0. Money and Inflation Topic 7: (chapter 4)
I’ve included a graph that unfolds over slides that tells the same story as Figure 4-1 on p.86 of the text. If you prefer to show Figure 4-1, you can “hide” slides and “unhide” slide 26.

1. In this chapter you will learn
The classical theory of inflation
causes
effects
social costs
“Classical” -- assumes prices are flexible & markets clear.
Applies to the long run.

2. U.S. inflation & its trend, 1960-2001
In the short run, supply shocks and other factors can push inflation above or below its long-run trend. We study those factors in chapter 13 (on Aggregate Supply and the Phillips Curve).
In this chapter, we learn about the long-run trend behavior of prices and inflation.

3. The connection between money and prices
Inflation rate = _____________
_____________.
price = amount of money required to buy a good.
Because prices are defined in terms of money, we need to consider the nature of money, the supply of money, and how it is controlled.

4. Money: definition
Money is _____
_______________
_______________.

5. Money: functions _________________ we use it to buy stuff
_________________ transfers purchasing power from the present to the future
_________________ the common unit by which everyone measures prices and values
If your students have taken principles of economics, they will probably be familiar with the material on this slide. It might be worthwhile, though, to take an extra moment to be sure that students understand that the definition of store of value (an item that transfers purchasing power from the present to the future) simply means that money retains its value over time, so you need not spend all your money as soon as you receive it. The idea should be familiar, even though Greg’s wording is a bit more sophisticated than most other texts.

6. Money: types ____________ has no intrinsic value
example: the paper currency we use
has intrinsic value
examples: gold coins, cigarettes in P.O.W. camps
Again, this material should be review for most students.
Note: Many students have seen the film The Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Most of this film takes place in a prison. The prisoners have an informal “underground economy” in which cigarettes are used as money, even by prisoners who don’t smoke. The textbook (p.78) has a case study on cigarettes being used as money in POW camps during WWII.

7. Discussion Question Which of these are money? a. Currency b. Checks
c. Deposits in checking accounts (called demand deposits)
d. Credit cards
e. Certificates of deposit (called time deposits)
You might want to ask students to determine, for each item listed, which of the functions of money it serves.
Answers:
a - yes
b - no, not the checks themselves, but the funds in checking accounts are money.
c - yes (see b)
d - no, credit cards are a means of deferring payment.
e - CDs are a store of value, and they are measured in money units (“Hey, I just bought a $1000 CD, dude!”). They are not readily spendable, though.

8. The money supply & monetary policy
The __________ is the quantity of money available in the economy.
___________ is the control over the money supply.
Again, this is mostly review.
$$$

9. The Federal Reserve Building Washington, DC
The central bank
Monetary policy is conducted by a country’s ___________.
The Federal Reserve Building Washington, DC
In the U.S., the central bank is called the Federal Reserve (“the Fed”).
Again, this is mostly review.

10. Money supply measures, April 2002
_Symbol Assets included Amount (billions)_
C Currency $598.7
M1 C + ___________, travelers’ checks, other checkable deposits
M2 M1 + _____________, savings deposits, money market mutual funds, money market deposit accounts
M3 M2 + ____________, repurchase agreements, institutional money market mutual fund balances
The most important thing that students should get from this slide is the following:
Each successive measure of the money supply is BIGGER and LESS LIQUID than the one it follows. I.e.,
checking account deposits (in M1 but not C) are less liquid than currency.
Money market deposit account balances (in M2 but not M1) are less liquid than demand deposits.
Large time deposits (those over $100,000 and therefore not Federally insured) are less liquid than small time deposits
Whether you require your students to learn the definitions of every component of each monetary aggregate is up to you. Most professors agree that students should learn the definitions of M1, M2, demand deposits, and time deposits. Some professors feel that, since the quantity of information students can learn in a semester is finite, it is not worthwhile to require students to learn such terms as “repurchase agreements.” However, you might verbally state the definitions of such terms to help students better understand the nature of the monetary aggregates.

11. The Quantity Theory of Money
A simple theory linking the inflation rate to the growth rate of the money supply.
Begins with a concept called “velocity”…

12. Velocity basic concept: the rate at which money circulates
definition: ___________________
____________________________
example: In 2001,
$500 billion in transactions
money supply = $100 billion
The average dollar is used in five transactions in 2001
So, velocity = ___
In order for $500 billion in transactions to occur when the money supply is only $100b, each dollar must be used, on average, in five transactions.

