Essays on Open Market Operations

Abstract

The US economy thrives on the proper functioning of the monetary policy of the government of the day. Interest rates, inflation and recession are all related and happen to influence proper functions of the government warranting their clear understanding. As a victim of a recent economic recession, a consideration of the role of interest rates on the overall functioning of the economy becomes particularly important. This paper shall seek to understand the concept of interest rates and how they affect the economy of the United States of America. The paper, in doing this, shall consider the causes of the ...

Article review

Article review

Introduction

Government interference play huge role in the economic processes: by conducting monetary or fiscal policy, policymakers are able to stimulate the economy during the periods of downturn and moderate too fast growth during the periods of economic boom: both these cases have devastating consequences for the general growth and development. Particularly, central banks, that make decisions regarding the monetary policy, are most important players. By using different tools, such as interest rates, open market operations, required reserves etc., central banks might influence on aggregate supply and aggregate demand, thus shifting equilibrium to the desired level (in other ...

Conclusion about the economy

The conclusion made after the April 27th FOMC meeting is that the interest rates paid were to be left unchanged while the excess reserves balances will be charged a 0.50 percent. In addition, as a decision policy, the board voted towards authorizing and directing the Open Market Desk at New York’s Federal Reserve Bank and until further instructions are given, the transactions will be executed in the System Open Market Account. This will be in accordance with the domestic policy directive that was earlier initiated. Ensuring that interest rates are not increased will foster economic development as firms ...

Inflation in USA

Inflation in US Introduction Inflation refers to the rate at which the country is experiencing the general increase in prices of goods and services. When the rate of inflation is high, the purchasing power of the country’s currency will be low at the same time. This will comparably imply that higher amount of money is needed to purchase items that had been previously purchased at lower amounts of the same currency. The country’s currency would have lost the real value as a unit of account and as a medium of exchange of the economy. The chief measure ...

Gupta and Goldfajin defined a tight monetary as “a case in which real interest rates in the aftermath of the crises are higher than the average real interest rate during the 24 months preceding the crises”(Goldfajn and Gupta, 1999, p.4). The primary objective of ensuring that the monetary policy is tightened is to make sure that the supply of money in the economy is reduced and also to ensure a conducive environment for businesses. For a commercial bank to lend money, there are a lot of factors that it considers. Some of the factors include the volume of ...

Recently, China has recorded a remarkable growth in its economy of nearly 10% per year. The bulk of this growth comes from the banking sector characterized by poor asset quality, low capitalization, and massive state intervention. For this reason, the government introduced sweeping changes to the financial sector to boost its stability. These changes included transforming the banking sector from a policy-driven, state-owned, non-performing system to a profit-driven, multi-ownership, competitive system. Although the sector has recorded marked improvements in its operation and efficiency, additional efforts is needed to deal with problems revolving around non-performing loans and shadow banking. The ...

Introduction

Monetary policy is the process of government control on the economy through monetary instruments. The monetary authority in the economy uses the tools of monetary policy to affect demand and supply of money with the objective of fostering growth and maintaining price stability in the economy along with financial market stability. The instruments of monetary policy include rate of interest and open market operations. In this paper we attempt to show that monetary policy is effective in the short run but not in the long run. We use two different models to establish our argument, the AD/AS model and ...

Introduction

Monetary policy is the endeavor by the federal or state government to control the amount of money circulating within an economy. These control measures are undertaken to cub the instances of inflations or to control the interest rates to sustainable levels. Monetary policies can either be expansionary or contractionary. Expansionary monetary policies are meant to expand the supply of money to the economy thereby boosting the economic activities (Afonso, 2012). Expansionary monetary policies also lead to a reduction in average interest rates. Contractionary monetary policies, on the other hand, are macro-economic tools used by the federal or the state ...

What is fiat money? Why is fiat money important in the United States today?

