In: Economics
Suppose the Government of kenya decides to but securities from the members of the public in the economy. Show the impact of this policy on the IS-LM curve assuming that; 1. interest rate is constant 2. rate of interest is flexible 3. make a comment with reasons
1. when interest rate is constant , the LM curve is horizontal i.e people are willing to hold any amount of money at the going interest rate . In this case , increase in money supply as a result of buying of securities by the government will have no effect on output and interest rate . The equilibrium remains at point E where the interest rate is OR1 and output = OY1.
2. when interest rate is flexible , the LM curve is upward sloping In this case , increase in money supply as a result of buying of securities by the government causes the LM curve to shift right from LM to LM' . The equilibrium moves from point F to point G causing the interest rate to fall from OR1 to OR2 and output to increase from OY2 to OY3 .
3.When interest rate constant , output remains same because people will hold any amount of money at the going interest rate i.e LM curve is perfectly elastic so monetary policy is ineffective to affect output . On the other hand , the output increases when interest rate is flexible because with increase in money supply interest rate must fall to cause an increase in demand for money .