13. Velocity, cont. This suggests the following definition: where
V = velocity
T = value of all transactions
M = money supply

14. Velocity, cont. Use nominal GDP as a proxy for total transactions.
Then,
where
P = price of output (GDP deflator)
Y = quantity of output (real GDP)
P Y = value of output (nominal GDP)
You might ask students if they know the difference between nominal GDP and the value of transactions.
Answer: nominal GDP includes the value of purchases of final goods; total transactions also includes the value of intermediate goods.
Even though they are different, they are highly correlated. Also, our models focus on GDP, and there’s lots of great data on GDP. So from here on out, we’ll use the income version of velocity.

15. The quantity equation The quantity equation ____________
follows from the preceding definition of velocity.
It is an identity: it holds by definition of the variables.

16. Money demand and the quantity equation
M/P = _________________, the purchasing power of the money supply.
A simple money demand function: (M/P )d = ____
where k = how much money people wish to hold for each dollar of income (k is exogenous)

17. Money demand and the quantity equation
money demand: (M/P )d = k Y
quantity equation: M V = P Y
The connection between them: ________
When people hold lots of money relative to their incomes (k is ________), money changes hands infrequently (V is _______).

18. back to the Quantity Theory of Money
starts with quantity equation
assumes V is constant & exogenous:
With this assumption, the quantity equation can be written as

19. The Quantity Theory of Money, cont.
How the price level is determined:
With V constant, the money supply determines ____________ (P Y )
___________ is determined by the economy’s supplies of K and L and the production function (chap 3)
The price level is P = ___________________

20. The Quantity Theory of Money, cont.
The quantity equation in growth rates:

21. The Quantity Theory of Money, cont.
Let  (Greek letter “pi”) denote the inflation rate:
The result from the preceding slide was:
Solve this result for  to get

22. The Quantity Theory of Money, cont.
Normal economic growth requires a certain amount of money supply growth to facilitate the growth in transactions.
___________________________________________________.

23. The Quantity Theory of Money, cont.
Y/Y depends on growth in the factors of production and on technological progress (all of which we take as given, for now).
Hence, the Quantity Theory of Money predicts a ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Note: the theory doesn’t predict that the inflation rate will equal the money growth rate. It *does* predict that a change in the money growth rate will cause an equal change in the inflation rate.

24. International data on inflation and money growth

25. U.S. data on inflation and money growth

26. Seigniorage
To spend more without raising taxes or selling bonds, the govt can print money.
The “revenue” ________________________ _______________________
The __________: Printing money to raise revenue causes inflation. Inflation is like a tax on people who hold money.
Introduction of abbreviation “govt” for “government”
It’s quicker and easier for students to write “govt” in their notes.
In the U.S., seigniorage accounts for only about 3% of total government revenue. In Italy and Greece, seigniorage has often been more than 10% of total revenue. In countries experiencing hyperinflation, seigniorage is often the government’s main source of revenue, and the need to print money to finance government expenditure is a primary cause of hyperinflation.
See Case Study on p.88 “Paying for the American Revolution.”

27. Inflation and interest rates
_________ interest rate, i not adjusted for inflation
__________ interest rate, r adjusted for inflation: r = i  

28. The Fisher Effect The Fisher equation: __________
Chap 3: S = I determines r .
Hence, an increase in  causes an equal increase in i.
This one-for-one relationship is called the ___________.

29. U.S. inflation and nominal interest rates, 1952-1998
Percent 16 14 12 10 8
Nominal
interest rate 6 4
Inflation
rate 2 -2
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Year

30. Inflation and nominal interest rates across countries

31. Exercise:
Suppose V is constant, M is growing 5% per year, Y is growing 2% per year, and r = 4.
Solve for i (the nominal interest rate).
If the Fed increases the money growth rate by 2 percentage points per year, find i .
Suppose the growth rate of Y falls to 1% per year.
What will happen to ?
What must the Fed do if it wishes to keep  constant?
This exercise gives students an immediate application of the Quantity Theory of Money and the Fisher effect. The math is not difficult.

32. Answers---the details:
Suppose V is constant, M is growing 5% per year, Y is growing 2% per year, and r = 4. .
Answers---the details:
a. First, we need to find . Constant velocity implies  = (M/M) - (Y/Y) = = 3. Then, i = r +  = = 7.
b. Changes in the money growth rate do not affect real GDP or its growth rate. So, a two-point increase in money growth causes a two-point increase in inflation. According to the Fisher effect, the nominal interest rate should rise by the increase in inflation: two points (from i=7 to i=9).
c.  = (M/M) - (Y/Y). If (Y/Y) by 1 point, then  will increase by 1 point; the Fed can prevent this by reducing (M/M) by 1 point.

