Tuesday, September 16, 2014


Demand curve vedeo lesson

Demand and supply vedeos

http://youtu.be/JG8PpJxpVvohttp://youtu.be/euyrEV_PvyM

Demand and supply vedeo lesson

Demand and supply vedeo lesson
http://youtu.be/20f0_7d9kIM

Aggregate Demand

Aggregate Demand


Introduction

Aggregate means ‘total’ and in this case we use the term to measure how much is being spent by all consumers, businesses, the government and people and firms overseas.
Components of aggregate demand
Aggregate demand (AD) = total spending on goods and services
AD = C + I + G + (X-M)
Aggregate Demand in the UK Economy

All of the data above is expressed in £ billion at constant prices
Source: Office for National Statistics, Economic Trends 2011
The main components of aggregate demand are shown in the table above
Remember that
AD = C + I + G + X – M
The change in the value of stocks is a small component of the equation, it relates to changes in how much investment businesses are making in stocks (unsold products) to be consumed at a later stage.
  • Recession: 2009 was a year of recession – what happened to each of the components of aggregate demand in 2009 compared to 2008?
  • Recovery: The British economy started to recover in 2010; using the table can you explain why this happened? 
Shocks to aggregate demand
  • Many unexpected events can happen which causes changes in the level of demand, output and employment
  • Headwinds can alter direction with great speed leading to uncertainty about where the economy is heading
  • These events are called “shocks”. Some of the causes of AD shocks are as follows:
  • A big rise or fall in the exchange rate – affecting export demand and having follow-on effects on output, employment, incomes and profits of businesses linked to export industries.
  • recession in one or more of our main trading partners which affects demand for our exports of goods and services.
  • A slump in the housing market or a big change in share prices.
  • An event such as the credit crunch (global financial crisis) – involving a fall in the amount of credit available for borrowing by households and businesses.
  • An unexpected cut or an unexpected rise in interest rates or change in government taxation and spending – for example the shock of deep cuts in state spending expected in 2011 and beyond.
These shocks will bring about a shift in the aggregate demand curve – and we turn to this next.
The Aggregate Demand Curve
The AD curve shows the relationship between the general price level and real GDP.
Aggregate demand curve
Aggregate Demand and the Price Level
There are several explanations for an inverse relationship between AD and the price level in an economy. These are summarised below:
  • Falling real incomes: As the price level rises, so the real value of people’s incomes fall and consumers are less able to buy the items they want or need. If over the course of a year all prices rose by 10 per cent whilst your money income remained the same, your real income would have fallen by 10%
  • The balance of trade: A persistent rise in the price of level of Country X could make foreign-produced goods and services cheaper in price terms, causing a fall in exports and a rise in imports. This will lead to a reduction in net trade and a contraction in AD
  • Interest rate effect: if the price level rises, this causes inflation and an increase in the demand for money and a consequential rise in interest rates with a deflationary effect on the economy. This assumes that the central bank (in our case the Bank of England) is setting interest rates in order to meet a specified inflation target
Shifts in the AD Curve
  • A change in the factors affecting any one or more components of aggregate demand i.e. households (C), firms (I), the government (G) or overseas consumers and business (X) changes planned spending and results in a shift in the AD curve.
Consider the diagram below which shows an inward shift of AD from AD1 to AD3 and an outward shift of AD from AD1 to AD2. The increase in AD might have been caused for example by a fall in interest rates or an increase in consumers’ wealth because of rising house prices.
Shifts in the AD Curve
Factors causing a shift in AD
Changes in Expectations
Current spending is affected by anticipated income and inflation
The expectations of consumers and businesses have a powerful effect on spending
When confidence falls, we see an increase in saving and businesses postpone investment projects because of worries over weak demand and lower expected profits.
Changes in Monetary Policy – i.e. a change ininterest ratesIf interest rates fall – this lowers the cost of borrowing and the incentive to save, encouraging consumption. Lower interest rates encourage firms to borrow and invest
There are time lags between changes in interest rates and the changes in aggregate demand.
Changes in Fiscal Policy
Fiscal Policy refers to changes in government spending, welfare benefits and taxation, and the amount that the government borrows
The Government may increase its expenditure e.g. financed by a higherbudget deficit - this directly increases AD
Income tax affects disposable income e.g. lower rates of income tax raise disposable income and should boost consumption.
An increase in transfer payments increases AD – particularly if welfare recipients spend a high % of the benefits they receive.
Economic events in the international economy
International factors such as the exchange rate and foreign income (e.g. the economic cycle in other countries)
A fall in the value of the pound (£) (a depreciation) makes imports dearer and exports cheaper - the net result should be that UK AD rises
The impact depends on the price elasticity of demand for imports and exports and also the elasticity of supply of UK exporters in response to exchange rate depreciation.
An increase in overseas incomes raises demand for exports. In contrast arecession in a major export market will lead to a fall in exports and an inward shift of aggregate demand.
Changes in household wealth
Wealth is the  value of assets owned e.g. houses and shares
A fall in the value of share prices or a slump in the housing market can lead to a decline in household financial wealth and a fall in consumer demand
Declining asset prices also have a negative effect on consumer confidence / a fall in expectations
Changes in the supply of creditThe availability of credit is vital for the smooth functioning of most modern economies
We have seen in recent years how the bursting of the credit bubble in countries such as the UK and the USA has created many problems for businesses and individuals
Many banks and other lenders are now more reluctant to lend
Interest rates on different loans have become more expensive
Instead of taking out new loans, in recent times businesses have been paying back debt. In the 5 years before the financial crisis UK companies borrowed £107m from banks every day. Since then they've been repaying £5.8m a day

