Canada Fiscal Policy

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Should the Government use Fiscal or Monetary Policy to Eliminate Canada’s Current Contractionary Gap? Introduction An economic recession is a period of slow economic activity; this contractionary phase is characterized by high unemployment and low levels of GDP. On the other hand, government bodies desire economic growth and low unemployment levels in order to attain a stable economy. These goals may be reached through the use of either fiscal policy or monetary policy. This paper will focus on and discuss which policy is more effective in eliminating the current recessionary gap of Canada. Arguments for Fiscal Policy Fiscal policy is the “deliberate, discretionary changes in government expenditures and/or taxes in order to achieve…show more content…
When there is a greater disposable personal income this will allow consumption to increase due to the money saved from the lower tax rate. Through consumption increasing this will favour economic because the gross domestic product has increased. When government expenditures are increased it will have a multiplier effect on aggregate demand. Because of the multiplier effect, the government can increase spending by only a small amount to achieve a larger, necessary increase in aggregate demand. By doing so, the economy will be able to attain an equilibrium level of real…show more content…
When there is a recessionary gap, expansionary fiscal policy does not makes things better, but worse. Fiscal policy causes interest rates to increase and the Canadian Dollar to appreciate; as a result, there is a decrease of net exports and a decline in the economy. However, expansionary monetary policy causes interest rates to fall, which will provoke international outflows of financial capital. This, in turn, lowers the value of the dollar and makes Canadian goods more desirable. “The net export effect of expansionary monetary policy will be in the same direction as the monetary policy effect”.1 Recommended Course of Action Although both fiscal policy and monetary policy prove to have beneficial effects on an economy during a contractionary period, we believe that the government should use a combination of both policies…… - The money supply may be ineffective, but in the end people want to make sure that they will have money to save up in case of emergencies. There is no change in investment spending meaning little change in aggregate demand. - Further to this, the fiscal policy may be ineffective, as the extensive “time lags” may dig us deeper, creating a depression. - To what extent???
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