Fiat money is a kind of money that has no intrinsic value. It has value of exchange but no value in use. It is used as money because the government decreed it as valid money and the public willingly accept it in exchange of goods. Normally, fiat money bears “legal tender” feature and includes modern paper currency, coins and checkable deposits.

This kind of currency is very important in today’s modern economies like the United States primarily because it is widely used as ...

THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States of America (Federal Reserve System, 2013). It is governed by a board of directors appointed by the president, whose main responsibility is the determination of the monetary policy through the manipulation of the various monetary tools (Federal Reserve Board, 2013). The bank was originally formed in December 23rd 1913 by an act of congress and is currently headquartered in Washington D.C, with twelve other branches located in major cities across the country (Federal Reserve System, 2013).

One of the monetary tools that are used in setting the monetary ...

When the Federal Open Market committee met in September, information was released suggesting that the economic has expanded moderately in the past recent months. The unemployment levels remain high while the employment rate remains deprecated. The growth in business has decreased while household spending are increasing. It also revealed that inflation has picked up hence the increased energy prices. The Fed is, therefore, concerned that the economic growth may not be in a strong position, to improve the labor market conditions unless sufficient policies are implemented. They are also concerned that inflation will run under its 2% objective due to the ...

In case, real GDP is lower than potential GPD expansionary policies are implemented in correcting contraction of business cycle. Expansionary Fiscal policy leads to increases in purchases by government, tax rate decrease and transfer payment increase to overcome contracting business cycle. Expansionary fiscal policy closes gap of recession, stimulates economy and decreases rate of unemployment.

Fiscal policy tools to stimulate economy are:

Government Purchases Expenditures done by government sector for services and final goods come under Government purchases. Government purchases are part of GDP bought by the government. Government purchases include heavy cost expenses like highway construction and aircraft clips carriers to smaller expenses like ...

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

INTRODUCTION The economy management of the country has two kinds of policies to intervene and regulate the markets in case of market failure: Fiscal policies and Monetary policies. Fiscal policies are the responsibility of the government, and the monetary policies are implemented by the Federal Reserve System (FED). The economic policies can be implemented in two ways: expansionary and contractionary economic policies. Expansionary policies stimulate the economy and expenditures of consumption and investment increases as the result of these policies. Contractionary policies slowdown the economy, and the expenditure level decreases. In this essay, the definitions of the fiscal ...

Question 1

The federal reserve bank is a major institution in the American’s economy and society designed to offer financial stability by maintaining currency flexibility. The Fed as consistently played a significant role in the Untied States economy and monetary policy since its establishment. The Fed established in 1913, therefore, its the roles and regulations go back only to the early years of the 20th century. For instance, the Fed came into play when a harsh economic crisis started in 2008. During this period the GDP shrank, unemployment increased and millions of Americans were worried about their futures. It was the role of ...

U.S. Fiscal and Monetary Policy

Fiscal policy

Fiscal policy denotes the use of government spending and taxation in order to steer the economy to the desired direction at a point in time. There are two types of fiscal policies, and they include the contractionary and the expansionary fiscal policies. In contractionary fiscal policies, the government enacts policies aimed at reducing the production in the economy. These could entail an increase in tax and lowering the government expenditure in the economy. On the other hand, the expansionary fiscal policies entail the policies adopted by the government with a view of increasing the overall output ...

Monetary policy

Monetary policies denotes the actions taken by the central bank (Federal Reserve) in a bid to influence money availability in the economy with the aim of achieving the nation’s economic goals. Performance of the monetary policy mandate was given to the Fed when the Federal Reserve Act (1913) came into place. The tools used by the Fed to perform the monetary policy obligations include the reserve requirements, open market operations and the discount rate. In order to perform the roles effectively, they are divided in that the board of governors are charged with overseeing the reserve requirement while the ...

Article Review

Article 1 Published on: October 22, 2014

The Summary The tax cut policy followed by Kansas has led to a shortfall in the revenue this year. The tax revenue collected in the fiscal year 2014 was $700 million less than that of the previous year. According to the director of taxation Steve Slotts, this revenue shortfall is temporary in nature. This temporary deficit is being met through the expenditures from the reserve fund. But the revenue shortfall in the first three months of the fiscal year 2015 that began in July 2014, suggests that this shortfall is permanent. ...

