SlideShare a Scribd company logo
Aggregate Supply / Aggregate Demand Model
 Mere aggregation of the microeconomic model.
 Useful for evaluating factors and conditions which
affect the level of Real Gross Domestic Product
(GDP adjusted for inflation) and the level of
inflation.
 AD curve has traditional negative slope.
 AD is the total demand (total spending) for a
country’s goods and services at a given price level
in a given time period.
AD = C + I + G + ( X – M)
 The AD curve shows the relationship between the
average price level and real output.
Price level
0
p
y
Real GDP/National Income/
National output/Real output
AD
 Consumption (C) :
Total spending by consumers on domestic goods and
services.
For example durable goods such as cars, mobile
phones,(long period) and non durable goods such as
rice, newspaper, toilet paper. (short period)
What causes changes in consumption:
 Changes in income
 Changes in interest rates
 Changes in wealth
 Changes in expectations and consumer confidence
Investment (I):
 Represents addition of capital stock (factories,
machines, computers) to the economy.
 Represents investments carried out by firms, for
example: replacement investment and induced
investment
What causes changes in investment?
 Interest rates
 Changes in the level of national income
 Technological changes
 Expectations and business confidence
For example, the diagram for investment shows:
 Government spending:
Government spending represents the variety of goods
and services spent on health, education, transport, law
and order, social security, housing and defence.
What causes changes to government spending?
 Commitment to financial support to industry
 Spending to correct market failure
 New education or health policy – new schools or
hospitals
Net Export: (X-M)
X = export:
Export are domestic goods and services bought by
foreigners.
M = import:
 Imports are goods and services bought from
foreign producers.
 Imports is also an outflow of import
expenditure.
 When export revenue exceeds import expenditure, this
is positive. Increase AD.
 When import expenditure exceeds export revenue, this
is negative. Reduce AD.
When price in the economy falls from p to p1,
C+I+G+(X-M) increases from Y to Y1.
AD = C+I+G+(X-M)
P
0
P
P1
Y Y1 Real output
Changes in AD:
 Changes in price causes a movement along the AD
curve, from one level of real output to another
 Changes in the components of AD will cause a shift in
the demand curve.
Aggregate Supply / Aggregate Demand Model
 A change in AD is caused by a change in an
influence on AD other than a change in price level;
 An increase in AD is a rise in planned spending
and is represented by a shift to the right of the AD
curve;
 A decrease in AD is shown by a shift to the left of
the AD curve
◦ An increase in government spending, which may
occur in a deliberate attempt to increase AD;
◦ An increase in consumption arising from an increase in
wealth, an increase in the money supply, a cut in
taxation, a rise in population, increased optimism (‘feel-
good factor’) etc.
◦ An increase in investment due to change in
technology, a rise in expectation, a fall in the rate of
interest;
◦ An increase in export because of a rise in quality, a fall
in the country’s exchange rate, a rise in income abroad.
I
7%
4%
0
I1 I2 Investment
Interest rate
The relationship between investment and interest rate shows when interest rate
Decreases, there is no incentive to save, and lead to increase in borrowing, which
increases investment from I1 to I2. Increase in interest rate will have the opposite
Effect.
What causes changes in net export?
 Export:
If foreign income rises, this leads to more imported
goods and services being consumed.
 Import:
When national income grows, this leads to an increase
in consumption. As more goods and services are being
consumed, some of these will be imported goods.
Government policies affecting AD:
 Fiscal policy – taxes
 Expansionary fiscal policy
 Monetary policy – interest rates
 Aggregate supply is the total quantity of goods
and services firms are willing and able to sell at a
given price level in a given period of time.
The Short Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS) Curve
 The Short Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS) curve is
drawn on the assumption that the prices of all
factors of production are fixed;
 The curve slopes up from left to right, this is
because higher output is likely to raise the cost
per unit produced and therefore to supply more,
firms have to charge a higher price;
 A rise in the price level is likely to encourage firms
to raise output in the short run;
 Influences other than a change in the price level
cause firms to change how much they wish to
supply the different values of the price level and
shift the SRAS.
