Inflation can be described as the sustained increase in the general level of prices over a given period of time, usually one year. Inflation can have negative effects on many of the key economic outcomes such as economic growth, exports, international competitiveness and income inequality. Inflation is measured in Australia by the Consumer Price Index (CPI); the CPI outlines the movement in the prices of a basket of goods and services that are weighted according to their importance for the average Australian household. The annual rate of inflation is measured by the percentage change in the CPI over a period of a year, highlighted in Figure 3.1 .
Recent Trends in Inflation
Australia’s most significant macroeconomic achievement of
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Economic Justification of the Economic Stimulus Plan with regards to Inflation
In order to reduce inflation the Australian government has traditionally implemented both contractionary fiscal and monetary policy. This would involve an increase in taxation or reduced government expenditure as well as increases in the official cash rate which would lead to a rise in interest rates in the economy to contain aggregate demand.
However, during a period of global recession the Government’s implementation of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy saw taxation revenue fall and government spending increase, sending the budget into deficit by -$32.9 billion in 2008-09 . The 2009-2010 Budget continued expansionary policy to support economic growth and slow the rise in unemployment. The falling inflation rate of 1.5% in 2008-09 , meant it no longer played dominant role in policy making decisions. The tradeoff between inflation and unemployment can be observed in Figure 3.5 .
Figure 3.5 illustrates the short run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment observed by New Zealand economist A. W. Phillips in Britain in the 1950s. A government attempting to decrease unemployment to a level below 4%, by an increase in government spending may tradeoff more inflation from 2% to 5% for less unemployment from 4% to 3%. Conversely, a government could cut government spending to tradeoff less inflation from 5%
Australia’s government has helped to intervene within the market when issues have arisen. The more efficient allocation of resources and income is an initiative designed to assist the society. Unfortunately, it can also cause costs to the community and market which can be seen from side effects of their policies. The tight and loose monetary policies that are used can cause unemployment and inflation which are both a cost for the economy. The government also imposes tariffs which causes unfairness for consumers.
Monetary policy is the regulation of the money supply to influence variables such as inflation, employment, and economic growth. Fiscal policies, on the other hand, use the ability to tax and spend in order to influence those same variables (McEachern, 2014, p. 57). A blend of both of these policies is essential for improving the economy when a recession has occurred.
Inflation is the sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services in a county, and is measured as an annual percentage change. (Investopedia) During periods of inflation, the prices of products and services will rise. There are several reasons why an economy would see a rise in inflation. Decrease in supplies, corporate deciding to charge more, and consumer confidence are some of the reasons why an economy would see the inflation rate increase. Consumer confidence is when consumers gain more confidence in spending due to a low unemployment rate and wages being stable. Decrease in supplies is when consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service is that is slowly becoming unavailable due to a decrease in supplies. Corporate decisions are when the corporations basically decide
In economics, with the inflation is a rise in the actual general level of prices of goods and services in an economy from over a period of time. When the general price level rise, such as each of the units currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the purchasing power4 per unit of money. This therefore means that with the loss of real value in the medium of exchange and unit of account within the given and actual economy. With a chief measure for example and the price of inflation is within the given inflation rate, the annualised percentage change within a general price index over time in which is normally the consumer price index.
The benchmark investment rate in Australia was last recorded at 2.25%. Investment Rate in Australia found the middle value of 5.13 percent from 1990 until 2015, arriving at an unequaled high of 17.50 percent in January of 1990. Inflation Rate in Australia averaged 5.21 percent from 1951 until 2014. Customer costs in Australia rose 1.7% during the time to the December quarter 2014, the slowest yearly pace in more than two years as petrol costs dove. Australian yearly inflation rate abated to 2.3% in the second from last quarter of 2014 from 3.0 % in the past period, determined by a fall in cost of electricity, after the removal of tax duty on carbon discharge beginning early July. An alternate key variable that impacts the business is the unemployment rate. While the unemployment is staying high it is normal that RBA will keep the investment rates and trade rates low. Unemployment Rate in Australia diminished to 6.30% in February of 2015 from 6.40% in January of 2015. Unemployment Rate in Australia found to be in between 6.91% from 1978 until
There are two ways the economy can be assisted in growing and sustaining itself. First through fiscal policy from the national governments help of changing taxes and spending, then Monetary policy, the managing of money. The two are supposed to work together to help create a better economy but, at times fall short. Leaders in the government for the most part have a top priority to stay in their position, with that in mind they tend to give the people the immediate satisfaction they want which is increased spending and reduced taxes. With this approach fiscal policy is considered expansionary, restrictive monetary policy is what is needed to stop inflation to counteract this.
