Lecture 14 - Introduction to economic fluctuations. The main contents of the chapter consist of the following: difference between short run & long run, introduction to aggregate demand, aggregate supply in the short run & long run.
Review of the previous lecture • Exchange rates ü nominal: the price of a country’s currency in terms of another country’s currency ü real: the price of a country’s goods in terms of another country’s goods ü The real exchange rate equals the nominal rate times the ratio of prices of the two countries • How the real exchange rate is determined ü NX depends negatively on the real exchange rate, other things equal ü The real exchange rate adjusts to equate NX with net capital outflow • How the nominal exchange rate is determined ü e equals the real exchange rate times the country’s price level relative to the foreign price level ü For a given value of the real exchange rate, the percentage change in the nominal exchange rate equals the difference between the foreign & domestic inflation rates Lecture 14 Introduction to Economic Fluctuations Instructor: Prof Dr Qaisar Abbas Lecture Contents • difference between short run & long run • introduction to aggregate demand • aggregate supply in the short run & long run Real GDP Growth in the United States 10 Percent change from quarters earlier Average growth rate = 3.5% -2 -4 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 Time horizons • • Long run: Prices are flexible, respond to changes in supply or demand Short run: many prices are “sticky” at some predetermined level The economy behaves much differently when prices are sticky In Classical Macroeconomic Theory, • • • Output is determined by the supply side: • supplies of capital, labor • technology Changes in demand for goods & services (C, I, G ) only affect prices, not quantities Complete price flexibility is a crucial assumption, so classical theory applies in the long run When prices are sticky …output and employment also depend on demand for goods & services, which is affected by § fiscal policy (G and T ) § monetary policy (M ) § other factors, like exogenous changes in C or I The model of aggregate demand and supply • • • the paradigm that most mainstream economists & policymakers use to think about economic fluctuations and policies to stabilize the economy shows how the price level and aggregate output are determined shows how the economy’s behavior is different in the short run and long run Aggregate demand • • The aggregate demand curve shows the relationship between the price level and the quantity of output demanded For this chapter’s intro to the AD/AS model, we use a simple theory of aggregate demand based on the Quantity Theory of Money The Quantity Equation as Agg Demand • Recall the quantity equation MV = PY and the money demand function it implies: (M/P )d = k Y where V = 1/k = velocity • For given values of M and V, these equations imply an inverse relationship between P and Y: From the short run to the long run Over time, prices gradually become “unstuck.” When they do, will they rise or fall? In the shortrun equilibrium, if then over time, the price level will Y > Y rise Y 0 LRAS C P2 P B A AD AD2 C = longrun equilibrium Y SRAS Y2 Y How shocking!!! • shocks: exogenous changes in aggregate supply or demand • Shocks temporarily push the economy away from full-employment • • An example of a demand shock: exogenous decrease in velocity If the money supply is held constant, then a decrease in V means people will be using their money in fewer transactions, causing a decrease in demand for goods and services: The effects of a negative demand shock The shock shifts AD left, causing output and employment to fall in the short run Over time, prices fall and the economy moves down its demand curve toward fullemployment P P LRAS A B C P2 Y2 Y SRAS AD AD Y Supply shocks A supply shock alters production costs, affects the prices that firms charge (also called price shocks) Examples of adverse supply shocks: § Bad weather reduces crop yields, pushing up food prices § Workers unionize, negotiate wage increases § New environmental regulations require firms to reduce emissions Firms charge higher prices to help cover the costs of compliance (Favorable supply shocks lower costs and prices.) CASE STUDY: • • • The 1970s oil shocks Early 1970s: OPEC coordinates a reduction in the supply of oil Oil prices rose 11% in 1973 68% in 1974 16% in 1975 Such sharp oil price increases are supply shocks because they significantly impact production costs and prices CASE STUDY: The oil price shock shifts SRAS up, causing output and employment to fall In absence of further price shocks, prices will fall over time and economy moves back toward full employment The 1970s oil shocks P P2 LRAS B A P1 AD Y2 SRAS SRAS Y Y CASE STUDY: The 1970s oil shocks 70% Predicted effects of the oil price shock: • inflation • output • unemployment …and then a gradual recovery 12% 60% 50% 10% 40% 8% 30% 20% 6% 10% 0% 1973 1974 1975 1976 Change in oil prices (left scale) Inflation rate-CPI (right scale) Unemployment rate (right scale) 4% 1977 CASE STUDY: The 1970s oil shocks 60% 14% 50% 12% Late 1970s: As economy was recovering, oil prices shot up again, causing another huge supply shock!!! 40% 10% 30% 8% 20% 6% 10% 0% 1977 1978 1979 1980 Change in oil prices (left scale) Inflation rate-CPI (right scale) Unemployment rate (right scale) 4% 1981 CASE STUDY: The 1980s oil shocks 40% 1980s: A favorable supply shock-a significant fall in oil prices 30% As the model would predict, inflation and unemployment fell: -10% 10% 8% 20% 10% 6% 0% 4% -20% -30% 2% -40% -50% 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Change in oil prices (left scale) Inflation rate-CPI (right scale) Unemployment rate (right scale) 0% 1987 Stabilization policy • • def: policy actions aimed at reducing the severity of short-run economic fluctuations Example: Using monetary policy to combat the effects of adverse supply shocks: Stabilizing output with monetary policy The adverse supply shock moves the economy to point B P P2 LRAS B A P1 AD Y2 SRAS SRAS Y Y Stabilizing output with monetary policy But the Fed accommodates the shock by raising agg. demand P P2 results: P is permanently higher, but Y remains at its full employment level LRAS B C A P1 Y2 SRAS AD AD Y Y Summary Long run: prices are flexible, output and employment are always at their natural rates, and the classical theory applies Short run: prices are sticky, shocks can push output and employment away from their natural rates Aggregate demand and supply: a framework to analyze economic fluctuations The aggregate demand curve slopes downward The long-run aggregate supply curve is vertical, because output depends on technology and factor supplies, but not prices The short-run aggregate supply curve is horizontal, because prices are sticky at predetermined levels Summary Shocks to aggregate demand and supply cause fluctuations in GDP and employment in the short run The Fed can attempt to stabilize the economy with monetary policy ... inflation and unemployment fell: -1 0% 10% 8% 20% 10% 6% 0% 4% -2 0% -3 0% 2% -4 0% -5 0% 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Change in oil prices (left scale) Inflation rate-CPI (right scale) Unemployment rate.. .Lecture 14 Introduction to Economic Fluctuations Instructor: Prof Dr Qaisar Abbas Lecture Contents • difference between short run & long... long run aggregate supply (LRAS) curve is vertical: The long-run aggregate supply curve P LRAS The LRAS curve is vertical at the fullemployment level of output Y Y Long-run effects of an increase in M P In the long run, this