Question

The Japanese economy has been experiencing slow growth. As a result the Prime Minister, who thinks John Maynard Keynes was the greatest economist ever, has decided to increase government spending. As head of the economic council the Prime Minister asks you to determine the size of the increase needed to bring the economy to full employment.

Assume there is a GDP gap of 1 billion yen and the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) is .60. What advise do you give the Prime Minister?
a. The recessionary gap is equal to 625 million yen.
b. The inflationary gap is equal to 1 billion yen divided by 2.5 or 0.4 billion yen.
c. The recessionary gap is equal to 1 billion yen divided by 2.5 or 0.4 billion yen.
d. The inflationary gap is equal to 1 billion yen divided by 1.66 or 0.625 billion yen.

Answer 1

c. The recessionary gap is equal to 1 billion yen divided by 2.5 or 0.4 billion yen.

Step-by-step explanation:

The computation is shown below:

The multiplier is

= 1 ÷ (1 - MPC)

= 1 ÷ (1 - 0.60)

= 2.5

Now the increase in government expenditure for closing out the recessionary gap should be

Change in income = change in government purchase × multiplier

100 = change in government purchase × 2.5

So, the change in government purchase should be

= 100 ÷2.5

= 40

Hence, the option c is correct