Although the United States is one of the richest nations in the world, it is also the world's largest debtor nation. We often hear that the problem is the nation's low savings rate. Suppose policy makers attempt to rectify this by encouraging greater savings in the economy. What effect will their successful attempts have on real GDP?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: An increase in the savings rate can positively affect real GDP in the United States by increasing the supply of loanable funds, leading to lower interest rates. This encourages firms to invest more in capital goods, increasing the economy's productive capacity and resulting in higher real GDP.

Step by step solution

01

1. Understanding the concepts of savings, investment, and real GDP

Savings refer to the portion of income that is not spent on consumption, while investment refers to the expenditure made on capital goods, such as machinery, tools, and buildings. Real GDP, on the other hand, is a measure of the total output of goods and services produced within an economy, adjusted for price changes and inflation.
02

2. Relation between savings and investment

Higher savings result in more funds being available for investment. This increased investment can lead to higher economic growth by enhancing the productive capacity of an economy. More investment in capital goods leads to increased production and higher real GDP.
03

3. The market for loanable funds

The loanable funds market is where savers (households) provide funds to borrowers (firms) for investment purposes. An increase in savings shifts the supply curve of the loanable funds market to the right, resulting in a lower interest rate. Lower interest rates make borrowing cheaper, encouraging firms to invest more in capital goods.
04

4. Effect of higher savings on real GDP

With more savings, the loanable funds market experiences an increase in the supply of funds, leading to lower interest rates. This decrease in interest rates encourages firms to increase their investments in capital goods. As the capital stock of an economy increases, so does its productive capacity, leading to higher real GDP. Therefore, successful attempts to encourage greater savings in the United States would likely increase the real GDP. In conclusion, an increase in the savings rate has the potential to positively affect the real GDP of the United States. This would occur through the loanable funds market mechanism, which would lead to lower interest rates and stimulate investment in capital goods, ultimately boosting economic growth.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

The U.S. economy slowed significantly in early 2008 , and policy makers were extremely concerned about growth. To boost the economy, Congress passed several relief packages (the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that combined would deliver about \(\$ 700\) billion in government spending. Assume, for the sake of argument, that this spending was in the form of payments made directly to consumers. The objective was to boost the economy by increasing the disposable income of American consumers. a. Calculate the initial change in aggregate consumer spending as a consequence of this policy measure if the marginal propensity to consume $(M P C)\( in the United States is \)0.5 .$ Then calculate the resulting change in real GDP arising from the \(\$ 700\) billion in payments. b. Illustrate the effect on real GDP with the use of a graph depicting the income-expenditure equilibrium. Label the vertical axis "Planned aggregate spending, \(A E_{\text {Planned }}\) " and the horizontal axis "Real GDP." Draw two planned aggregate expenditure curves $\left(A E_{\text {Planned } 1}\right.\( and \)A E_{\text {Planned } 2}$ ) and a 45 -degree line to show the effect of the autonomous policy change on the equilibrium.

In an economy with no government and no foreign sectors, autonomous consumer spending is \(\$ 250\) billion, planned investment spending is \(\$ 350\) billion, and the marginal propensity to consume is \(2 / 3\). a. Plot the aggregate consumption function and planned aggregate spending. b. What is unplanned inventory investment when real GDP equals \(\$ 600\) billion? c. What is \(Y^{*}\), income-expenditure equilibrium GDP? d. What is the value of the multiplier? e. If planned investment spending rises to \(\$ 450\) billion, what will be the new \(Y^{*}\) ?

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that, in real terms, overall consumer spending increased by \(\$ 66.2\) billion during the second quarter of \(2014 .\) a. If the marginal propensity to consume is \(0.52,\) by how much will real GDP change in response? b. If there are no other changes to autonomous spending other than the increase in consumer spending in part a, and unplanned inventory investment, \(I_{\text {Unplanned }}\), decreased by \(\$ 50\) billion, what is the change in real GDP? c. GDP at the end of the first quarter in 2014 was \(\$ 16,014.1\) billion. If GDP were to increase by the amount calculated in part b, what would be the percent increase in GDP?

An economy has a marginal propensity to consume of \(0.5,\) and \(Y^{*},\) income- expenditure equilibrium GDP, equals \(\$ 500\) billion. Given an autonomous increase in planned investment of \(\$ 10\) billion, show the rounds of increased spending that take place by completing the accompanying table. The first and second rows are filled in for you. In the first row, the increase of planned investment spending of \(\$ 10\) billion raises real GDP and \(Y D\) by \(\$ 10\) billion, leading to an increase in consumer spending of \(\$ 5\) billion \((M P C \times\) change in disposable income) in row \(2,\) raising real GDP and \(Y D\) by a further \(\$ 5\) billion. a. What is the total change in real GDP after the 10 rounds? What is the value of the multiplier? What would you expect the total change in \(Y^{*}\) to be based on the multiplier formula? How do your answers to the first and third questions compare? b. Redo the table starting from round 2 , assuming the marginal propensity to consume is \(0.75 .\) What is the total change in real GDP after 10 rounds? What is the value of the multiplier? As the marginal propensity to consume increases, what happens to the value of the multiplier?

Assuming that the aggregate price level is constant, the interest rate is fixed, and there are no taxes and no foreign trade, what will be the change in GDP if the following events occur? a. There is an autonomous increase in consumer spending of \(\$ 25\) billion; the marginal propensity to consume is \(2 / 3\). b. Firms reduce investment spending by \(\$ 40\) billion; the marginal propensity to consume is 0.8 . c. The government increases its purchases of military equipment by \(\$ 60\) billion; the marginal propensity to consume is 0.6

See all solutions

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free