Sticky-wage theory of aggregate supply as a result of the decrease in the money supply
The first explanation of the upward slope of the short-run aggregate-supply curve is the sticky-wage theory, an economic concept describing how wages adjust slowly to changes in labor market conditions. Show This theory is the simplest of the three approaches to aggregate supply Opens in new window, and some economists believe it highlights the most important reason why the economy in the short run differs from the economy in the long run. Therefore, it is the theory of short-run aggregate supply that we emphasize in the series. According to the sticky-wage theory, the short-run aggregate-supply curve slopes upward because nominal wages are slow to adjust to changing economic conditions. In other words, wages are “sticky” in the short run. To some extent, the show adjustment of nominal wages is attributable to long-term contracts between workers and firms that fix nominal wages, sometimes for as long as 3 years. In addition, this prolonged adjustment may be attributable to slowly changing social norms and notions of fairness that influence wage setting. An example can help explain how sticky nominal wages can result in a short-run aggregate-supply curve that slopes upward. Imagine that a year ago a firm expected the price level today to be 100, and based on this expectation, it signed a contract with its workers agreeing to pay them, say, $20 an hour. In fact, the price level turns out to be only 95.
Over time, the labor contracts will expire, and the firm can negotiate with its workers for a lower wage (which they may accept because prices are lower), but in the meantime, employment and production will remain below their long-run levels. The same logic works in reverse.Suppose the price level turns out to be 105 and the wage remains stuck at $20. The firm sees that the amount it is paid for each unit sold is up by 5 percent, while its labor costs are not. In response, it hires more workers and increases the quantity of output supplied. Eventually, the workers will demand higher nominal wages to compensate for the higher price level, but for a while, the firm can take advantage of the profit opportunity by increasing employment and production above their long-run levels. In short, according to the sticky-wage theory, the short-run aggregate-supply curve slopes upward because nominal wages are based on expected prices and do not respond immediately when the actual level turns out to be different from what was expected. This stickiness of wages gives firms an incentive to produce less output when the price level turns out lower than expected and to produce more when the price level turns out higher than expected. KEY POINTS:
I. Economic activity fluctuates from year to year.
II. Three Key Facts about Economic Fluctuations
III. Explaining Short-Run Economic Fluctuations
IV. The Aggregate-Demand Curve
V. The Aggregate-Supply Curve
(A new computer chip would not be sufficient to shift the LRAS) As a result, it has shifted the long-run aggregate-supply curve to the right. b. Opening up international trade has similar effects to inventing new production processes. Therefore, it also shifts the long-run aggregate-supply curve to the right. E. Why the Aggregate-Supply Curve Is Upward Sloping in the Short Run
VI. Two Causes of Recession
VII Monetary Policy VIII Fiscal Policy A. Government Purchases B. Reduction in Taxes More Monetary Policy Banks and the Money Supply A. The Simple Case of 100-Percent-Reserve Banking 1. Example: Suppose that currency is the only form of money and the total amount of currency is $100. a. Definition of reserves: deposits that banks have received but have not loaned out. 2. The financial position of the bank can be described with a T-account:
a. Before the bank was created, the money supply consisted of $100 worth of currency. b. Now, with the bank, the money supply consists of $100 worth of deposits. Definition of reserve ratio: the fraction of deposits that banks hold as reserves. c. Now First National decides to set its reserve ratio equal to 10% and lend the remainder of the deposits. The bank’s T-account would look like this:
When the bank makes these loans, the money supply changes. Now, after the loans, deposits are still equal to $100, but borrowers now also hold $90 worth of currency from the loans. 1. The creation of money does not stop at this point. 2. Borrowers usually borrow money to purchase something and then the money likely becomes redeposited at a bank. 3. Suppose a person borrowed the $90 to purchase something and the funds then get redeposited in Second National Bank. Here is this bank’s T-account (assuming that it also sets its reserve ratio to 10%):
4. If the $81 in loans becomes redeposited in another bank, this process will go on and on. 5. Each time the money is deposited and a bank loan is created, more money is created. The Fed’s Tools of Monetary Control 1. Definition of open market operations: the purchase and sale of U.S. government bonds by the Fed. a. If the Fed wants to increase the supply of money, it creates dollars and uses them to purchase government bonds from the public in the nation's bond markets. b. If the Fed wants to lower the supply of money, it sells government bonds from its portfolio to the public in the nation's bond markets. Money is then taken out of the hands of the public and the supply of money falls. c. If the sale or purchase of government bonds affects the amount of deposits in the banking system, the effect will be made larger by the money multiplier. d. Open market operations are easy for the Fed to conduct and are therefore the tool of monetary policy that the Fed uses most often. 2. Definition of reserve requirements: regulations on the minimum amount of reserves that banks must hold against deposits. a. This can affect the size of the money supply through changes in the money multiplier. b. The Fed rarely uses this tool because of the disruptions in the banking industry that would be caused by frequent alterations of reserve requirements. 3. Definition of discount rate: the interest rate on the loans that the Fed makes to banks. a. When a bank cannot meet its reserve requirements, it may borrow reserves from the Fed. b. A higher discount rate discourages banks from borrowing from the Fed and likely encourages banks to hold onto larger amounts of reserves. This in turn lowers the money supply. c. A lower discount rate encourages banks to lend their reserves (and borrow from the Fed). This will increase the money supply. d. The Fed also uses discount lending to help financial institutions that are in trouble. How do sticky wages affect aggregate supply?According to the sticky-wage theory, the short-run aggregate-supply curve slopes upward because nominal wages are slow to adjust to changing economic conditions. In other words, wages are “sticky” in the short run.
What happens when wages are sticky?Rather, sticky wages are when workers' earnings don't adjust quickly to changes in labor market conditions. That can slow the economy's recovery from a recession. When demand for a good drops, its price typically falls too.
What does it mean when wages are sticky downward?Sticky wages is an economic theory that explains why wages don't increase and decrease at the same rate and time as supply-demand and prices in the economy. Wages are said to either be sticky up which means that they don't rise at the same rate, or sticky down, which means they down lower at the same rate.
Why do sticky wages and prices increase the impact of an economic downturn on?Sticky wages and prices amplify the effects of economic downturns because when a recession occurs, salaries remain unchanged, causing prices to remain high. Employers can no longer afford to keep workers as a result, and workers lose their employment as a result.
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