◦A change in weather condition
◦A change in raw material costs
◦A change in wage rates
◦A change in corporation tax
The Long Run Aggregate Supply (LRAS)
Curve
 In the long run, wage rates and the prices of
other inputs can change.
There are two main views on the shape of LRAS
Curve.
 The idea of the long run AS curve is that in the
long run, the real productive capacity of an
economy does not vary (i.e., is perfectly inelastic)
with respect to changes of the price level, a
nominal quantity, but it may vary with changes of
real phenomena, i.e., real matters such as
resource availability, productivity, and
technological changes.
 The long run changes of these real phenomena
may be depicted in the short-run analysis as shifts
or drifts of LRAS to the right with on-going growth,
or as leftward shifts consequent upon supply-
shocks that may have lasting adverse effects on
the economy's output capacity.
The long run AS curve
AS
Real output
Price
AD
SRAS
e
 When nominal wages are flexible, as usually
assumed in the long run, the AS curve is
perfectly vertical.
 Another reason is that the total amount of
goods that the economy produces when all
factors are efficiently used at their normal
rate of utilization does not vary with the price
level. In the long run, price does not affect the
AS, rather AS depends in the availability of
the factors of production.
The New Classical view is that the LRAS curve is
vertical.
 Reason: The classical view believes that if there
is unemployment, wages will fall to restore full
employment, therefore in the long run the
economy will operate at full employment hence
the vertical supply curve.
 The Keynesian view is that the shape of the long
run aggregate supply (LRAS) curve can be
perfectly elastic at low levels of economic activity,
less elastic at higher levels and perfectly inelastic
when full employment is reached.
Reasons:
 Keynesians believe that at low output, and hence
low levels of employment, the LRAS curve will be
horizontal due to considerable spare capacity in
the economy and output can be increased without
raising cost per unit produced;
 Keynesians also believe that as pressure begins
to be placed on capacity and shortages in skilled
labour occur, unit costs begin to rise and the
LRAS curve slopes upwards;
 Once the full employment level is reached, it is not
possible to raise output and the LRAS curve
becomes vertical.
Note: The New Classical economists and the
Keynesian economists both agree that, if full
employment is reached, the LRAS curve will be
vertical.
 A change in LRAS is a change in the production
potential of the economy;
 An increase in the LRAS is shown by a shift to the
right of the LRAS and a decrease by a shift to the
left;
The quantity of factors of production increases due
to
1. an increase in investment,
2. discovery of new materials,
3. an increase in the size of the labour force;
The quality of factors of production increases due
to:
1 improvement in education and training,
2. technological progress, this will raise productivity
(output per worker hour).
 Macroeconomic equilibrium occurs where
Aggregate Demand meets Aggregate Supply.
 Only at the combination of GDP and price level
given by the intersection the AD and AS curves
are spending behavior (demand) and
production (supply) activity consistent.
 A shift in either the AD or the AS curve leads to
changes in the equilibrium values of the price
level and real GDP.
AD
AS
Y0
P0
Real output
Price
e
 If the price level deviates from this equilibrium (P0),
pressures on business and consumers will move the
economy back toward point e.
 Two conditions should be satisfied to attain
macroeconomic equilibrium: (1) at the prevailing price
level, desired expenditure must be equal to national
output. The idea is agents are willing to buy all that is
produced. The AD curve is constructed in such a way
that this condition holds everywhere on it. (2) at the
prevailing price level, firms must wish to produce the
prevailing level of national output, no more and no less.
This is introduced by the consideration of AS.
 Although the economy is self-correcting in the long-run,
this process can take up to a decade or more.
 Particularly, if output is below potential output, the
economy can suffer an extended period of depressed
aggregate output an high unemployment during this
period of self-correction.