Expansionary Fiscal Policy

Fiscal Policy refers to the federal government use of spending and taxation to meet the macroeconomics goals. At the time of recessionary periods, the federal government, in order to smooth the economic cycles, reduce the taxes and increase the government spending g. Important to note that each of these measures has an important effect on the aggregated demand, GDP and employment and the same is discussed below:

Effect of reduced rates of Taxes:

As a general phenomenon, income taxes reduce the incentive to work by creating a tax wedge between pre-tax and after-tax wages. Thus, at the time of the recessionary period, the federal government in order ...

Answer 1)

a)History of Quantitative Easing: Quantitative Easing, also known as Open market Operations is one of the conventional method of Credit Control which is followed by central/federal banks to stimulate economic growth and to circumvent the banking system. The history of this method credit control has two phases i.e pre 2007 and post 2007 period. (Parkin, 2011) i)Pre-2007 Period: The very first use of Quantitative technique of Credit Control is attributed to Bank of Japan on March 19th , 2001. The Bank authorities before accepting this method, rejected the efficiency of QE method and rejected its use for ...

INTRODUCTION

Economies these days face the challenges and combat with the rising inflation continuously. The structure of the macroeconomic policy encourages the economic growth. The tools used for the stability of the economy are in some of the cases referred to as the expansionary economic policy. The fiscal and the monetary decisions of the economy determine the policies which end recession. These policies are usually formed by the central banks which determine the increasing or the decreasing money supply. The expansionary policy is considered as an effective tool for managing the low growth periods which arise in the business cycle. ...

Unlike most countries, that use the central Bank system the U.S has a federal Banking system which is also known as the fed. The headquarters of the federal Bank is in the capital Washington D.C and also has other twelve district banks in different locations. Decisions made by the Federal Reserve Bank are critical because they ensure that the country has a safe and sound financial system. Federal Reserve Act established the fed in 1913 and was formed to solve problems of money in the country. Therefore, the Federal Reserve Bank is mandated to formulate the best fiscal and monetary policies ...

Money crisis in UK can be controlled by the Bank of England through changing the interest rate while attempting to alter the level of economic activity. Actions can be taken when the money in circulation increases in fast rate as compared to the output volume produced. This situation can be referred to as inflation. To control this situation, interest rates should be changed. The Bank of England uses monetary policy to increase or decrease the money in the banking system. However, the Bank of England does not print more money to alter money supply as this is against the ...

Introduction

Monetary policy refers to those policy measures targeted at achieving desired economic outcomes through money market operations. Authorities in charge of money market control use different policy instruments to control the money supply in order to achieve suitable market prices as well as stability in the national economy. The key instruments at disposal for those authorities include open market operations, minimum reserve ratio as well as bank rate. However, the policy instruments application does not have a direct impact on market prices and demand but follows a transition mechanism from the authorities’ actions to the desired economic results. In that respect, ...

Sequestration refers to the reduction of budgetary costs by the United States federal government. In 2013, the federal government cut spending in particular categories of expenditure. Primarily, the cuts were on account of the Budget Control Act (2011) that were similarly deferred for some period by the American Taxpayers Relief Act (2012) till March when the law was implemented. According to Demaree, sequestration can be described as the practice of reducing obligatory spending in federal government budget (1). These cuts are occasioned when expenditure for the government surpasses the total income the government receives in one financial year (Sequestration ...

Introduction

There are two kinds of tools available to the economic policy-makers through which they tend to influence the economy of the country; these two tools are fiscal and monetary. The former policy related to the spending of the government and the collection of revenue like altering the disposable income of the people by lowering taxes or increasing the spending so that demand is stimulated. The latter which is the monetary policy is associated with the supply of money and is influenced by such factors like the rate of interest and the reserve requirements for the banks. Usually these policies ...

