Objectives Of Macro Economic Policy

Politicians win elections by promising 'Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!' but in practice these promises quickly fall by the wayside. The Goals of Macroeconomic Policy asks why. It begins with the observation that there is no convincing economic argument that full employment should be the primary objective of economic policy in all circumstances. In the light of this it examines whcy policy has failed so consistantly. It explains this by a theory of the labour market which shows why most workers are happy to operate in a way which militates against full employment. It then proceeds to analyse the rather dire consequences of this for the budget deficit.

Economics provides an interactive and illuminating account of the issues facing all economies today. The writing style reflects the nature of discourse of the discipline, providing an analytical rather than a descriptive approach.

This analysis of macroeconomic policy, originally published in 1989, argues that key government objectives, such as reduced inflation, decreased unemployment and an adequate level of national saving can be achieved only by employing both monetary and fiscal policies, in conjunction with supply-side policies expressly designed to improve the workings of the labour market. Part 1 is a comparative analysis showing the effects of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Real-wage rigidity in the labour market is shown to have important consequences for the working of both types of policy, because it conditions the economy’s response to tax changes. Part 2 presents an econometric model which combines consistent stock-flow accounts with a full range of expectational effects. Part 3 presents an innovative technique for solving rational expectations models with the need for arbitary terminal conditions.

An extension of the analysis of macroeconomic policy from the need to deal with two problems (inflation and unemployment) to include the state of the current account of the balance of payments, and the effect of the level of investment and the state of the balance of payments.

Research paper on economic analysis of macroeconomic policies since 1980 in the USA - examines the uncertainty and theoretical confusion about the meaning and validity of fiscal policies and monetary policies in achieving stabilization and reducing inflation and unemployment; outlines macroeconomic instruments (incl. Balanced national budget, deficit financing, money supply, income tax and public expenditure reduction, public finance, etc.).