 John Maynard Keynes: “In the long run we are all dead.”
He recommended that governments not wait for the
economy to correct itself, but use fiscal policy to get the
economy back to potential output more quickly.
 This is the rationale for active stabilization policy,
which is the use of government policy to reduce the
severity of recessions and control excessively strong
expansions.
 However, the ability to improve the economy’s
performance is not always guaranteed; it depends on the
kinds of shocks the economy faces.
 This is the rationale for active stabilization policy,
which is the use of government policy to reduce the
severity of recessions and control excessively strong
expansions.
 However, the ability to improve the economy’s
performance is not always guaranteed; it depends on the
kinds of shocks the economy faces.
 If policy makers react quickly to a negative demand shock,
they can use monetary or fiscal policy to shift the aggregate
demand curve back to the right.
 If it was possible to anticipate shifts of the AD curve and
counteract them, it could short-circuit the whole process of
going through a period of low aggregate output and falling
prices.
 This is desirable because:
1. The temporary fall in aggregate output is associated with high
unemployment.
2. Price stability is regarded as a desirable goal (avoiding deflation-
a fall in the aggregate price level.
 However, some policy measures to increase aggregate
demand may have long-term costs in terms of lower long-
run growth.
 It also could be that the policy-makers are not perfectly
informed, and the effects of their policies are not perfectly
predictable. This could cause the attempts to create more
stability to end up creating more instability.
 Despite this, many economists believe in the use of
macroeconomic policy to offset major negative shocks to
the AD curve.
 The effect of a negative supply shock is to lower
aggregate output but increase to a higher aggregate price
level.
 Two bad things happen simultaneously: a fall in
aggregate output leads to a rise in unemployment, and a
rise in the aggregate price level decreases the purchasing
power of incomes.
 In contrast to the case of a demand shock, there are no
easy remedies for a supply shock. This means that there
are no government policies that can easily counteract the
changes in production costs that shift the SRAS curve.
 Using monetary or fiscal policy to shift the AD curve would
do one of two things:
a) A policy to increase AD to limit the rise in unemployment
would reduce the decline in output but cause even more
inflation.
b) A policy to decrease AD, it curbs inflation but causes a
further rise in unemployment.
 This is then a trade-off with no right answer; it requires
facing harder choices than usual.
 In the end, economic policy eventually chooses to
stabilize prices at the cost of higher unemployment.
THANK YOU..


More Related Content

PPTX
Circular flow of Income -Two sector model
PPTX
Inflation, types of inflation
PPT
Elasticity Micro Economics ECO101
PPTX
Shift in supply curve
PDF
Microeconomics: Income and Substitution Effects
PPT
Demand,supply,Demand and supply,equilibrium between demand and supply
DOCX
Philips curve
PPTX
Theory of cost
Circular flow of Income -Two sector model
Inflation, types of inflation
Elasticity Micro Economics ECO101
Shift in supply curve
Microeconomics: Income and Substitution Effects
Demand,supply,Demand and supply,equilibrium between demand and supply
Philips curve
Theory of cost

What's hot (20)

PPTX
indifference curve
PPTX
Law of equi marginal utility
PPT
Costs Of Production Micro Economics ECO101
PDF
phillips curve and other related topics.pdf
