In: Economics
1.) A small open economy with a floating exchange rate is in recession with balanced trade. If policymakers want to reach full employment while maintaining balanced trade, what combination of monetary and fiscal policy should they choose? Use a graph and explain the effects of each policy.
Ans. A combination of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy will increase the output level to full employment level while keeping trade balanced.
Explanation,
An expansionary fiscal policy will increase the government
spending increasing the transaction demand for money increasing the
interest rate at given level of money supply. This increase in
interest rate reduces planned investment spending and also,
increases net capital inflow appreciating the domestic currency
which makes exports expensive but imports cheaper. Thus, decreasing
demand for exports and increasing the demand for imports. This will
worsen the trade balance leading to partially offsetting the
increase in aggregate demand due to fiscal expansion. So, the new
aggregate demand curve, AD', lies to the right of initial aggregate
demand curve AD. This increases the price level to P' from P and
output level from Y to Y' which is still less than the full
employment level of output.
Thus, to bring the economy back to balanced trade condition and
full employment level of output, there will be a use of monetary
expansion which increases money supply causing interest rate to
decrease at given money demand inducing investment and decreasing
net capital inflow leading to depreciation of domestic currency.
This makes exports cheaper but imports expensive. Thus, demand for
exports increases but that of imports decreases increasing the net
exports from home country. This brings back the trade to balance.
Due to increase in investment and net exports, aggregate demand for
goods and services increases shifting aggregate demand curve
further to right from AD' to AD". This increases the price level
further to P" and increases the output level from Y' to full
employment level Y".
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