Macroeconomic Fiscal Policy
What is macroeconomic fiscal policy? Macroeconomic fiscal policy is the overall plan for government spending, taxation and borrowing. It is used to influence the economy for the purpose of promoting economic growth, maintaining economic stability and meeting social objectives. It is set by the government and implemented by its central bank.
The main goal of macroeconomic fiscal policy is to influence a nation’s level of aggregate demand. Aggregate demand is the total amount of goods and services that a nation’s population demands. Macroeconomic fiscal policy is used to control the level of aggregate demand in order to ensure macroeconomic stability and promote sustainable economic growth.
The main tools of macroeconomic fiscal policy are spending, taxation, borrowing and money supply. Government spending can be used to stimulate aggregate demand in the short-term, while taxation and borrowing can be used to reduce aggregate demand in the longer-term. Money supply influencing can be used to help manage inflation.
Most macroeconomic fiscal policy is implemented with the aim of stabilising economic growth, i.e. avoiding economic booms and slumps. To achieve this, fiscal policy makers use fiscal policy tools to influence aggregate demand and inflation. Government spending can be used to create jobs and promote economic activity. Tax cuts can encourage consumer spending. Increased borrowing can provide extra funds for investment and economic stimulus. Money supply management can help promote a more stable rate of inflation.
In addition to macroeconomic fiscal policy, monetary policy also plays an important role in influencing the economy. Monetary policy is used to control the money supply, credit and interest rates. This can help to manage inflation and economic growth.
When implementing fiscal or monetary policy, the decision of the governing body has to be taken in order to determine the policy objectives, such as promoting growth, controlling inflation or balancing the level of government spending and taxes. Once the objectives are set, the policy instruments are chosen and implemented.
In most countries, the government is in charge of macroeconomic fiscal policy while the central bank is responsible for implementing monetary policy. The government may decide on the overall objectives and choose monetary and fiscal instruments to achieve them, while the central bank may decide on the fine-tuning of these instruments. For example, the government may decide to cut taxes, while the central bank may decide how much to cut them and how to impose them.
Fiscal and monetary policies are two of the main tools used to influence the economy. Although fiscal and monetary policies are interrelated, they work best when they are used together to complement each other. They each have different objectives, instruments and time-frames of effectiveness. When they are combined they can help to create a macroeconomic environment that is conducive to economic growth, stability and social progress.