PPSX
The Social welfare function
PPTX
Aggregate supply
PPTX
Production function
PPTX
Unit 2 supply.ppt
PPT
Short-Run Costs and Output Decisions
PPT
Theory of the second best
PPT
Gains from trade
PDF
Classical economic thought
PPS
Effective demand
PPTX
General equilibrium ppt
PPTX
Demand for money
PPTX
Circular flow of income
PPTX
Cost push inflation
PPTX
Patinkin real balance effect
PPTX
Revealed preference theory
PPT
Shift in demand curve
indifference curve
Law of equi marginal utility
Costs Of Production Micro Economics ECO101
phillips curve and other related topics.pdf
The Social welfare function
Aggregate supply
Production function
Unit 2 supply.ppt
Short-Run Costs and Output Decisions
Theory of the second best
Gains from trade
Classical economic thought
Effective demand
General equilibrium ppt
Demand for money
Circular flow of income
Cost push inflation
Patinkin real balance effect
Revealed preference theory
Shift in demand curve
Ad

Similar to Aggregate Supply / Aggregate Demand Model (20)

PPTX
Meeting 1-3 - AD-AS (Macroeconomics)
PPT
aggregate demand and aggregate supply for 2nd semester for BBA
PPT
3.3 Macro Economic Models
PPT
CH 3.2 Macro8_Aggregate Demand _Aggregate Supply long and run.ppt
PPTX
Aggregate demand & supply
PPTX
Module 19 equilibrium in the aggregate demand aggregate supply model
PPTX
Aggregate demand and supply
PPTX
Keynes's Aggregate_Demand_and_Supply.pptx
PPTX
AS Macro Revision Aggregate Supply
PPTX
Macroeconomics G 12 ppt unit 4 full.pptx
PPTX
Macroeconomics Aggregate Demand &Aggregate Supply.pptx
PPTX
03. AD-AS.pptx
PPT
Fiscal Policy And The Business Cycle
PPT
Genuine%20 %2005%20-%20 general%20equilibrium%20and%20ad-as%20model
PPT
Aggd&S1
PDF
econ210 wrwrwerdsdfsfsdfsfsdfsfwerwrertret
PPT
Introduction to ad as model
PPTX
Ad as
PDF
Aggregate Demand TTools and their types.pdf
PPTX
Lecture 13-14-Aggregate Demand Curve.pptx
Meeting 1-3 - AD-AS (Macroeconomics)
aggregate demand and aggregate supply for 2nd semester for BBA
3.3 Macro Economic Models
CH 3.2 Macro8_Aggregate Demand _Aggregate Supply long and run.ppt
Aggregate demand & supply
Module 19 equilibrium in the aggregate demand aggregate supply model
Aggregate demand and supply
Keynes's Aggregate_Demand_and_Supply.pptx
AS Macro Revision Aggregate Supply
Macroeconomics G 12 ppt unit 4 full.pptx
Macroeconomics Aggregate Demand &Aggregate Supply.pptx
03. AD-AS.pptx
Fiscal Policy And The Business Cycle
Genuine%20 %2005%20-%20 general%20equilibrium%20and%20ad-as%20model
Aggd&S1
econ210 wrwrwerdsdfsfsdfsfsdfsfwerwrertret
Introduction to ad as model
Ad as
Aggregate Demand TTools and their types.pdf
Lecture 13-14-Aggregate Demand Curve.pptx
Ad

Recently uploaded (20)

PDF
ECONOMICS AND ENTREPRENEURS LESSONSS AND
PPTX
How best to drive Metrics, Ratios, and Key Performance Indicators
PPTX
introuction to banking- Types of Payment Methods
PPTX
ML Credit Scoring of Thin-File Borrowers
PDF
Lecture1.pdf buss1040 uses economics introduction
PPTX
Session 11-13. Working Capital Management and Cash Budget.pptx
PDF
Copia de Minimal 3D Technology Consulting Presentation.pdf
PPT
E commerce busin and some important issues
PDF
Predicting Customer Bankruptcy Using Machine Learning Algorithm research pape...
PDF
CLIMATE CHANGE AS A THREAT MULTIPLIER: ASSESSING ITS IMPACT ON RESOURCE SCARC...
PDF
ECONOMICS AND ENTREPRENEURS LESSONSS AND
PDF
financing insitute rbi nabard adb imf world bank insurance and credit gurantee
PPTX
Introduction to Customs (June 2025) v1.pptx
PPTX
kyc aml guideline a detailed pt onthat.pptx
PPTX
Session 3. Time Value of Money.pptx_finance
PDF
Spending, Allocation Choices, and Aging THROUGH Retirement. Are all of these ...