33. Two real interest rates
 = actual inflation rate (not known until after it has occurred)
e = expected inflation rate
i – e = ___________ real interest rate: ______________________________________ _____________________
i –  = ____________ real interest rate: ______________________________________ _______________________

34. Money demand and the nominal interest rate
The Quantity Theory of Money assumes that the demand for real money balances depends only on real income Y.
We now consider another determinant of money demand: the nominal interest rate.
The nominal interest rate i is the ____________________________ (instead of bonds or other interest-earning assets).
Hence, ______________________.

35. The money demand function
(M/P )d = real money demand, depends
____________
i is the opp. cost of holding money
higher Y  more spending
 so, need more money
(L is used for the money demand function because money is the most liquid asset.)

36. The money demand function
When people are deciding whether to hold money or bonds, they don’t know what inflation will turn out to be.
Hence, the nominal interest rate relevant for money demand is ________.

37. The supply of real money balances
Equilibrium
The supply of real money balances
Real money demand

38. What determines what
variable how determined (in the long run) M r Y P

39. How P responds to M For given values of r, Y, and e,
a change in M causes P to ______
_________________________ --- just like in the Quantity Theory of Money.

40. What about expected inflation?
Over the long run, people don’t consistently over- or under-forecast inflation,
so e =  on average.
In the short run, e may change when people get new information.
EX: Suppose Fed announces it will increase M next year. People will expect next year’s P to be higher, so e rises.
This will affect P now, even though M hasn’t changed yet (continued…)

41. How P responds to e
For given values of r, Y, and M ,

42. Why is inflation bad? Discussion Question
What costs does inflation impose on society? List all the ones you can think of.
Focus on the long run.
Think like an economist.
Many of the social costs of inflation are not hard to figure out, if students “think like an economist.”
Suggestion: After you pose the question, don’t immediately ask for students to volunteer their answers. Instead, tell them to think about the question for a moment, jot down their answers, and THEN ask for volunteers. You will get more participation (quantity & quality) this way, especially from students who don’t consider themselves fast thinkers.
After presenting the following slides (which describe the costs), see if you can map students’ responses to this slide into the different costs listed on the following ones.

43. A common misperception
Common misperception: inflation reduces real wages
This is true only in the short run, when nominal wages are fixed by contracts.
(Chap 3) In the long run, the real wage is determined by labor supply and the marginal product of labor, not the price level or inflation rate.
Consider the data…

44. The classical view of inflation
The classical view: A change in the price level is merely a change in the units of measurement.
So why, then, is inflation a social problem?

45. The social costs of inflation
…fall into two categories:
1. costs when inflation is expected
2. additional costs when inflation is different than people had expected.

46. The costs of expected inflation: 1. __________________
def: the costs and inconveniences of reducing money balances to avoid the inflation tax.
  i
  real money balances
Remember: In long run, inflation doesn’t affect real income or real spending.
So, same monthly spending but lower average money holdings means more frequent trips to the bank to withdraw smaller amounts of cash.

47. The costs of expected inflation: 2. ___________
def: __________________________.
Examples:
print new menus
print & mail new catalogs
The higher is inflation, the more frequently firms must change their prices and incur these costs.

48. The costs of expected inflation: 3. __________________
Firms facing menu costs change prices infrequently.
Example: Suppose a firm issues new catalog each January. As the general price level rises throughout the year, the firm’s relative price will fall.
Different firms change their prices at different times, leading to relative price distortions…
…which cause microeconomic inefficiencies in the allocation of resources.

49. The costs of expected inflation: 4. _________________
Some taxes are not adjusted to account for inflation, such as the capital gains tax.
Example:
1/1/2001: you bought $10,000 worth of Starbucks stock
12/31/2001: you sold the stock for $11,000, so your nominal capital gain was $1000 (10%).
Suppose  = 10% in Your real capital gain is $0.
But the govt requires you to pay taxes on your $1000 nominal gain!!
In the 1970s, the income tax was not adjusted for inflation. There were a lot of people who received nominal salary increases large enough to push them into a higher tax bracket, but not large enough to prevent their real salaries from falling in the face of high inflation. This led to political pressure to index the income tax brackets.
If inflation had been higher during , when lots of people were earning high capital gains, then there might have been more political pressure to index the capital gains tax.

