“How Effective Is a Reduction in the Interest Rate in Increasing Consumer Expenditure and Investment?” (18 Marks)

882 Words4 Pages
Before we explore how a reduction in the interest rates leads to an increase in consumption we must first define what it exactly means to consume. Mainstream economists such as Tim Harford define consumption as the spending by house holds on consumer products and services. As the interest rate decreases it leads to consequential reactions on behalf of consumers, one of these actions is an increase in the level of goods consumed. This is a result of it being cheaper to borrow money from banks and other financial institutions, this meaning purchases which have been prolonged or “put off” by consumers can now be readily purchased. This is an effect of a lower opportunity cost as the overall cost associated with borrowing has decreased and the marginal benefit of saving has increased, meaning consumers will receive more of a benefit if they purchase goods on credit based agreements opposed to saving, leading to an increase in the amount of credit transactions. This leads to consumer expenditure increasing significantly, meaning more goods are being consumed. Therefore, as consumer expenditure is a component of the aggregate demand formulae an increase in consumption would thereby lead to an increase in aggregate demand. However that said, an increase in consumption largely depends on the consumers’ marginal propensity to consume (MPC) and the overall confidence of consumers. Therefore, if MPC and consumer confidence is at a low, consumers will spend less and save more therefore resulting in a decrease in total consumption levels. This consequently will result in an increase in taxation, as there is a decrease in the circular flow of income, meaning governments have to increase taxes in compensation for the lack of spending. Due to this taxation increase the level of real disposable income, or RDI, amongst consumers will decrease and therefore decreasing consumer
Open Document