PDF
How to join illuminati agent in Uganda Kampala call 0782561496/0756664682
PDF
Q2 2025 :Lundin Gold Conference Call Presentation_Final.pdf
PDF
Chapter 9 IFRS Ed-Ed4_2020 Intermediate Accounting
ECONOMICS AND ENTREPRENEURS LESSONSS AND
How best to drive Metrics, Ratios, and Key Performance Indicators
introuction to banking- Types of Payment Methods
ML Credit Scoring of Thin-File Borrowers
Lecture1.pdf buss1040 uses economics introduction
Session 11-13. Working Capital Management and Cash Budget.pptx
Copia de Minimal 3D Technology Consulting Presentation.pdf
E commerce busin and some important issues
Predicting Customer Bankruptcy Using Machine Learning Algorithm research pape...
CLIMATE CHANGE AS A THREAT MULTIPLIER: ASSESSING ITS IMPACT ON RESOURCE SCARC...
ECONOMICS AND ENTREPRENEURS LESSONSS AND
financing insitute rbi nabard adb imf world bank insurance and credit gurantee
Introduction to Customs (June 2025) v1.pptx
kyc aml guideline a detailed pt onthat.pptx
Session 3. Time Value of Money.pptx_finance
Spending, Allocation Choices, and Aging THROUGH Retirement. Are all of these ...
How to join illuminati agent in Uganda Kampala call 0782561496/0756664682
Q2 2025 :Lundin Gold Conference Call Presentation_Final.pdf
Chapter 9 IFRS Ed-Ed4_2020 Intermediate Accounting

Aggregate Supply / Aggregate Demand Model

  • 2.  Mere aggregation of the microeconomic model.  Useful for evaluating factors and conditions which affect the level of Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP adjusted for inflation) and the level of inflation.
  • 3.  AD curve has traditional negative slope.  AD is the total demand (total spending) for a country’s goods and services at a given price level in a given time period. AD = C + I + G + ( X – M)
  • 4.  The AD curve shows the relationship between the average price level and real output. Price level 0 p y Real GDP/National Income/ National output/Real output AD
  • 5.  Consumption (C) : Total spending by consumers on domestic goods and services. For example durable goods such as cars, mobile phones,(long period) and non durable goods such as rice, newspaper, toilet paper. (short period)
  • 6. What causes changes in consumption:  Changes in income  Changes in interest rates  Changes in wealth  Changes in expectations and consumer confidence
  • 7. Investment (I):  Represents addition of capital stock (factories, machines, computers) to the economy.  Represents investments carried out by firms, for example: replacement investment and induced investment
  • 8. What causes changes in investment?  Interest rates  Changes in the level of national income  Technological changes  Expectations and business confidence For example, the diagram for investment shows:
  • 9.  Government spending: Government spending represents the variety of goods and services spent on health, education, transport, law and order, social security, housing and defence.
  • 10. What causes changes to government spending?  Commitment to financial support to industry  Spending to correct market failure  New education or health policy – new schools or hospitals
  • 11. Net Export: (X-M) X = export: Export are domestic goods and services bought by foreigners. M = import:  Imports are goods and services bought from foreign producers.  Imports is also an outflow of import expenditure.  When export revenue exceeds import expenditure, this is positive. Increase AD.  When import expenditure exceeds export revenue, this is negative. Reduce AD.
  • 12. When price in the economy falls from p to p1, C+I+G+(X-M) increases from Y to Y1. AD = C+I+G+(X-M) P 0 P P1 Y Y1 Real output
  • 13. Changes in AD:  Changes in price causes a movement along the AD curve, from one level of real output to another  Changes in the components of AD will cause a shift in the demand curve.
