Thursday, April 28, 2016

Exchanges

Foreign Exchange (FOREX)
- the buying and selling of currency
      *example: in order to purchase souvenirs in France, it is first necessary for Americans to sell their dollars and buy Euros
- any transactions that occurs in the balance of payments necessitates foreign exchange
-Exchange Rate (e) is determined in foreign currency markets

Changes in Exchange Rates
-exchange rates (e) are a function of supply and demand for currency
       +an increase in the supply of a currency
       +a decrease in supply of a currency will increase the exchange  rate of currency
       +increase in demand for currency will increase the exchange rate of currency
       +decrease in demand for a currency will decrease the exchange rate of currency

Appreciation and Depreciation
-appreciation of currency occurs when exchange rate of that currency increases (e^)
-depreciation of a currency occurs when the exchange rate of that currency decreases

Exchange Rate Determinants
-consumer tastes
-relative income
-relative price level
-speculation

Exports and Imports
-exchange rate is a determinant of both exports and imports
-appreciation of the dollar causes american goods to be relatively more expensive and foreign goods to be relatively cheaper, thus reducing exports and increasing imports
-depreciation of the dollar causes american goods to be relatively cheaper and foreign goods to be relatively more expensive thus increasing exports and reducing imports

Unit 7 The Balance of Payments

-measure of money inflows and outflows between the US and the Rest of the World (ROW)
     +inflows are referred to as CREDITS
     +out flows are referred to as DEBITS
-the balance of payments is divided by 3 accounts
      1. current account
      2. capital/ financial accounts
      3. official reserves accounts

Current Accounts
- balance of trade or net exports
-net foreign income
-net transfers (tend to be unilateral)

Capital/ Financial Accounts
- the balance of capital ownership
-includes the purchase of both real and financial assets
-direct investment in the US is a credit to the capital account
-direct investment by US Firms/ individuals in foreign country are debits to capital accounts
-purchase of foreign financial assets represents a debit to a capital account
-purchase of domestic financial assets by foreigners represents a credit to the capital accounts


***the current account and the capital account should zero each other out***

Official Reserves 
-foreign currency holdings of US Federal Reserve System
-when there is a balance of payments surplus the FED accumulates foreign currency and debits balance of payments
-when there is a balance of payments deficit FED depletes its reserves of foreign currency and credits balance of payments

Active US passive official reserves
-the US is passive in its use of official reserves


Friday, April 8, 2016

Unit 5-Extending the Analysis of Aggregate Supply

Short run aggregate supply-
 -this is the period in which wages (and other input prices) remain fixed as price level increase or decrease.

long run aggregate supply-
-period of time in which wages have become fully responsive to changes in price level.

****Remember how crucial worker salaries o a businesses out out and bottom line when considering effects on aggregate supply******

effects over short run- 
-in the short run , price level changes allow for companies to exceed normal out puts and hire more workers because profits are increasing while wages remain constant.

-in the long run , wages will adjust to the price level and previous output level will adjust accordingly.

equilibrium in the extended model-
-the extended model means that both the short run and long run AS curves.

- the long AS curves is represented with a vertical line at full employment level of real GDP.

Demand pull inflation in the AS model-
- demand pulls (to the right) which causes prices to increase based on increase in aggregate demand.

-in the short run , demand pull will drive up prices , and increase production

-in the long run, increase in aggregate demand will eventually return to previous levels.


Cost push and the extended model-
-cost push (to the left) arises from factors that will increase per unit costs such as increase in the price of a key resource.

dilemma for the government-
-in and effort to fight cost push, the government can react in 2 different ways:
     1. action such as spending by the government could begin an inflationary spiral.
     2. no action however could lead to recession by keeping production and employment levels declining.