It widely recognized that the monetary policy within a country should be primarily concerned with the pursuit of price stability. However, it is still not clear how this objective can be achieved most effectively. This debate remains unsettled, but an increasing number of countries have adopted inflation targeting as their monetary policy framework. (Dr E J van der Merwe, 2002) This topic of Inflation targeting is a subject which immediately conjures different perceptions from different people. Many feel that low inflation should be a main aim of monetary policy, while others (such as trade union activists) believe that a higher growth rate to stimulate jobs should be the main concern.
In order to understand what inflation targeting is and how it affects us, it is important to first establish what, in fact, inflation is.
Inflation can be defined as an increase in the general price level of goods and services. It is measured as the annual percent change in the prices of goods deemed necessary for life in that country. These goods are included in a "market basket" which changes infrequently, so this measure can reflect fluctuations in the price level as well as the purchasing power of the Rand.
There are two basic types of inflation, namely: cost-push and demand-pull inflation. Cost-push inflation is caused by an increase in the cost of production. Increases in the cost of labor, raw materials, equipment, and borrowing money push the cost of production up resulting in higher overall prices. Demand-pull inflation is caused by an increase in demand or in the supply of money. This increased demand allows producers to charge higher prices.
A lot can be learnt from this economic indicator. High levels of inflation indicate an unp...
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...zon. (Mishkin F, 2000)
Inflation Targeting makes inflation (rather than output or unemployment) the primary goal of monetary policy. This thus makes it evident why some trade unions may not agree with this regime. Although not an intermediate goal of the monetary policy, low and stable inflation is supportive of sustainable growth and employment creation.(SARB, 2005)Inflation targeting has played an important role in strengthening the effect of forward-looking expectations on inflation. I believe the introduction of inflation targeting has benefited the implementation of monetary policy in our country. The application of this framework has strengthened the SARB's focus on price stability and assisted inflation down to low and manageable levels. It has also provided an anchor for expectations of future inflation, which influences price and wage setting. (SARB, 2005)
Inflation occurs when consumers are spending like crazy, and “the central banks flood the system with too much money,” (DPE, 37). They do so through
In this section I will be discussing how inflation rates have increased over the past 40 years, and what effect this has had on monetary growth. Inflation rates are defined as the rate of change in price levels in our economy especially Canada. Surveys are conducted quarterly or monthly to determine and generate a Consumer Price Index. The CPI is conducted with a “basket of goods” to determine changes in consumer prices for Canadians. It is important to study and analyze the rate of inflation because it helps the government determine how the dollar value has changed over a period of time. Also to adjust pending contracts and initiate new pensions which have to take into account the effect of inflation. Less well-off people and elderly are more
Economic indicators are Governmental statistics, released on a regular basis, which indicate the growth and health of a country. Economic indicators often affect and influence the value of a country's currency. The Trade Deficit, the Gross National Product (GNP), Industrial Production, the Unemployment Rate, and Business Inventories are examples of economic indicators. We will be dealing with four specific indicators: interest rate, inflation, unemployment, and employment growth as well as Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Real GDP is so called because the affects of inflation and depreciation are accounted for in the figures.
Clark, Todd and Christian Garciga. "Recent Inflation Trends." Economic Trends (07482922), 14 Jan. 2016, pp. 5-11. EBSCOhost, cco.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=112325646&site=ehost-live.
Yes, it will increase inflation but create more job opportunities and unemployment will decrease if government intervention occurs. Yes in the long run this might be bad but people care about tomorrow more than they care about 3 or 4 years from now or even more. As Lord Keynes once said “in the long run we are all dead”.
In chapter nine ‘Why is there an employment/inflation trade-off?’ the authors critique the natural rate theory. They agree with the fact that wage setting is influenced by expectations of inflation but disagree that inflationary expectation affects ‘wage and price setting one for one’
The recent global financial crisis that affected not only America but also Europe and other parts of the world resulted in massive unemployment. This is due to the high costs of operation that many corporations faced forcing them to cut on labor costs. There is need for European government interventions to avert this social crisis and prevent the occurrence of such a crisis in future. Unemployment has hit the service sector harder than other sectors with the following being the most affected: automotive, construction, tourism, finance and real estate. The global financial crisis has also increased consumer prices thus pushing inflation. According to McCathie, “the increase in July consumer prices to 1.7 per cent pushed inflation in the currency bloc up towards the European Central Bank’s target of keeping inflation at below, but close to 2 per cent. Eurozone consumer prices had stood at 1.4 per cent in June” (McCathie, 2010).