Poverty & Inequality in Resource Allocation

Poverty & Inequality in Resource Allocation


Poverty and Inequality in Resource Allocation

Going without
“In the UK people can become poor as a result of social and economic processes, such as unemployment and changing family structures.
Poverty is not simply about being on a low income and going without – it is also to do with being denied hood health, education, good housing and social activities, as well as basic self-esteem”

In a market economy an individual’s ability to consume goods & services depends upon his/her income or other resources such as savings
An unequal distribution of income and wealth may result in an unsatisfactory allocation of resourcesand can also lead to alienation and encourage crime with negative consequences for the rest of society
The free-market system will not always respond to the needs and wants of people with insufficient economic votes to have any impact on market demand. What matters in a market based system is youreffective demand for goods and services.
When we are discussing inequality and poverty, we cannot escape making value judgements i.e. normative views about what is an acceptable scale of inequality and what is not

Absolute poverty

Absolute poverty measures the number of people living below a certain income threshold or the number of households unable to afford certain basic goods and services
What we choose to include in a basic acceptable standard of living is naturally open to discussion.

Relative poverty

Relative poverty measures the extent to which a household’s financial resources falls below an average income level.
Although living standards and real incomes have grown because of higher employment and sustained growth, Britain has become a more unequal society over the last 30 years

Poorer families have a lower life expectancy
People from poorer backgrounds are unhealthier and die earlier than the rich, according a study measuring the link between health and wealth.  Poorer people in their fifties were 10 times more likely to die earlier than those who are richer, according to a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). The poor often have to stop work early due to ill health, the group added and this increases the risk of these groups suffering income poverty during their retirement years.
Source: BBC news and Institute for Fiscal Studies

The most commonly used threshold of low income in Britain is 60% of median household income after deducting housing costs.

The distribution of income in the UK

In 2008/09, income before taxes and benefits of the top fifth of households in the UK was £73,800 per year on average compared with £5,000 for the bottom fifth, a ratio of 15 to one.
After taking account of taxes and benefits, the gap between the top and the bottom fifth was reduced with average income of £53,900 per year and £13,600, respectively, a ratio of four to one. This shows that the tax and benefits system works in a progressive way to reduce the scale of income inequality.
In the UK, the share of total income earned by the top 1% income earners rose from 6% in 1975 to 14% in 2005
The gap between lowest and higher income groups can be seen in this chart:
The distribution of income in the UK

Another way of showing this income data is in the table below – this shows the distribution of disposable income by household income quintile. The data is for 2008-09.

Bottom Fifth
Next Fifth
Middle Fifth
Next Fifth
Top Fifth
% share of disposable income
7
12
16
22
42

The Poverty Trap

The poverty trap affects people living in households on low incomes.
It creates a disincentive either to look for work or work longer hours because of the effects of the income tax and welfare benefits system.
For example, a worker might be given the opportunity to earn an extra £60 a week by working ten additional hours. This boost to his/her gross income is reduced by an increase in income tax and national insurance contributions.
The individual may lose some income-related welfare benefits and the combined effects of this might be to take away over 70% of a rise in income, leaving little in the way of extra net or disposable income.
When one adds in the possible extra costs of more expensive transport charges and the costs of arranging child care, then the disincentive to work may be quite strong.
Wealth inequality in the world
Credit Suisse estimates that there are 24.5 million dollar millionaires, or adults with net assets, including housing, of more than $1 million in the world today. This group equates to 0.5% of the world's adult population and owns 36% of the world's private wealth. By contrast the bottom 50% of the world's adult population owns less than 2% of world's private wealth

Government Policies to Reduce Poverty

When evaluating different policies to reduce poverty consider some of these related issues:
  • Cost
  • Effectiveness
  • Impact on others in the economy
Changes to the tax and benefits system: For example, increases in higher rates of income tax would make the British tax system more progressive and reduce the post-tax incomes of people at the top of the income scale. The risk is that higher rates of taxation may act as a disincentive for people to earn extra income and might damage enterprise and productivity.
A switch towards greater means-tested benefits: Means testing allows welfare benefits to go to those people and families in greatest need. A means-test involves a check on the financial circumstances of the benefit claimant before paying any benefit out.  This would help the welfare system to target helpfor those households on the lowest incomes. However means tested benefits are often unpopular with the recipients.
Linking the state retirement pension to average earnings rather than prices: This policy would help to relieve relative poverty among low-income pensioner households. Their pension would rise in line with the growth of average earnings each year
Special employment measures (including New Deal): Government employment schemes seek to raise employment levels and improve the employment prospects of the long-term unemployed.
Increased spending on education and training: Unemployment is a cause of poverty and structural unemployment makes the problem worse. There are millions of households in the UK where no one in the family is in any kind of work and this increases the risk of poverty.
The National Minimum Wage: The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced in April 1999 - employers cannot legally undercut the NMW.  Since 1999, the beneficial impact of the minimum wage has been concentrated on the lowest paid workers in service sector jobs where there is little or no trade union protection.