按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
occurred in Germany in 1923； when prices rose 2；500％ in one month
and in Zimbabwe in April 2008 when the annual inflation rate hit
165；000％。
。 Stagflation is the bination of high economic stagnation with inflation；
such as happened in industrialized countries during the 1970s；
when OPEC raised oil prices。
206 The Thirty…Day MBA
INTEREST RATES
Around half the money used to finance businesses is borrowed and private
individuals use mortgages； hire purchase and credit cards to fund many
of their purchases。 Governments too have to use debt through the sale of
bonds； when taxes are insufficient to meet their spending plans。 The ‘price’
of borrowed money is the interest paid。 Governments can stimulate both
business and consumer expenditure by lowering interest rates or choke off
demand （see ‘Micro vs macroeconomics’； above） by raising it。 Interest rates
are the favourite tool of central banks to control inflation as it can be used
to bring supply and demand back into balance。
Interest rates also have a direct bearing on a country’s exchange rate。 If
it is higher than that in other parable economies it will tend to support
the exchange rate at a higher rate； and if lower； the currency will tend to be
weaker （see also ‘The exchange rate’）。 There are； however； several different
interest rates and governments do not directly control them all：
。 Bank Base Rate： This is the interest set by governments； for example
by the Bank of England’s monetary mi。。ee； the US Federal Reserve
and the European Central Bank。 It is a reference point from which other
interest rates are set； but is not the actual interest rate charged by clearing
banks to their many and varied clients。
。 Libor （London Inter…bank Offered Rate）： This is the rate of interest at
which banks borrow funds from each other； an essential activity to
facilitate global trade and to se。。le contracts on futures and options
exchanges。 As such； it is the primary benchmark for short…term interest
rates globally。 The rate is set by a panel representing around 500 banks
and depends on a number of factors； including local interest rates；
expectations of future rate movements and the prevailing banking
climate。 Usually the Libor rate is lower than the rate set by central
banks to allow banks a small margin。 But if banks lose confidence in
their peers’ ability to repay then either they stop lending or they charge
a premium over the Bank Base Rate。 This was the case during the subprime
crisis in 2007/08。 Libor is both sensitive and plex。 Rates are set
in 10 currencies and for 15 different maturity dates； from an ‘overnight’
rate maturing tomorrow； a ‘spot/next’ rate that covers the period to the
day a。。er tomorrow； through weeks and months out as far as （but never
further than） one year。
。 Lending Rate： This is the rate at which banks will lend to businesses
and private individuals。 It can be anything from a fraction of a percent
above either Bank Base Rate or Libor （whichever is the higher） for blue
chip firms； a percent or two above for mortgages； and up to 15％ above
for credit card loans； the higher the perceived risk the higher the rate。
Economics 207
ECONOMIC POLICY AND TOOLS
Keeping the economy growing； holding inflation in check and a。。empting to
both anticipate and mitigate the worst effects of downturns in the business
cycle are the primary economic goals of government。 Dials showing the GDP
growth rate and inflation are on every government’s economy management
dashboard。 But these are not the only factors that affect an economy； nor is
se。。ing interest rates the only club in a central banker’s locker。
Policy options
The UK’s 1981 Budget； designed to remove several billion pounds from
the economy when the UK was in the depths of recession； provoked an
unprecedented le。。er from 364 economists published in The Times stating：
‘There is no basis in economic theory or supporting evidence for the
government’s present policies。’ In fact the UK economy recovered and
eventually prospered。 Even today； no politician； yet alone economist； can
agree on whether the 364 economists were right or Lady Thatcher’s then
Chancellor of the Exchequer； Sir Geoffrey； now Lord； Howe。 Although
economists disagree on almost everything； they do accept that there are
two broad categories of policy； fiscal and monetary。
Monetary policy
Monetarists； as the adherents of this school of thought are known； believe
that as the economy runs on money； controlling the supply of the amount
of money in circulation is the key to achieving growth without inflation。
If the supply of money grows faster than the economy； inflation will rise
as too much money will be chasing too few goods； too slow and growth is
stifled。 There are a number of difficulties in actually executing monetary
policies：
。 Measuring money： In the first place； agreement has to be reached on
what exactly money is。 There are at least five different and to some
extent overlapping measurements； all a。。empting to measure the liquid
assets at large in an economy。 Designated with the prefix M； these
measures range from M0； the narrowest definition which includes only
the cash held in banks and in circulation； through to M5； the broadest
measure which extends to a wide range of other short…term highly
liquid financial assets held as a substitute for deposits。 Not content
with these five measures； some now have le。。er prefixes to subdivide
further the types of liquid assets included。 If you can imagine trying
to drive a car with several speedometers you will get a feeling for the
problem。 In the world boom of 1972–73； for example； the UK’s M3 and
208 The Thirty…Day MBA
M4 grew at nearly 25％ per annum； M5 grew at over 20％； yet M1 grew
at only 10％。
。 Velocity of circulation： Money’s use is as a medium of exchange； we
swap it for goods and services； which in turn create the value in an
economy that result ultimately in GDP。 Over any interval of time； the
money one person spends can be used later by the recipients of that
money to purchase other goods and services； the suppliers of which
can then themselves spend the same cash again。 The more times cash
circulates each year the higher the velocity and hence the money supply
available to fuel GDP。 To measure money supply we need to know the
velocity of circulation but it is notoriously difficult to do； is different for
each of the Ms and can change over time。
Central bankers have three tools to help control the amount of money in
circulation：
。 Open market operations are where the central bank sells government
securities to banks； leaving them with less cash to lend。
。 Reserve requirements are the proportion of reserves a bank must keep
in relation to the amount of money it can lend。 Raising the level of
reserves reduces banks’ capacity to lend。
。 Discount rate is the interest rate the central bank charges banks。 Raising
that rate reduces the money available to lend。
Fiscal policy
A government’s approach to tax and spending is known as its fiscal policy。
Cu。。ing taxes and so giving consumers and businesses more money to
spend can stimulate an economy。 Alternatively； raising taxes can cool an
economy down if it looks like overheating。 Governments can themselves
increase spending； both by using taxes and by borrowing money raised
by issuing government securities。 The la。。er approach is termed deficit
spending and has been understood and used extensively since popularized
by Maynard Keynes in the 1920s。 He showed how governments could use
this aspect of fiscal policy either to avert a recession or to reduce its effect
on unemployment。
The spending multiplier effect
Keynesian economists deduced that government expenditure multiplies
through the economy having a far greater ripple effect than the initial sum
involved； making such activity more important than the sums themselves
may sound。 Let’s suppose the government decides to embark on a major
programme of school building； resulting in ￡100 million of salaries for
Economics 209
construction workers。 The impa