Inflation also creates uncertainty for entrepreneurs, cost curves increase and revenue can decrease thus squeezing profits. Also when inflation is in the mind of the entrepreneur it can escalate easily as they will take inflationary actions like automatically increase prices and therefore it is imperative government spending/borrowing is controlled. Although government borrowing does increase the money supply, the monetarist view of a direct link between money supply and inflation is wrong, as proved when Britain experienced recession under Margaret Thatcher. In order to control the money supply the government cut borrowing and spending, which in theory would reduce the money supply, inflation and unemployment but interest rates had to rise to stop consumer borrowing, which in turn increased the exchange rate. High interest rates curbed consumer borrowing, which reduces demand for products, along with a high exchange rate ruining demand for exports ... ...
Difficulties in Formulating Macroeconomic Policy Policy makers try to influence the behaviour of broad economic aggregates in order to improve the performance of the economy. The main macroeconomic objectives of policy are: a high and relatively stable level of employment; a stable general price level; a growing level of real income (economic growth); balance of payments equilibrium, and certain distributional aims. This essay will go through what these difficulties are and examine how these difficulties affect the policy maker when they attempt to formulate macroeconomic policy. It is difficult to provide a single decisive factor for policy evaluation as a change in political and/or economic circumstances may result in declared objectives being changed or reversed. Economists can give advice on the feasibility and desirability of policies designed to attain the ultimate targets, however, the ultimate responsibility lies with the policy maker.
Inflation and unemployment are two key elements when evaluating a whole economy, and it is also easy to get those figures from the National Bureau of Statistics when you want to evaluate them. However, the relationship between them is a controversial topic, which has been debated by economists for decades. From some famous economists such as Paul Samuelson, Milton Freidman, etc. to some infamous economists, this topic received a lot of attention. However, it is this debate that makes the thinking about it evolve. In this essay, the controversial topic will be discussed by viewing different economists’ opinions on the subject according to time sequencing.
Inflation; ‘a situation in which prices rise in order to keep up with increased production costs… result[ing] [in] the purchasing power of money fall[ing]’ (Collin:101) is quickly becoming a problem for the government of the United Kingdom in these post-recession years. The economic recovery, essential to the wellbeing of the British economy, may be in jeopardy as inflation continues to rise, reducing the purchasing power of the public. This, in turn, reduces demand for goods and services, and could potentially plummet the UK back into recession. This essay discusses the causes of inflation, policy options available to the UK government and the Bank of England (the central bank of the UK responsible for monetary policy), and the effects they may potentially have on the UK recovery.
It is difficult for government to achieve all the macroeconomics objectives at the same time. Conflicts between macroeconomics objectives means a policy irritating aggregate demand may reduce unemployment in the short term but launch a period of higher inflation and exacerbate the current account of the balance of payments which can also dividend into main objectives and additional objectives (N. T. Macdonald,
Inflation is the rate at which the purchasing power of currency is falling, consequently, the general level of prices for goods and services is rising. Central banks endeavor to point of confinement inflation, and maintain a strategic distance from collapse i.e. deflation, with a specific end goal to keep the economy running smoothly.
The increase in prices is known as inflation. This macroeconomic objective aims at keeping prices as low as possible. Economists normally would like to understand the changes of what is happening in the purchasing power of consumers. The price stability can be measured by looking into the (CPI) which is the index of the prices of representative basket of consumer goods and services. According to StatsSA, (2016) the inflation rate averaged 9.27 percent from 1968 to 2016. Consequently, the report states that the consumer prices index in South Africa increased by 6 percent year-on-year in July of 2016.The economists however, argue that the inflation figure obtained was one of the lowest ever experienced by south Africa due to the fact the cost of electricity and fuel remained constant. This shows that South Africa at the moment is currently doing well; however only because inflation is very dynamic and changes so it can not be guaranteed that it will remain the same
Inflation is one of the most important economic issues in the world. It can be defined as the price of goods and services rising over monthly or yearly. Inflation leads to a decline in the value of money, it means that we cannot buy something at a price that same as before. This situation will increase our cost of living.