  1. Used or second hand goods
  2. Intermediate goods- Goods and services that are purchased for resale or for further processing or manufacturing
  3. Non-market activity
    1. Illegal Drug
    2. Unpaid Work
    3. Own repair jobs
    4. Prostitution
    5. Baby Sitting
    6. Growing own vegetables for personal consumption
  4. Financial transactions
    1. Stocks
    2. Bonds
    3. Real estate
5.     Gifts or Transferred Payment
a.     Private- produces no output, simply travels funds from one private individual to another
b.     Public- It contribute nothing to the current output or production
                                               i.     Ex. Welfare, Social Security