50. The costs of expected inflation: 5. __________________
Inflation makes it harder to compare nominal values from different time periods.
This complicates long-range financial planning.
Examples:
Parents trying to decide how much to save for the future college expenses of their (now) young child.
Thirty-somethings trying to decide how much to save for retirement.
The CEO of a big corporation trying to decide whether to build a new factory, which will yield a revenue stream for 20 years or more.
Your grandmother claiming that things were so much cheaper when she was your age.
A silly digression: My grandmother often has these conversations with me, concluding that the dollar just isn’t worth what it was when she was young. I ask her “well, how much is a dollar worth today?”. She considers the question, and then offers her estimate: “About 60 cents.” I then offer her 60 cents for every dollar she has. She doesn’t accept the offer. :)

51. Additional cost of unexpected inflation: _________________________________
Many long-term contracts not indexed, but based on e.
If  turns out different from e, then some gain at others’ expense.
Example: borrowers & lenders
If  > e, then _______________ and purchasing power is transferred from ___________________.
If  < e, then purchasing power is transferred from ______________.
Ask students this rhetorical question: Would it upset you off if somebody arbitrarily took wealth away from some people and gave it to others?
Well, this in effect is what’s happening when inflation turns out different than expected.
Furthermore, it’s impossible to predict when inflation will turn out higher than expected, when it will be lower, and how big the difference will be. So, these redistributions of purchasing power are arbitrary and random.
The text gives a nice example on p.99 (at the top of the page).
(In the short run, when many nominal wages are fixed by contracts, there are transfers of purchasing power between firms and their employees whenever inflation is different than expected when the contract was written and signed.)

52. Additional cost of high inflation: _________________________
When inflation is high, it’s more variable and unpredictable:  turns out different from e more often, and the differences tend to be larger (though not systematically positive or negative)
Arbitrary redistributions of wealth become more likely.
This creates higher uncertainty, which makes risk averse people worse off.

53. One benefit of inflation
Nominal wages are rarely reduced, even when the equilibrium real wage falls.
Inflation allows the real wages to reach equilibrium levels without nominal wage cuts.
Therefore, moderate inflation improves the functioning of labor markets.

54. Hyperinflation def:   50% per month
All the costs of moderate inflation described above become HUGE under hyperinflation.
Money ceases to function as a store of value, and may not serve its other functions (unit of account, medium of exchange).
People may conduct transactions with barter or a stable foreign currency.
The bottom half of p.102 has two excellent examples of life during a hyperinflation, both involving beer, a commodity with which some of your students may be somewhat familiar. See also the excellent case study on pp

55. What causes hyperinflation?
Hyperinflation is caused by ____________________________:
When the central bank prints money, the price level rises.
If it prints money rapidly enough, the result is hyperinflation.

56. Recent episodes of hyperinflation
slide 56

57. Why governments create hyperinflation
When a government cannot raise taxes or sell bonds,
it must finance spending increases by printing money.
In theory, the solution to hyperinflation is simple: _______________.
In the real world, ___________________________________________________.

58. The Classical Dichotomy
Real variables are ________________________: quantities and relative prices, e.g.
quantity of output produced
________: output earned per hour of work
_________: output earned in the future by lending one unit of output today
Nominal variables: ___________________, e.g.
_________: dollars per hour of work
________________: dollars earned in future by lending one dollar today
_____________: the amount of dollars needed to buy a representative basket of goods
slide 58

59. The Classical Dichotomy
Note: Real variables were explained in Chap 3, nominal ones in Chap 4.
Classical Dichotomy : the theoretical separation of real and nominal variables in the classical model, which implies _______________________________________________________________________.
_________________ : Changes in the money supply do not affect real variables.
In the real world, money is approximately neutral in the long run.

60. Chapter summary 1. Quantity theory of money 2. Money demand
assumption: velocity is stable
conclusion: the money growth rate determines the inflation rate.
2. Money demand
depends on income in the Quantity Theory
more generally, it also depends on the nominal interest rate;

61. Chapter summary 3. Nominal interest rate 4. Hyperinflation
equals real interest rate + inflation.
Fisher effect: it moves one-for-one with expected inflation.
4. Hyperinflation
caused by rapid money supply growth when money printed to finance government budget deficits
stopping it requires fiscal reforms to eliminate govt’s need for printing money

62. Chapter summary 5. Classical dichotomy
In classical theory, money is neutral--does not affect real variables.
So, we can study how real variables are determined w/o reference to nominal ones.
Then, eq’m in money market determines price level and all nominal variables.