  • 15.  A change in AD is caused by a change in an influence on AD other than a change in price level;  An increase in AD is a rise in planned spending and is represented by a shift to the right of the AD curve;  A decrease in AD is shown by a shift to the left of the AD curve
  • 16. ◦ An increase in government spending, which may occur in a deliberate attempt to increase AD; ◦ An increase in consumption arising from an increase in wealth, an increase in the money supply, a cut in taxation, a rise in population, increased optimism (‘feel- good factor’) etc.
  • 17. ◦ An increase in investment due to change in technology, a rise in expectation, a fall in the rate of interest; ◦ An increase in export because of a rise in quality, a fall in the country’s exchange rate, a rise in income abroad.
  • 18. I 7% 4% 0 I1 I2 Investment Interest rate The relationship between investment and interest rate shows when interest rate Decreases, there is no incentive to save, and lead to increase in borrowing, which increases investment from I1 to I2. Increase in interest rate will have the opposite Effect.
  • 19. What causes changes in net export?  Export: If foreign income rises, this leads to more imported goods and services being consumed.  Import: When national income grows, this leads to an increase in consumption. As more goods and services are being consumed, some of these will be imported goods.
  • 20. Government policies affecting AD:  Fiscal policy – taxes  Expansionary fiscal policy  Monetary policy – interest rates
  • 21.  Aggregate supply is the total quantity of goods and services firms are willing and able to sell at a given price level in a given period of time. The Short Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS) Curve
  • 22.  The Short Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS) curve is drawn on the assumption that the prices of all factors of production are fixed;  The curve slopes up from left to right, this is because higher output is likely to raise the cost per unit produced and therefore to supply more, firms have to charge a higher price;
  • 23.  A rise in the price level is likely to encourage firms to raise output in the short run;  Influences other than a change in the price level cause firms to change how much they wish to supply the different values of the price level and shift the SRAS.
  • 24. ◦A change in weather condition ◦A change in raw material costs ◦A change in wage rates ◦A change in corporation tax
  • 25. The Long Run Aggregate Supply (LRAS) Curve  In the long run, wage rates and the prices of other inputs can change. There are two main views on the shape of LRAS Curve.
  • 26.  The idea of the long run AS curve is that in the long run, the real productive capacity of an economy does not vary (i.e., is perfectly inelastic) with respect to changes of the price level, a nominal quantity, but it may vary with changes of real phenomena, i.e., real matters such as resource availability, productivity, and technological changes.  The long run changes of these real phenomena may be depicted in the short-run analysis as shifts or drifts of LRAS to the right with on-going growth, or as leftward shifts consequent upon supply- shocks that may have lasting adverse effects on the economy's output capacity.
  • 27. The long run AS curve AS Real output Price AD SRAS e
  • 28.  When nominal wages are flexible, as usually assumed in the long run, the AS curve is perfectly vertical.  Another reason is that the total amount of goods that the economy produces when all factors are efficiently used at their normal rate of utilization does not vary with the price level. In the long run, price does not affect the AS, rather AS depends in the availability of the factors of production.
  • 29. The New Classical view is that the LRAS curve is vertical.  Reason: The classical view believes that if there is unemployment, wages will fall to restore full employment, therefore in the long run the economy will operate at full employment hence the vertical supply curve.
  • 30.  The Keynesian view is that the shape of the long run aggregate supply (LRAS) curve can be perfectly elastic at low levels of economic activity, less elastic at higher levels and perfectly inelastic when full employment is reached.
  • 31. Reasons:  Keynesians believe that at low output, and hence low levels of employment, the LRAS curve will be horizontal due to considerable spare capacity in the economy and output can be increased without raising cost per unit produced;
  • 32.  Keynesians also believe that as pressure begins to be placed on capacity and shortages in skilled labour occur, unit costs begin to rise and the LRAS curve slopes upwards;  Once the full employment level is reached, it is not possible to raise output and the LRAS curve becomes vertical.
