Posts Tagged ‘Money Policy’

Monetary Policy: Who Should Call the Shots?

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012


Obviously, the conduct of monetary policy is extremely important to the nation’s economy. A properly conducted monetary policy can be very beneficial, whereas errors in monetary policy can have severe effects on the economy, either due to the creation of too much or too little money.

Who should make such important decisions? Some people believe that the financial experts at the Bank of Canada, who possess specialized knowledge of monetary matters, should have the responsibility and the power to decide the nation’s monetary policy. Other people disagree. They argue that such important policy decisions should not be made by the appointed officials at the Bank of Canada, but rather by the government, which was elected by (and is ultimately responsible to) the people.

The question of who possessed the final responsibility and authority for monetary policy remained somewhat vague until 1960, when matters came to a head in the celebrated “Coyne affair.” James Coyne, governor of the Bank of Canada, was pursuing a tight-money policy at the same time as the federal government was trying to stimulate the economy with budget deficits. When Coyne refused to alter the Bank of Canada’s policies, the government in effect dismissed him by introducing legislation declaring his position vacant. By this act, the government established itself as the final authority in the area of monetary policy. This was given legislative authority in amendments to the Bank of Canada Act in 1967, which stated that in the event of disagreement between the government and the Bank of Canada, the government can direct the central bank in writing as to the monetary policy to be followed.

Supporters of the government’s authority over the Bank of Canada argue that, without this authority, the government cannot ensure that the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy is consistent with the federal government’s fiscal policies, and point to the Coyne affair as evidence on their behalf. Critics of the government’s authority over monetary policy have little faith in the economic judgement of politicians.

 

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Monetary and Fiscal Policy Combined

Friday, January 20th, 2012


In Chapter 9, we saw how the federal government’s Department of Finance uses fiscal policy to influence the level of aggregate demand in the economy. Since the monetary policy of the Bank of Canada discussed in this chapter also influences aggregate demand, we should review briefly how monetary and fiscal policies can interact so as to affect the performance of the economy.

During a recession, when aggregate demand is inadequate, a budget deficit (achieved through increased government spending and/or tax reductions) is usually combined with an easy-money policy consisting of lower interest rates and increased availability of loans. The objective of these policies is to increase the demand for goods and services by households and businesses. This increase in spending will be added to by the respending effect of the multiplier, and will be in large part financed by increases in the money supply resulting from increased bank lending. Also, it is possible that increased consumer spending may cause businesses to increase their investment spending (the accelerator effect), a process which would also be financed by the increased money supply through bank lending, encouraged by reductions in interest on loans. The overall result would be to stimulate output and employment in the economy.

During a period of inflation, aggregate demand for goods and services is so high that the supply of them cannot keep pace, with the result that prices rice with unusual rapidity. To combat inflation, a combination of a budget surplus (tax revenues in excess of government spending) and tight money, with loans relatively scarce and interest rates high, is appropriate. The objective of these policies is to depress the demand for goods and services, so as to relieve the pressure of excess demand on the supply and on the prices of goods and services. Government spending will be held down, while tax increases and high interest rates will restrain borrowing and spending by consumers and businesses. With total demand depressed in these ways, the rate of inflation will tend to decrease.

By combining the the fiscal policy of the Department of Finance and the monetary policy of the Bank of Canada in these ways, the effect can be considerably stronger than if either were used by itself.

In summary, then, tight-money policies are used to combat inflation by depressing the level of aggregate demand. While these policies will slow down inflation, they also tend to slow down the economy and increase unemployment, and they have particularly severe effects upon certain industries.

 

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Fiscal Policy

Thursday, April 21st, 2011


To dampen aggregate  demand in the economy, the federal government can use a budget surplus, with government expenditures less than tax revenues.

The most likely approach to a budget surplus is for the government to curb the growth of (or even reduce) government expenditures. Such curbs on government spending will be especially helpful in slowing inflation if they reduce the need for the government to increase the money supply to finance its expenditures.

*Because interest payments are one of the cost of doing business, some people believe that the way to curb inflation is to reduce interest rates rather than to increase them through a tight-money policy. While lower interest rates would have a slight cost-reducing effect on business, the easy money associated with lower interest rates would more than offset this by increasing the money supply and aggravating the problem of excess demand. In short, reducing interest rates is exactly the reverse of what is needed to combat inflation.

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Combating demand-pull inflation

Monday, April 18th, 2011


To attack the basic cause of inflation, the government must restrain the growth of aggregate demand for goods and services, by using its monetary and fiscal policies.

Monetary policy

To combat inflation, the Bank of Canada should should impose a tight-money policy consisting of higher interest rates and reduced availability of credit. By slowing the growth of the money supply, such a policy will ease the pressures of excess demand on prices and thus help to restrain inflation. It is generally accepted among economists that no anti-inflation policy can succeed unless it includes control of the rate of growth of the money supply. Thus, whatever else is done to curb inflation, monetary restraint is essential, because if money is created too rapidly, its value will decline (because prices of goods and services will rise).

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