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Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country, which could be a government agency or a central bank, controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment.
Expansionary Monetary Policy
A monetary authority will typically pursue expansionary monetary policy when there is an output gap – that is, a country is producing output at a lower level than its potential output. Without a policy intervention the output gap may correct itself, if falling wages and prices shift the short-run aggregate supply curve to the right until the economy returns to the long-run equilibrium. Alternatively, the monetary authority could intervene in order to increase aggregate demand and close the output gap. Expansionary monetary policy consists of the tools that a central bank uses to achieve this increase in aggregate demand.
Contractionary Monetary Policy
By contrast, a monetary authority will pursue a contractionary monetary policy when it considers inflation a threat. Suppose, for example, that high short-run aggregate demand creates an equilibrium in which prices are higher than in the long-run equilibrium. This will cause high levels of inflation. In response, the monetary authority may reduce the money supply and thereby raise the interest rate. Investment falls as the interest rate rises. The higher interest rate also increases the demand for dollars as foreign investors shift their investments to the United States. Likewise, the supply of dollars declines. Consumers in the United States purchase domestic interest-bearing assets rather than purchasing assets abroad, taking advantage of the higher domestic interest rate. Increased demand and decreased supply cause an increase in the exchange rate, which boots imports while reducing exports. Thus, contractionary monetary policy causes aggregate demand to fall, thereby reducing the rate of inflation.
steve williams answered the question on January 23, 2018 at 10:54
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