Question

Classify the events according to their impact on aggregate demand (AD).

1. A dramatic decline in the average price of houses will _____________.
2. Increased concern that a recession is looming will _____________.
3. An announcement by the central bank to maintain its existing monetary policy will _____________.
4. A reduction in government spending will _____________.
5. A dramatic improvement in the stock market, causing investors' wealth to rise, will _____________.
6. A recession occurring in a trading partner's economy will _____________.
7. An increase in income tax rates on individuals earning more than $450,000 per year will _____________.

WORD BANK
not change AD.
increase AD.
decrease AD.

Answer 1

1. decrease AD.

2. decrease AD.

3. not change AD.

4. decrease AD.

5. increase AD.

6. decrease AD.

7. decrease AD.

Step-by-step explanation:

Aggregate demand (AD) measures the total amount of spending that occurs in an economy and can be segmented into consumption spending, government spending, investment spending, and net exports. A key principle in this example is that AD increases when there are increases to any of these individual components of AD and decreases when the individual components decrease.

Several of the events in this example describe direct changes in the components of AD:

- A reduction in government spending leads to a decline in AD as it is associated with fewer goods and services being purchased.

- An increase in tax rates reduces disposable income and therefore causes consumption spending to decline.

- When recessions occur abroad, foreigners purchase fewer imported items. (e.g., a recession in Europe means that American firms will export less to Europe.) Thus, net exports decline as trading partners experience recessions, which causes AD to fall.

- Consumer confidence also impacts spending in that people are more inclined to make purchases when feeling optimistic and more inclined to save when feeling concerned about the economy.

- Wealth is another factor that affects AD. People buy more goods and services when they have more wealth and vice versa. Therefore, an increase in wealth associated with rising stock prices increases AD, whereas falling wealth from declining housing prices reduces AD.

- Changes in the money supply also can lead to AD shifts. When the money supply grows more rapidly, there are increases in spending and the AD shifts to the right, and vice versa. In this example, growth in the money supply is said to be stable, implying that AD will neither increase nor decrease.