1. General government purchase of goods and services

More government purchase increases the demand for private produced products and services. Consequently, private employment rises in the short run. In the long run, there is no effect on private employment. The table below presents the effect of a permanent increase in general government purchase of goods and services. The public expenditure is increased permanently by 0.1 per cent relative to the baseline. The increase corresponds to 1000 million kroner in the first year of the experiment in 2005 prices. (See experiment)

 

Table 1. The effect of a permanent increase in general government spending

    1. yr 2. yr 3. yr 4. yr 5. yr 10. yr 15. yr 20. yr 25. yr 30. yr
    Million 2005-kr.
Priv. consumption fCp 42 283 373 367 352 488 721 879 950 978
Pub. consumption fCo 1034 1042 1058 1074 1091 1176 1270 1371 1480 1597
Investment fI 316 641 460 300 224 131 174 193 186 174
Export fE -56 -115 -185 -262 -347 -824 -1255 -1579 -1790 -1916
Import fM 527 773 691 589 535 464 462 445 422 421
GDP fY 844 1109 1053 933 833 573 523 505 497 511
    1000 Persons
Employment Q 0.76 1.26 1.40 1.36 1.24 0.56 0.19 -0.01 -0.13 -0.15
Unemployment Ul -0.41 -0.64 -0.70 -0.67 -0.61 -0.27 -0.09 0.00 0.06 0.08
    Percent of GDP
Pub. budget balance Tfn_o/Y -0.04 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.04 -0.07 -0.08 -0.10 -0.11 -0.12
Priv. saving surplus Tfn_hc/Y 0.01 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Balance of payments Enl/Y -0.04 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.06 -0.08 -0.10 -0.11 -0.12
Foreign receivables Wnnb_e/Y -0.07 -0.14 -0.20 -0.25 -0.29 -0.53 -0.81 -1.13 -1.45 -1.78
Bond debt Wbd_os_z/Y 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.08 0.11 0.33 0.60 0.89 1.19 1.49
    Percent
Capital intensity fKn/fX -0.08 -0.08 -0.07 -0.06 -0.05 -0.02 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.02
Labour intensity hq/fX -0.06 -0.05 -0.04 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03
User cost uim 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08
Wage lna 0.01 0.03 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.18 0.21 0.22 0.21 0.20
Consumption price pcp 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.08 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.11
Terms of trade bpe 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06
    Percentage-point
Consumption ratio bcp -0.03 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Wage share byw -0.01 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02

(See details)

 

The immediate effect of an increase in government purchase of goods and services is that total demand rises. The increased demand is met partly through domestic production and partly through imports. The expansion in domestic economic activity raises private sector employment and lowers unemployment. The lower unemployment rate pushes prices and wages upward and reduces competitiveness. The lower competitiveness makes the market share of exports fall and the market share of imports rise, which reduces the positive effect on domestic production. Eventually, the effect on employment disappears and employment returns to its baseline. The long run effect on unemployment is also zero reflecting that the permanent increase in wages and prices deteriorates competitiveness and crowds out any impact on employment.

 

The short run effect is closely related with the Keynesian income multiplier. The income multiplierMore government purchase increases the demand for private produced products and services. Consequently, private employment rises in the short run. In the long run, there is no effect on private employment. The table below presents the effect of a permanent increase in general government purchase of goods and services. The public expenditure is increased permanently by 0.1 per cent relative to the baseline. The increase corresponds to 1000 million kroner in the first year of the experiment in 2005 prices. (See experiment)

 

Table 1. The effect of a permanent increase in general government spending

    1. yr 2. yr 3. yr 4. yr 5. yr 10. yr 15. yr 20. yr 25. yr 30. yr
    Million 2005-kr.
Priv. consumption fCp 42 283 373 367 352 488 721 879 950 978
Pub. consumption fCo 1034 1042 1058 1074 1091 1176 1270 1371 1480 1597
Investment fI 316 641 460 300 224 131 174 193 186 174
Export fE -56 -115 -185 -262 -347 -824 -1255 -1579 -1790 -1916
Import fM 527 773 691 589 535 464 462 445 422 421
GDP fY 844 1109 1053 933 833 573 523 505 497 511
    1000 Persons
Employment Q 0.76 1.26 1.40 1.36 1.24 0.56 0.19 -0.01 -0.13 -0.15
Unemployment Ul -0.41 -0.64 -0.70 -0.67 -0.61 -0.27 -0.09 0.00 0.06 0.08
    Percent of GDP
Pub. budget balance Tfn_o/Y -0.04 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.04 -0.07 -0.08 -0.10 -0.11 -0.12
Priv. saving surplus Tfn_hc/Y 0.01 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Balance of payments Enl/Y -0.04 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.06 -0.08 -0.10 -0.11 -0.12
Foreign receivables Wnnb_e/Y -0.07 -0.14 -0.20 -0.25 -0.29 -0.53 -0.81 -1.13 -1.45 -1.78
Bond debt Wbd_os_z/Y 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.08 0.11 0.33 0.60 0.89 1.19 1.49
    Percent
Capital intensity fKn/fX -0.08 -0.08 -0.07 -0.06 -0.05 -0.02 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.02
Labour intensity hq/fX -0.06 -0.05 -0.04 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03
User cost uim 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08
Wage lna 0.01 0.03 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.18 0.21 0.22 0.21 0.20
Consumption price pcp 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.08 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.11
Terms of trade bpe 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06
    Percentage-point
Consumption ratio bcp -0.03 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Wage share byw -0.01 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02

