What is the effect on savings of a tax cut of 10billion? Is this inflationary or deflationary? Assume that the marginal propensity to consume is \(0.85\)

Short Answer

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The tax cut of 10 billion leads to an increase in disposable income by 10 billion. The marginal propensity to consume (MPC) of 0.85 implies that 85% of this increased disposable income will be spent on consumption, and the remaining 15% will be saved. Therefore, the change in consumption is 8.5 billion, and the change in savings is 1.5 billion. Since the change in consumption is greater than the change in savings, the tax cut is more likely to be inflationary. However, the actual effect on inflation depends on various factors, such as the state of the economy, monetary policy, and the output gap.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the relationship between consumption, savings, and taxes

The relationship between disposable income (income after taxes), consumption, and savings can be represented as follows: Disposable income = Consumption + Savings If taxes decrease, disposable income will increase. The increase in disposable income will be spent on consumption and savings according to the marginal propensity to consume (MPC).
02

Calculate the change in disposable income due to the tax cut

Given that the tax cut is 10 billion, the change in disposable income can be calculated as: ΔDisposable income = -ΔTaxes = 10 billion
03

Calculate the change in consumption and savings using the marginal propensity to consume (MPC)

The MPC is the ratio of the change in consumption to the change in disposable income. We are given that the MPC is 0.85, which implies that when disposable income increases, 85% of the increase will be spent on consumption, and the remaining 15% will be spent on savings. ΔConsumption = MPC × ΔDisposable income ΔSavings = (1 - MPC) × ΔDisposable income Plugging in the values, we get: ΔConsumption = 0.85 × 10 billion = 8.5 billion ΔSavings = (1 - 0.85) × 10 billion = 1.5 billion
04

Determine if the tax cut is inflationary or deflationary

An increase in consumption can lead to an increase in aggregate demand, which may cause inflation (if the economy is operating near full capacity) or reduce unemployment (if there is slack in the economy). On the other hand, an increase in savings can lead to an increase in investments, which might have a positive long-term effect on the growth of the economy. If ΔConsumption is greater than ΔSavings, then there is a higher chance for the tax cut to be inflationary, as people are spending more instead of saving. In this case, since ΔConsumption (8.5 billion) is greater than ΔSavings (1.5 billion), we can determine that the tax cut is more likely to be inflationary. However, the actual effect on inflation depends on the current state of the economy and other factors, such as the monetary policy and the output gap. For example, if the economy operates below full capacity, an increase in private consumption could be beneficial to close the output gap without causing significant inflation.

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