The aggregate demand curve shows that a decrease in the price level
The aggregate demand curve shows a relationship between aggregate demand and the general price level. Show
A fall in the general price level causes an expansion of AD
A rise in the general price level causes a contraction of AD
Why does the aggregate demand curve slope downwards from left to right?Real income effect: As the price level falls, the real value of income rises, and consumers can buy more of what they want or need – this is known as the real money balance effect Balance of trade effect: A fall in the relative price of level of Country X could make foreign-produced goods and services more expensive, causing a rise in exports and a fall in imports. Exports are an injection, imports a withdrawal. Interest rate effect: If price inflation is low and this might lead to a reduction in interest rates if the central bank has a given inflation target. Lower interest rates means there is less incentive to save and a fall in interest rates may cause the exchange rate to depreciate and improve exports. Shifts in the Aggregate Demand curveShifts in the aggregate demand curve are caused by factors independent of changes in the general price level. An outward shift of AD means a higher level of demand at each price level. One or more of the components of AD must have changed. AD1 shifts to AD2.
An inward shift of AD means that total expenditure on goods and services at each price level has fallen. AD1 shifts to AD3.
What are the main causes of shifts in the level of aggregate demand?
Recommended textbook solutions
Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics15th EditionDouglas A. Lind, Samuel A. Wathen, William G. Marchal 1,236 solutions
Introductory Business Statistics1st EditionAlexander Holmes, Barbara Illowsky, Susan Dean 2,174 solutions
Statistics for Business and Economics13th EditionDavid R. Anderson, Dennis J. Sweeney, James J Cochran, Jeffrey D. Camm, Thomas A. Williams 1,692 solutions
Principles of Economics7th EditionN. Gregory Mankiw 1,394 solutions Aggregate demand (AD) refers to the amount of total spending on domestic goods and services in an economy. (Strictly speaking, AD is what economists call total planned expenditure. We will further explain this distinction in the appendix The Expenditure-Output Model . For now, just think of aggregate demand as total spending.) It includes all four components of demand: consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports (exports minus imports). This demand is determined by a number of factors, but one of them is the price level—recall though, that the price level is an index number such as the GDP deflator that measures the average price of the things we buy. The aggregate demand (AD) curve shows the total spending on domestic goods and services at each price level. Figure presents an aggregate demand (AD) curve. Just like the aggregate supply curve, the horizontal axis shows real GDP and the vertical axis shows the price level. The AD curve slopes down, which means that increases in the price level of outputs lead to a lower quantity of total spending. The reasons behind this shape are related to how changes in the price level affect the different components of aggregate demand. The following components comprise aggregate demand: consumption spending (C), investment spending (I), government spending (G), and spending on exports (X) minus imports (M): C + I + G + X – M. The Aggregate Demand Curve Aggregate demand (AD) slopes down, showing that, as the price level rises, the amount of total spending on domestic goods and services declines.The wealth effect holds that as the price level increases, the buying power of savings that people have stored up in bank accounts and other assets will diminish, eaten away to some extent by inflation. Because a rise in the price level reduces people’s wealth, consumption spending will fall as the price level rises. The interest rate effect is that as prices for outputs rise, the same purchases will take more money or credit to accomplish. This additional demand for money and credit will push interest rates higher. In turn, higher interest rates will reduce borrowing by businesses for investment purposes and reduce borrowing by households for homes and cars—thus reducing consumption and investment spending. The foreign price effect points out that if prices rise in the United States while remaining fixed in other countries, then goods in the United States will be relatively more expensive compared to goods in the rest of the world. U.S. exports will be relatively more expensive, and the quantity of exports sold will fall. U.S. imports from abroad will be relatively cheaper, so the quantity of imports will rise. Thus, a higher domestic price level, relative to price levels in other countries, will reduce net export expenditures. Among economists all three of these effects are controversial, in part because they do not seem to be very large. For this reason, the aggregate demand curve in Figure slopes downward fairly steeply. The steep slope indicates that a higher price level for final outputs reduces aggregate demand for all three of these reasons, but that the change in the quantity of aggregate demand as a result of changes in price level is not very large. Read the following Work It Out feature to learn how to interpret the AD/AS model. In this example, aggregate supply, aggregate demand, and the price level are given for the imaginary country of Xurbia. Interpreting the AD/AS ModelTable shows information on aggregate supply, aggregate demand, and the price level for the imaginary country of Xurbia. What information does Table tell you about the state of the Xurbia’s economy? Where is the equilibrium price level and output level (this is the SR macroequilibrium)? Is Xurbia risking inflationary pressures or facing high unemployment? How can you tell? Price Level: Aggregate Demand/Aggregate Supply
To begin to use the AD/AS model, it is important to plot the AS and AD curves from the data provided. What is the equilibrium? Step 1. Draw your x- and y-axis. Label the x-axis Real GDP and the y-axis Price Level. Step 2. Plot AD on your graph. Step 3. Plot AS on your graph. Step 4. Look at Figure which provides a visual to aid in your analysis. The AD/AS Curves AD and AS curves created from the data in Table.Step 5. Determine where AD and AS intersect. This is the equilibrium with price level at 130 and real GDP at $680. Step 6. Look at the graph to determine where equilibrium is located. We can see that this equilibrium is fairly far from where the AS curve becomes near-vertical (or at least quite steep) which seems to start at about $750 of real output. This implies that the economy is not close to potential GDP. Thus, unemployment will be high. In the relatively flat part of the AS curve, where the equilibrium occurs, changes in the price level will not be a major concern, since such changes are likely to be small. Step 7. Determine what the steep portion of the AS curve indicates. Where the AS curve is steep, the economy is at or close to potential GDP. Step 8. Draw conclusions from the given information:
When the price level goes down the aggregate demand curve?The aggregate demand (AD) curve shows that as the price level drops, purchases of real domestic output increase. The AD curve slopes downward for three reasons. The first is the interest-rate effect. We assume the supply of money to be fixed.
What does the aggregate demand curve show?An aggregate demand curve shows the total spending on domestic goods and services at each price level. You can see an example aggregate demand curve below. Just like in an aggregate supply curve, the horizontal axis shows real GDP and the vertical axis shows price level.
What happens to aggregate demand curve when price level increases?At the higher price level, the consumption, investment, and net export components of aggregate demand will all fall; that is, there will be a reduction in the total quantity of goods and services demanded, but not a shift of the aggregate demand curve itself.
What decreases the level of aggregate demand?Income and Wealth: As household wealth increases, aggregate demand usually increases as well. Conversely, a decline in wealth usually leads to lower aggregate demand. Increases in personal savings will also lead to less demand for goods, which tends to occur during recessions.
|