Ask Macroeconomics Expert

Read the following text and answer the questions below:

In matters of economic theory, Keynes was scarcely any clearer. His most famous work, "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money", published in 1936, is a difficult and confusing book. Keynes deliberately misrepresented the views of his opponents, crudely lump their ideas together and calling them, mockingly, "classical" (that is, obsolete). That angered many of his peers--few of whom were the purblind scholastics of popular mythology. The resulting recriminations made clearheaded debate about the new theories nearly impossible. And since Keynes expounded the new ideas partly by contrasting them with a caricature of orthodox thinking (that is, with a theory that nobody actually believed), it made it harder to be sure what the new ideas were.

Keynes, you might say, therefore got what he deserved. His own theories were almost immediately reduced to a variety of competing caricatures. And avowed disciples, not critics, undertook this task.

The diagram on this page appears nowhere in the "General Theory", but is much the most familiar reduction of Keynesian thought. Anybody who has picked up an economics textbook since 1950 will recognize it. That this caricature takes the form of a diagram is no accident. The need to distil from the "General Theory" something that could be taught to one's students--few of whom could be expected to read or understand the great book itself--was paramount, especially for American academics. So, from the late 1940s, economists such as Paul Samuelson began to spread the Keynesian gospel in this form--the gospel according to the income-expenditure diagram.

The big question in macroeconomics is whether and how long high unemployment might persist in an economy. Whatever else Keynes believed, he undoubtedly believed that high unemployment can linger indefinitely if left untreated. And the income-expenditure diagram can indeed portray such "equilibrium". Those who require no convincing of this point can skip the next three paragraphs.

The chart plots aggregate income (that is, output) on the horizontal axis, and the components of aggregate expenditure (consumption, investment, government spending less taxes) on the vertical axis. For the economy to be in equilibrium, the diagram supposes, income must equal expenditure--which is true at all points on the line sloping up from the origin at 45deg.

The line D1 shows that consumption rises with income. (Investment is decided in some other way; for simplicity's sake, just add it on.) Even if income were zero, there would still be some consumption, paid for out of savings. So D1 crosses the vertical axis somewhere above the origin. Then, as income rises, consumption rises as well--but not one-for-one. This is again because of saving habits: out of every pound of extra income, people will spend, say, only 80p. So the line D1 slopes upwards at less than 45deg, crossing the 45deg line to give an equilibrium income of Y1.

In this "model" of the economy there is no reason to suppose that an income of Y1 will be high enough to sustain full employment. Suppose that the unemployment rate at Y1 is 10%. What could be done about that? The answer is simple: increase expenditure by means of fiscal policy. Lower taxes and/or higher public spending will push D1 up to D2. The new equilibrium would then be at Y2, where the unemployment rate is 5%. Note that the slopes of the lines depend entirely on the assumption about how much income is saved. Note also that, because of those slopes, a given change in public spending (the vertical distance between D1 and D2) will elicit a change in income (the horizontal distance between Y1 and Y2) that is bigger. This is the Keynesian "multiplier" at work the greater the propensity to spend (that is, the steeper D1 and D2) the bigger multiplier and the more powerful the effect of fiscal policy.

1. Include everything that is mentioned in these paragraphs in a diagram and explain it very carefully.

2. Explain how this model could give theoretical support to Obama's stimulus package of $1tr. 

3. Discuss the limitations of this model as an explanation of the effects of government expenditure on GDP.

Macroeconomics, Economics

  • Category:- Macroeconomics
  • Reference No.:- M9164684

Have any Question?


Related Questions in Macroeconomics

Economics assignment -topic evaluation of macroeconomic

Economics Assignment - Topic: Evaluation of Macroeconomic performance of Australia and New Zealand. Task Details: Complete a research-based analysis and evaluation of the relative macroeconomic performance of Australia a ...

Introductory economics assignment -three problem-solving

Introductory Economics Assignment - Three Problem-Solving Questions. Question 1 - Australia and Canada have a free trade agreement in which, Australia exports beef to Canada. a. Draw a graph and use it to explain and ill ...

Question in an effort to move the economy out of a

Question: In an effort to move the economy out of a recession, the federal government would engage in expansionary economic policies. Respond to the following points in your paper on the actions the government would take ...

Question are shareholders residual claimants in a publicly

Question: Are shareholders residual claimants in a publicly traded corporation? Why or why not? In some industries, like hospitals, for-profit producers compete with nonprofit ones. Who is the residual claimant in a nonp ...

Discussion questionsquestion 1 what are the main reasons

Discussion Questions Question 1: What are the main reasons why Nigerians living in extreme poverty? Justify. ( 7) Question 2: Why GDP per capita wouldn't be an accurate measure of the welfare of the average Nigerian? Exp ...

Question according to the definition a perfectly

Question: According to the definition, a perfectly competitive firm cannot affect the market price by any changing only its own output. Producer No. 27 in problem 2 decides to experiment by producing only 8 units. a. Wha ...

Question jones is one of 100000 corn farmers in a perfectly

Question: Jones is one of 100,000 corn farmers in a perfectly competitive market. What will happen to the price she can charge if: a. The rental price on all farmland increases as urbanization turns increasing amounts of ...

Question good x is produced in a perfectly competitive

Question: Good X is produced in a perfectly competitive market using a single input, Y, which is itself also supplied by a perfectly competitive industry. If the government imposes a price ceiling on Y, what happens to t ...

Question pepsico produces both a cola and a major brand of

Question: PepsiCo produces both a cola and a major brand of potato chips. Coca-Cola produces only drinks. When might it make sense for PepsiCo to divest its potato chip operations? For Coca-Cola to begin manufacturing sn ...

Question again demand is qd 32 - 15p and supply is qs -20

Question: Again, demand is QD = 32 - 1.5P and supply is QS = -20 + 2.5P. Now, however, buyers and sellers have transaction costs of $2 and $3 per unit, respectively. Compare the equilibrium values with those you calculat ...

  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked
  • 13,132 Experts
  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered

Ask Experts for help!!

Looking for Assignment Help?

Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment

Write us your full requirement for evaluation and you will receive response within 20 minutes turnaround time.

Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps even

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps, even when the institution is exposed to significant interest rate

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and coupon bonds. Under what conditions will a coupon bond sell at a p

Compute the present value of an annuity of 880 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 880 per year for 16 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As

Compute the present value of an 1150 payment made in ten

Compute the present value of an $1,150 payment made in ten years when the discount rate is 12 percent. (Do not round int

Compute the present value of an annuity of 699 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 699 per year for 19 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As