Macro M6 - Macroeconomic policy Flashcards

(31 cards)

1
Q

What is it called when tax revenue and expenditure are equal?

A

A balanced budget

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2
Q

What is a budget deficit?

A

Expenditure > taxes

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3
Q

What is a budget surplus?

A

Taxes > expenditure

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4
Q

When is contractionary fiscal policy used?

A

When positive output gaps become too large

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5
Q

When is expansionary fiscal policy used?

A

When negative output gaps become too large

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6
Q

When AD increases, what also needs to increase for there to be no inflationary effects?

A

LRAS

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7
Q

The best fiscal policies that increase AD do what as well?

A

Increase LRAS (E.g. Building new schools)

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8
Q

What are automatic stabilisers?

A

Automatic fiscal effects which influence the path of economic growth due to cyclical changes in tax revenue and welfare costs

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9
Q

Chain of reasoning for why taxes are automatic stabilisers?

A

Economic growth
Tax revenue rises
Welfare costs fall
Limits the upturn of an
economy
Fiscal finances improve

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10
Q

What is capital spending?

A

Provision and maintenance of key national infrastructure

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11
Q

What are determinants of government spending?

A

Politics, economic performance, demographics and lifestyles, finances

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12
Q

What can be used to show income inequality?

A

A lorenz curve

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13
Q

How is inequality determined on a lorenz curve?

A

The greater the distance from the Lorenz curve to the Line Of Equality, the greater the inequality

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14
Q

What is the gini index?

A

A statistical measure of the level of income inequality in an economy calculated by analysing the size of any inflexion in the lorenz curve

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15
Q

How is the gini index calculated?

A

A/B (answer will be between 0 and 1)

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16
Q

What are the principles of a tax system?

A
  • Easy to administer
  • Mustn’t disincentivise work
  • Easy to understand
  • Horizontally and vertically equitable
17
Q

Horizontal equality

A

A tax impacts individuals in the same set of circumstances equally

18
Q

Vertically equitable

A

A tax is equally fair for individuals on high earnings as those on low earnings

19
Q

Indirect taxes are usually…

20
Q

What is a structural deficit?

A

Deficit not related to the economic cycle

21
Q

What is cyclical deficit?

A

Deficit related to the economic cycle (should automatically correct over time)

22
Q

What measures are implemented during austerity?

A

Contractionary fiscal policy, expansionary monetary policy, expansionary supply side policies

23
Q

Which school of thought supports austerity and who is against is?

A

Classical - support
Keynesian - against

24
Q

What is crowding out?

A

When the effect of expansionary fiscal policy (increased government spending) is offset because this reduces resources and finance available to the private sector

25
What is the laffer curve?
A theoretical analysis which suggests that raising tax rates does not always generate more tax revenue. It is supported by classical economists.
26
According to the laffer curve, when the size of the private sector increases..
The size of the public sector decreases
27
What does Keynes argue about the laffer curve?
As there is normally an output gap, the government can increase spending in the public sector without the private sector shrinking
28
Why do classical economists believe that the public sector is less efficient than the private sector?
- No private capital is risked - No competition - Funding is guaranteed - Consequences of failure is less severe - Weak profit incentives
29
What is the money supply?
The entire stock of money and other liquid assets at any point in time
30
What do supply side policies include and not include?
Includes: incentives, support, regulations Does not include: spending
31
Example of a fiscal policy that can have supply side policy effects?
Tax cuts may incentivise more people to work