In any society, of whatever configuration, production at a given point in time is limited by certain ‘real’ (meaning non-monetary) factors. Notably, a society’s productive activity will always be limited by access to natural resources, the current state of its technology, and the skill, strength, size and imagination of its people. These and similar factors determine the absolute productive potential of a society. At a given point in time, these factors would apply even if, hypothetically, a society happened to be organized in a completely different way to its current form of existence.
Monthly Archives: August 2017
Short & Simple 18 – Income Determination in a Closed Economy
Short & Simple 17 – A Notion of Macroeconomic Equilibrium
Equilibrium is conceived as a position of stability at which the plans of economic agents (for example, households and firms) are ‘realized’ or compatible, so that there is no incentive to alter current behavior.
Short & Simple 16 – The Expenditure Multiplier and Income Determination
Short & Simple 15 – The Sectoral Balances Identity
Short & Simple 14 – Direct Impacts of Fiscal Policy on Net Financial Assets
Now that we have introduced ‘government money‘ and ‘commercial bank money‘, we are in a position to understand in basic terms how fiscal policy (government spending and taxing) is conducted and its direct financial effects. At this stage, the treatment is still cursory. There are more details that can be added in at a later time.
Short & Simple 13 – Private Credit Creation
We have seen that a national currency enters the economy when government spends, and that the recipients of the government spending can use the currency for various purposes, including to purchase goods and services. Government is therefore an original source of funds.
There is another original source of funds that gives people the ability to make purchases. This other source is private credit creation. Put simply, a household or firm can borrow from a bank or other financial institution and use the funds to spend.
Short & Simple 12 – Government Money
We saw in part 2 that to establish a currency, government needs to do three things:
1. Define a unit of account (e.g. dollar).
2. Impose taxes that can only be paid in that unit of account.
3. Spend or lend the currency into existence.
The most basic purpose of taxation (introduced in step 2 of the sequence) is to create a demand for the currency. Provided taxes are effectively enforced, we in the non-government will have a need to obtain the currency, because it is the only means of paying taxes.