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Comparing The Output Gap: The Federal Government And The Federal Reserve Bank Of America

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In order to close the output gap, the Federal Government and The Federal Reserve Bank of America used monetary and fiscal policy to close gaps and have real measurements rise above potential. These policymakers often use potential output to gauge inflation and typically define it as the level of output consistent with no pressure for prices to rise or fall. In this context, the output gap is a summary indicator of the relative demand and supply components of economic activity. As such, the output gap measures the degree of inflation pressure in the economy and is an important link between the real side of the economy—which produces goods and services—and inflation. All else equal, if the actual output falls below potential output over time, …show more content…

Federal Reserve, maintaining full employment is a policy goal. Full employment corresponds to an output gap of zero. Nearly all central banks seek to keep inflation under control, and the output gap is a key determinant of inflation pressure. Because the output gap gauges when the economy may be overheating or underperforming, it has immediate implications for monetary policy. Typically, during a recession, actual economic output drops below its potential, which creates a negative output gap. That below-potential performance may spur a central bank to adopt a monetary policy designed to stimulate economic growth—by lowering interest rates, for example, to boost demand and prevent inflation from falling below the central bank’s inflation rate target. Governments can also use fiscal policy to close the output gap. For example, fiscal policy that is expansionary and raises aggregate demand by increasing government spending or lowering taxes—can be used to close a negative output gap. By contrast, when there is a positive output gap, contractionary or “tight” fiscal policy is adopted to reduce demand and combat inflation through lower spending and/or higher taxes. There …show more content…

The model explains the decisions made by investors when it comes to investments with the amount of money available and the interest they will receive. Equilibrium is achieved when the amount invested equals the amount available to invest. The IS-LM model describes the aggregate demand of the economy using the relationship between output and interest rates. In a closed economy, in the goods market, a rise in interest rate reduces aggregate demand, usually investment demand and/or demand for consumer durables. This lowers the level of output and results in equating the quantity demanded with the quantity produced. This condition is equal to the condition that planned investment equals saving. It important to remember the IS relation is equal to

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