The Great Recession has been one of the largest fiscal crises of the current generation and the economic downturn that resulted has been recorded as the longest and most severe since the Great Depression ("The Impact of the Recovery Act on Economic Growth"). Although the economy has reached a stage of recovery, the effects of the recession to real GDP can be seen in business cycle figures for the period. Shown in Table1, the change to real GDP was measured at -3.9% for the recessionary period. This step into recovery was brought about by an aggressive stimulus package based on the principles of Keynesian economic theory
This report will detail the state of the Australia economy using key economic indicators, and provide an analysis and pinpoint any economic problems. Using this information it will further provide recommendations how to apply the monetary policy in the short and medium term to help the Australian government achieve its main economic objectives. Finally it will state the effects of these recommendations using three outlined economic criteria.
Conflict can occur between economic growth and inflation which in turn leads to conflict between unemployment and inflation. When an economy grows too quickly pressure on inflation rates increase. Australia’s current inflation rate is 1.3% (Economy Snapshot RBA 2016) The current acceptable rate of inflation nationally is between 1% to 3%. Inflation is defined as the sustained rise in the general level of prices in a market. For prices to be stable we should aim for 0% inflation rate. Introducing a fluid monetary policy which concentrates on identifying the fundamental causes of inflation rate rises in an economy, will assist in keeping inflation under control. For instance, if there were to be an excessive increase in demand for goods and services, demand being the primary factor for a rise in inflation, on a government level it should say to us, we need to identify the causes and commence action as quickly as possible to decrease the level of demand to ensure stability of the inflation
Australia has been expanding the economies and becoming the wealthiest nations in the Asia-Pacific regions. The old Labor government use a fiscal policy by increasing the government spending in the Global Recession in 2009. Australia generates the mainly sources of exporting form mining and agriculture, and its services, technologies, and high-value-added manufactured goods are competitive international standard. Australia draws attention to foreign investment with foreign competition and a skillful workforce in almost all industries. The government involves less in the most area of the market and the competition in financial services has increased. Government debt is increasing because of the global financial crisis but it is lower than the
Inflation is the generalized increase in cost of goods or services sold. Inflation causes a decrease in purchasing power. Purchasing power is how much can you get for your dollar. For example, with $1 I could buy 3 apples or I could buy 2/3 of a book. You get more purchasing power with the apples. With inflation you might for $1 get 2 apples and 1/3 of the book. Inflation is an indicator of a healthy economy.
The President of Bartavia wants to enact expansionary fiscal policy with the intention of manipulating inflation and unemployment. Although Bartavia is nearly employing all of its resources in production and extremely close to full employment level, the President is still concerned about the small percentage that is unemployed. Unemployment is the state of a person without a job or a reliable salary or income. Inflation and unemployment are characteristics that are closely monitored to indicate the economic performance of a country. As the economic advisor to the president, I would strongly advise against implementing this policy. Currently, the economy is not in a recession making the trade-offs associated with economic expansion counter intuitive. In addition, the Phillips Curve demonstrates the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment, making the need for expansionary action unnecessary right now. Finally, Okun 's Law shows how this policy would effect Bartavia 's GDP via the sacrifice ratio. These three reasons show that the long-run consequences outweigh the short-run benefits of expansionary fiscal policy. Therefore, I implore the President to avoid implementing the expansionary policy.
When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Over the long term, unanticipated inflation can cause a number of problems for an economy. Businesses will invest less in long-term projects because of the uncertainty of returns, price information becomes unclear, and consumers will spend more time trying to protect themselves from inflation and less time engaging in productive activities. If the Australia’s inflation rate is above normal range, then its cause for concern. It has impact on various ways in the economy.
This paper is structured as follows. In order to better understand the Great Recession, the first section includes an examination on some of the key causes. Section two outlines some of the fiscal policy responses made by the government to the Great Recession. In the third section, relevant extant literature
Discuss the role of government policy in reducing unemployment and inflation. In your discussion make use of the diagrammatic representation of the macroeconomy developed in lectures in Term 2