Assignment Paper

1303AFE Economics for Decision Making 1
Written Assignment 2
VERSION B
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Instructions:
Submission deadline for the assignment is Monday 18 May 2020, 3:00pm.
• Your assignment must be typed in a word document in .doc or .docx format – no pdf or pages. Assignments submitted in any format other than word will not be marked.
• For calculation questions, you are required to display all workings.
• If you are drawing diagrams, then you must draw your diagrams by hand; then scan (or take a picture) and insert your drawings into your word document.
• The online submission point of your completed assignment can be found under ‘Assessment’ tab, Written Assignment folder, in the course website. When submitting students must also fill in the digital cover sheet provided in the folder. Failure to follow the submission requirements may result in a null mark.

In preparing for this assignment I fully expect that you have gone through the lecture slides and listened to the lecture recordings, have gone through the workshop questions, done the practice questions and have read the extra notes provided as a MINIMUM REQUIREMENT. Expect that you may have to do more research and study than this to do well in the assignment.  
Question 1 on a combination of topics 6 and 9 (20 marks)
a. Assume that the reserve ratio in a country is 2%.
(i) Use a formula to calculate the simple money multiplier, show all steps involved in the calculation. (2 marks)
(ii) Suppose that in 2019 customers deposit $200 into their banks. Based on the simple money multiplier calculated in part (i), calculate the total amount which the money supply in the banking system will eventually increase to. Show all steps involved in the calculation. (2 marks)
(iii) Assume the amount of funds deposited by customers in 2020 stands at $400. and the reserve ratio increases to 8%. Will the money supply in the banking system increase, decrease or stay the same from 2019 levels? If it increases or decreases, calculate by how much it will change. If it stays the same, explain why. Show all steps involved in any calculations. (6 marks)

b. Inflation in the country of Hypothetica is currently 5%, above the target range of its central bank.
(i) What does this tell you regarding Hypothetica’s likely output gap? Illustrate it using an AS-AD diagram, and briefly explain your diagram (6 marks)
(ii) In this situation, what is the central bank likely to do with regard to monetary policy? Briefly explain your answer and state also what is likely to occur to the price level and output at the end of this process (there is no need to draw a diagram, but you can if you feel it helps you explain your answer) (2 marks)
(iii) What happens if the central bank does not intervene? Will the economy eventually return to long-run equilibrium (potential GDP)? Briefly explain your answer and state also what is likely to occur to the price level and output at the end of this process (there is no need to draw a diagram, but you can if you feel it helps you explain your answer). (2 marks)
 
Question 2 on Topic 8 (10 marks)
a. The Australian government has recently announced a raft of fiscal expansionary/stimulus measures that will lead to a significant increase in the Australian government’s budget deficit. Given the material presented in this course cover the pros and cons of budget surpluses and deficits, we know that one view put forward is that ‘government budget deficits are bad. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Briefly justify your answer. (5 marks)

b. Imagine a scenario where not only has the Australian government managed to pull Australia out of recession but has actually managed to get the economy moving so well that current output (real GDP) is above potential GDP.
(i) What type of fiscal policy has the government used to try and get Australia to potential GDP? Draw an AD-AS diagram to illustrate this situation (including the initial situation). Explain the figure in some detail. By this, we mean do not just explain the changes in the diagram, but also state what components of the AD and AS curves are changing (if any), and in which direction. (4 marks)
(ii) Can the existence of a fiscal multiplier help the government in terms of its commitments to reach potential GDP level of output? Provide a brief example. (1 mark)