  • 33. Note: The New Classical economists and the Keynesian economists both agree that, if full employment is reached, the LRAS curve will be vertical.  A change in LRAS is a change in the production potential of the economy;  An increase in the LRAS is shown by a shift to the right of the LRAS and a decrease by a shift to the left;
  • 34. The quantity of factors of production increases due to 1. an increase in investment, 2. discovery of new materials, 3. an increase in the size of the labour force; The quality of factors of production increases due to: 1 improvement in education and training, 2. technological progress, this will raise productivity (output per worker hour).
  • 35.  Macroeconomic equilibrium occurs where Aggregate Demand meets Aggregate Supply.  Only at the combination of GDP and price level given by the intersection the AD and AS curves are spending behavior (demand) and production (supply) activity consistent.  A shift in either the AD or the AS curve leads to changes in the equilibrium values of the price level and real GDP.
  • 37.  If the price level deviates from this equilibrium (P0), pressures on business and consumers will move the economy back toward point e.  Two conditions should be satisfied to attain macroeconomic equilibrium: (1) at the prevailing price level, desired expenditure must be equal to national output. The idea is agents are willing to buy all that is produced. The AD curve is constructed in such a way that this condition holds everywhere on it. (2) at the prevailing price level, firms must wish to produce the prevailing level of national output, no more and no less. This is introduced by the consideration of AS.
  • 38.  Although the economy is self-correcting in the long-run, this process can take up to a decade or more.  Particularly, if output is below potential output, the economy can suffer an extended period of depressed aggregate output an high unemployment during this period of self-correction.  John Maynard Keynes: “In the long run we are all dead.” He recommended that governments not wait for the economy to correct itself, but use fiscal policy to get the economy back to potential output more quickly.
  • 39.  This is the rationale for active stabilization policy, which is the use of government policy to reduce the severity of recessions and control excessively strong expansions.  However, the ability to improve the economy’s performance is not always guaranteed; it depends on the kinds of shocks the economy faces.
  • 40.  This is the rationale for active stabilization policy, which is the use of government policy to reduce the severity of recessions and control excessively strong expansions.  However, the ability to improve the economy’s performance is not always guaranteed; it depends on the kinds of shocks the economy faces.
  • 41.  If policy makers react quickly to a negative demand shock, they can use monetary or fiscal policy to shift the aggregate demand curve back to the right.  If it was possible to anticipate shifts of the AD curve and counteract them, it could short-circuit the whole process of going through a period of low aggregate output and falling prices.  This is desirable because: 1. The temporary fall in aggregate output is associated with high unemployment. 2. Price stability is regarded as a desirable goal (avoiding deflation- a fall in the aggregate price level.
  • 42.  However, some policy measures to increase aggregate demand may have long-term costs in terms of lower long- run growth.  It also could be that the policy-makers are not perfectly informed, and the effects of their policies are not perfectly predictable. This could cause the attempts to create more stability to end up creating more instability.  Despite this, many economists believe in the use of macroeconomic policy to offset major negative shocks to the AD curve.
  • 43.  The effect of a negative supply shock is to lower aggregate output but increase to a higher aggregate price level.  Two bad things happen simultaneously: a fall in aggregate output leads to a rise in unemployment, and a rise in the aggregate price level decreases the purchasing power of incomes.  In contrast to the case of a demand shock, there are no easy remedies for a supply shock. This means that there are no government policies that can easily counteract the changes in production costs that shift the SRAS curve.
  • 44.  Using monetary or fiscal policy to shift the AD curve would do one of two things: a) A policy to increase AD to limit the rise in unemployment would reduce the decline in output but cause even more inflation. b) A policy to decrease AD, it curbs inflation but causes a further rise in unemployment.  This is then a trade-off with no right answer; it requires facing harder choices than usual.  In the end, economic policy eventually chooses to stabilize prices at the cost of higher unemployment.