Involves the government changing levels of Taxation and Government spending
in order to influence AD and the level of economic activity
AD is the total level of planned expenditure in an economy (AD = C+ I + G + X – M)
Government spending
Investment
Consumer spending
eXports-iMports
PURPOSE
Stimulate economic growth in a
period of recession
Keep inflation low (>2% target)
Stabilise economic growth
Avoid a boom and bust
economic cycle
EXPANSIONARY
Increasing AD
Increasing G or reducing T
Reducing T will increase C as consumers
will have more disposable Y
This will tend worsen the government budget deficit and
the government will need to increase borrowing.
DEFLATIONARY
Decreasing AD
Cut G and Increase T
Higher T will decrease C
Deflationary Fiscal policy will tend to cause an
improvement in the government budget deficit.
In 2009, the government pursued expansionary fiscal policy. In response to a
deep recession (GDP fell 6%) the government cut VAT in a bid to boost
consumer spending. This caused a big rise in government borrowing (2009-10).
(Government borrowing also rose because of the recession
leading to lower tax revenue)
When the new coalition government came into power in
May 2010, they argued the deficit was too high and then
announced plans to reduce government borrowing.
This involved spending limits. This austerity measures were
a factor in causing lower economic growth in 2011 and 2012.
The multiplier effect.
When an increase in injections causes a
bigger final increase in Real GDP.
Injections (J) – This is an increase of
expenditure into the circular flow, it includes
govt spending(G), Exports (X) and Investment (I)
Withdrawals (W) – This is leakages from the circular flow This
is household income that is not spent on the circular flow. It
includes: Net savings (S) + Net Taxes (T) + Net Imports (M)
CRITICISMS
The government may have poor information
about the state of the economy so may not be
able to identify what it needs
Time lags
Crowding out
An expansionary policy involves the government borrowing from
the private sector to finance the increase in G. This depletes the
private sector's funds and may reduce private investment.
Inefficient
Free market economists argue that higher government spending will tend to be wasted on
inefficient spending projects. Also, it can then be difficult to reduce spending in the future
Higher borrowing costs. Debt repayment
EVALUATION
It depends on the size of the multiplier.
It depends on the state of the economy. Fiscal policy is most effective in a
deep recession where monetary policy is insufficient to boost demand.
Higher government spending will not cause crowding out
because the private sector saving has increased substantially.
It depends on other factors in the economy. .
For example, if the government pursue expansionary fiscal
policy, but interest rates rise and the global economy is in a
recession, it may be insufficient to boost demand