Expectations and Macroeconomics
In the long run
• workers experience no money illusion which means,
• actual and natural unemployment rates are one and the same. VERTICAL PC.
Expectations and Macroeconomics
In the short run
• in order to decide how much labor to supply, workers must determine real wage rate. This necessitates forecasting price level and inflation, Pe .
Expectations and Macroeconomics
In the short run • in order to decide how much labor to supply, workers must determine real
wage rate. This necessitates forecasting price level and inflation.
If price expectations and actual prices are the same, then, actual and natural unemployment rates will be the same.
Pe = P ; Ut = Un
Expectations and Macroeconomics
In the short run • in order to decide how much labor to supply, workers must determine real
wage rate. This necessitates forecasting price level and inflation.• Pe = P ; Ut = Un
Actual and natural unemployment rates will be the same.
• If price expectations and actual prices are different, then, actual and natural unemployment rates will not be the same. That is, business cycles will occur.
• If Pe P ; Ut Un
Expectations and Macroeconomics
In the short run • in order to decide how much labor to supply, workers must determine real wage
rate. This necessitates forecasting price level and inflation.• Pe = P ; Ut = Un
If price expectations and actual prices are the same, then, actual and natural unemployment rates will be the same.
• If Pe P ; Ut Un
If price expectations and actual prices are not the same, then, actual and natural
unemployment rate will not be the same. That is, business cycles will occur. Therefore, how expectations are formed and how they influence decisions dictate macroeconomic models and outcomes.
Adaptive Expectations
Decisionsdecisionsdecisionsdecisionsdecisions
We need to make decisions about buying, selling, hiring, firing, coming, going, etc. without full information [this includes information about prices, wages, technical know-how] about the future. How then people forecast the future? Guesstimate based on the information is available.
Adaptive Expectations
Process:• next year’s inflation rate is equal to this year’s inflation rate
• next year’s inflation rate is equal to the average of the last three year’s inflation rates
Adaptive Expectations
Process:• next year’s inflation rate is equal to this year’s inflation rate
• next year’s inflation rate is equal to the average of the last three year’s inflation rates
• fit a trend line (regression analysis) to the last 20-30 years and find the next period’s inflation on the trend line
Adaptive Expectations
Process:• next year’s inflation rate is equal to this year’s inflation rate
• next year’s inflation rate is equal to the average of the last three year’s inflation rates
• fit a trend line to the last 20-30 years and find the next period’s inflation on the trend line
• estimate an equation (regression analysis) according to a model
Adaptive Expectations Implications
Workers adjust their expectations only when new data about price level and inflation come in. Before any new data on the past values of the variable becomes available, there is no reason to change their expectations and forecast.
Adaptive Expectations Implications
Workers adjust their expectations only when new data about price level and inflation come in. Before any new data on the past values of the variable becomes available available, there is no reason to change their expectations
and forecast. As a result, they consider nominal wage raises beyond their Guesstimate as real raises and supply more labor which leads to higher output. Positively sloped AS and negatively sloped PC. MONEY ILLUSION.
Adaptive Expectations Implications
Workers adjust their expectations only when new data about price level and inflation come in. Before any new data on the past values of the variable becomes available available, there is no reason to change their expectations
and forecast. As a result, they consider nominal wage raises beyond their Guesstimate as real and supply more labor which leads to higher output.
Positively sloped AS and negatively sloped PC. MONEY ILLUSION. In this case, the theory suggests that, workers consciously ignore other information such as changes in the monetary or fiscal policies.
Rational Expectations Hypothesis
• John Muth, 1969
• Robert Lucas
• Thomas Sargent
• Neil Wallace
• Robert Barro
are the formulator of the rational expectations hypothesis.
Rational Expectations Hypothesis
• REH states that:
an individual makes the best possible forecast of a macroeconomic variable such as the price level and inflation rate using all available past and present information and drawing on an understanding of what factors affect the macroeconomic variable.
Rational Expectations Hypothesis
• REH states that:
an individual makes the best possible forecast of a macroeconomic variable such as the price level and inflation rate using all available past and present information and drawing on an understanding of what factors affect the
macroeconomic variable. REH is a forward looking process.– Uses past and current information– Uses an understanding (model) of the economy
Advantages of Rational Expectations
REH
• imposes no constraint on how people use and forecast macro variables
Advantages of Rational Expectations
REH• imposes no constraint on how people use and forecast macro variables
• more general
Advantages of Rational Expectations
REH• imposes no constraint on how people use and forecast macro variables
• more general
• if people could use any information to improve their forecast, they would do so
Advantages of Rational Expectations
REH• imposes no constraint on how people use and forecast macro variables
• more general
• if people could use any information to improve their forecast, they would do so
• if there is no information or foresight about a variable other than its own past values, REH and adaptive expectations are the same.
Limitations of Rational Expectations
• Many individuals
• Many forecasts
• Understanding the macroeconomy
Limitations of Rational Expectations
• Many individuals
• Many forecasts
• Understanding the macroeconomy
• Knowing how to model the economy
Limitations of Rational Expectations
• Each individual’s economic model is different from another. This means different REH model. This creates a difficulty in macroeconomic modeling.
Limitations of Rational Expectations
• Each individual’s economic model is different from another. This means different REH model. This creates a difficulty in macroeconomic modeling.
• Individuals’ expectations affect the economy. Does this mean that individuals should incorporate other peoples’ expectations in their expectation model (cross pollination)?
Limitations of Rational Expectations
• Each individual’s economic model is different from another. This means different REH model. This creates a difficulty in macroeconomic modeling.
• Individuals’ expectations affect the economy. Does this mean that individuals
should incorporate other peoples’ expectations in their expectation model?
Representative agent assumption?
• This will take care of the problem of many models and many forecasts.
New Classical Hypothesis
Assumptions• Pure competition
• Wage and Price Flexibility (no minimum wage laws or labor contracts that fix nominal wages)
New Classical Hypothesis
Assumptions• Pure competition
• Wage and Price Flexibility (no minimum wage laws or labor contracts that fix nominal wages)
• Self interest
New Classical Hypothesis
Assumptions• Pure competition
• Wage and Price Flexibility (no minimum wage laws or labor contracts that fix nominal wages)
• Self interest
• All individuals form rational expectations despite the fact that they do not have complete information
New Classical Hypothesis
Unanticipated expansionary policy
Yd( M 1, g1 ,t1)
Ys(Pe1 , Me
1, ge1 ,te
1)
EP1
y1 y2
P2 E’
Yd( M 2, g2 ,t2)
New Classical HypothesisUnanticipated expansionary policy
Yd( M 1, g1 ,t1)
Ys(Pe1 , Me
1, ge1 ,te
1)
EP1
y1 y2
P2 E’
Yd( M 2, g2 ,t2)
Ys(Pe2 , Me
2, ge2 ,te
2)
E’’
Top Related