Competency 4
What policy can the Fed follow to increase money supply?
Reduce the interest rate on reserves
Suppose that demand for a good increases and, at the same time, supply of the good decreases. What would happen in the market for that good?
Equilibrium price would increase, but the impact on equilibrium quantity would be ambiguous.
If the demand for a product increases, then we would expect equilibrium price
and equilibrium quantity both to increase
Equilibrium quantity must decrease when demand
decreases and supply does not change, when demand does not change and supply decreases, and when both demand and supply decrease.
If the price of walnuts rises, many people would switch from consuming walnuts to consuming pecans. But if the price of salt rises, people would have difficulty purchasing something to use in its place. These examples illustrate the importance of
the availability of close substitutes in determining the price elasticity of demand
Cross-price elasticity of demand measures how
the quantity demanded of one good changes in response to a change in the price of another good.
What increases the money supply?
A decrease in the discount rate and a decrease in the interest rate on reserves
What are examples of monetary policy?
1. The Federal Reserve reduces the reserve requirement 2. The Federal Open Market Committee decides to buy bonds 3. The Federal Open Market Committee decides to sell bonds
What is a determinant of the price elasticity of demand for a good?
1. the time horizon 2. the definition of the market for the good 3. the availability of substitutes for the good
When the Fed decreases the discount rate, banks will
borrow more from the Fed and lend more to the public. The money supply will increase
The price elasticity of demand measures
buyers' responsiveness to a change in the price of a good.
If the cross-price elasticity of two goods is negative, then the two goods are
complements
Equilibrium price must decrease when
decreases and supply does not change, when demand does not change and supply increases, and when demand decreases and supply increases simultaneously
Elasticity of demand is closely related to the slope of the demand curve. The more responsive buyers are to a change in price, the
flatter the demand curve will be
Other things the same, if reserve requirements are increased, the reserve ratio
increases, the money multiplier decreases, and the money supply decreases
The discount rate is
the interest rate the Fed charges banks
The price elasticity of supply measures how much
the quantity supplied responds to changes in the price of the good.
A key determinant of the price elasticity of supply is the
time horizon
If the supply of a product increases, then we would expect equilibrium price
to decrease and equilibrium quantity to increase