(See details)

 

The immediate effect of an increase in government purchase of goods and services is that total demand rises. The increased demand is met partly through domestic production and partly through imports. The expansion in domestic economic activity raises private sector employment and lowers unemployment. The lower unemployment rate pushes prices and wages upward and reduces competitiveness. The lower competitiveness makes the market share of exports fall and the market share of imports rise, which reduces the positive effect on domestic production. Eventually, the effect on employment disappears and employment returns to its baseline. The long run effect on unemployment is also zero reflecting that the permanent increase in wages and prices deteriorates competitiveness and crowds out any impact on employment.

 

The short run effect is closely related with the Keynesian income multiplier. The income multiplier refers to the final change in income arising from an initial change in spending, such as in the case of more government spending. The final change in income is larger than the initial change in income. This is because the first round increase in income creates additional private demand and leads to more income, which in turn creates more spending and more demand, and so on. In this case, the income multiplier can be seen as the ratio between the effect on GDP and the change in government purchase of goods and services. In a closed economy, the multiplier for domestic demand is larger than one because the exogenous increase in government purchase of goods and services creates additional domestic demand in the form of more private investment and larger private consumption. However, the ADAM multiplier for GDP remains less than one because higher demand triggers not only GDP but also imports, see also ADAM book for further discussion.

 

Wages and domestic prices increase in the medium and long run. But not equally. Prices adjust gradually to total production costs, which includes other than wages. Imported goods and services are for instance part of production cost. As the prices of imported goods are unchanged, prices increase less than wages. This results in a permanent positive effect on real wages, real income and private consumption. The long term macro-consumption function in ADAM relates consumption to income and wealth and ensures that private consumption, real income and real wealth grow relatively by the same amount in the long run. Whenever real wages and real disposable income change permanently, private consumption changes. Increased public spending creates a permanent positive real wage effect. Thus the composition of GDP changes permanently towards higher public and private consumption and lower net exports relative to the baseline.

 

The real wage effect also translates into a long run effect on terms of trade. The positive change in the real wage increases domestic demand and reduces foreign demand. In the new equilibrium employment returns to the baseline and wages and prices increase permanently, which results in a permanent change in the long run terms of trade.

 

The consumption equation stabilizes the saving surplus of the private sector in the long run. Thus the private sector saving surplus returns to the baseline. In contrast, the government budget balance and the balance of payments become negative in the long run. This reflects the absence of an automatic fiscal reaction, for a balanced budget experiment see section 18.

 

Figure 1. The effect of a permanent increase in general government spending

 

fig_1_1_zoom38fig_1_2_zoom38

 

 

fig_1_3_zoom38fig_1_4_zoom38

 

 

fig_1_5_zoom38fig_1_6_zoom38

 

 

fig_1_7_zoom38fig_1_8_zoom38 refers to the final change in income arising from an initial change in spending, such as in the case of more government spending. The final change in income is larger than the initial change in income. This is because the first round increase in income creates additional private demand and leads to more income, which in turn creates more spending and more demand, and so on. In this case, the income multiplier can be seen as the ratio between the effect on GDP and the change in government purchase of goods and services. In a closed economy, the multiplier for domestic demand is larger than one because the exogenous increase in government purchase of goods and services creates additional domestic demand in the form of more private investment and larger private consumption. However, the ADAM multiplier for GDP remains less than one because higher demand triggers not only GDP but also imports, see also ADAM book for further discussion.

 

Wages and domestic prices increase in the medium and long run. But not equally. Prices adjust gradually to total production costs, which includes other than wages. Imported goods and services are for instance part of production cost. As the prices of imported goods are unchanged, prices increase less than wages. This results in a permanent positive effect on real wages, real income and private consumption. The long term macro-consumption function in ADAM relates consumption to income and wealth and ensures that private consumption, real income and real wealth grow relatively by the same amount in the long run. Whenever real wages and real disposable income change permanently, private consumption changes. Increased public spending creates a permanent positive real wage effect. Thus the composition of GDP changes permanently towards higher public and private consumption and lower net exports relative to the baseline.

 

The real wage effect also translates into a long run effect on terms of trade. The positive change in the real wage increases domestic demand and reduces foreign demand. In the new equilibrium employment returns to the baseline and wages and prices increase permanently, which results in a permanent change in the long run terms of trade.

 

The consumption equation stabilizes the saving surplus of the private sector in the long run. Thus the private sector saving surplus returns to the baseline. In contrast, the government budget balance and the balance of payments become negative in the long run. This reflects the absence of an automatic fiscal reaction, for a balanced budget experiment see section 18.

 

Figure 1. The effect of a permanent increase in general government spending

 

fig_1_1_zoom38fig_1_2_zoom38

 

 

fig_1_3_zoom38fig_1_4_zoom38

 

 

fig_1_5_zoom38fig_1_6_zoom38

 

 

fig_1_7_zoom38fig_1_8_zoom38