Higher Educational Establishment

Introduction Aggregate demand and interest rates, along with the actual economic growth and the prospects are the benchmarks of any Federal government. In order to control the economy, government uses monetary policies to analyze essential measures.

Open Market Operation

Open Market Operations involve purchase and selling of governmental securities which helps to stabilize inflation. The Federal funds rate is equal to the interest and lending rates, according to which financial institutions charge for the loans. The Domestic Open Market Operations are guided by the Federal Open Market Committee and continuing with the aid of strengthening the efforts to support economy recovery ...

ABSTRACT

Federal Reserve Bank, commonly known as FED, has been established with the aim of stabilizing the overall financial system within the US economy. FED has been using different tools and methods like open market operations, moral suasion, discount rate, and the reserve requirements in order to achieve the overall economic goals. These economic goals include; reducing unemployment and inflation, and accelerating the process of economic growth. In order to overcome the today’s economic challenges, the chairman of Fed should work on controlling the monetary measures and pulling strategies which benefit the global economic growth.

INTRODUCTION

Money market is a place ...

The European System of Central Bank (ESCB) is governed by European Central Bank (ECB) and the National Central Banks (NCB) of European Union Member States. European Central Bank is the Central Bank of Europe Zone. ESCB is governed by the governing council and other decision making bodies of ECB. The governing Council is responsible for making monetary decisions and the Executive Board is empowered to implement monetary policy as per the framework of decisions laid by the Governing Council. Just like any other Central Bank, the core function of ECB includes maintain price stability of the local currency in ...

Abstract

The Federal Reserve release report, previously known as Humphrey-Hawkins report, is based on the economy and the direction of monetary policy. This report gets released twice a year before the congress. In this document we will focus on whether this report is influenced more by inflation or by the possibility of an impending recession. This document also discusses the monetary policy and its direction as stated in this report.Introduction The Federal Reserve Banking system also considered as the ‘lender of last resort’ provides support to major financial institutions whenever they are in dire situations or when the market is ...

Abstract

The US Federal Reserve and the European Central bank perform the function of formulating the monetary policy of US and Euro zone. The banks use different tools to formulate the policy as discussed in the paper. The structures of these banks are analyzed. The two banks have recently adopted different security policies that have caused the US treasury to run out of funds. Federal Reserve together with other banks plays a role of controlling the money supply, and this means that the banks shape the financial system of the world. A policy adopted to delay dividends shows that these banks ...

Introduction

International trade refers to exchange of services and goods across countries. Increased globalization has increased cross border trade. The numerous advantages that accrue from international trade have also stimulated growth of international trade. However, there are certain limitations of international trade that has made it necessary or countries to protect their local economies from the adverse effects of international trade. On the other hand, monetary policy refers to decisions that are undertaken by the central bank and the government in order to influence the country’s economy by manipulating credit cost and availability of money. This paper discusses the ...

Financial markets are generally the financial transactions that help investors and businesses thrive financially. Changes in interest rates could have positive or negative impacts on markets in the U.S. Financial markets therefore play a major role in regards to accumulation of the production of goods and services and capital as well. With the help of well developed financial markets and institutions, the economy is able to scrutinize economic growth and financial structures which efficiently and openly direct investment and savings in the economy. Economically, the stock market impacts differently on people who have shares with a possibility of them losing ...

Introduction

Financial crisis has become a global issue because it has affected many countries in the world. It is important to understand its meaning in order to know how it has affected the economy of various countries. Financial crisis is a situation in which the financial assets in a country loss value. During this period, the currency becomes unstable (Irving 2009). In this situation, the country becomes affected adversely because financial problems become unbearable for most investors. The main reason for this is that there are no foreseeable returns from the investments made in the country due to hard financial times experienced. ...

Monetary policies are interference in the economy by the central bank of a country with an aim of influencing economic activities. Intervention by the central banks can be through interest rates, regulation of the banks and open market operations. These actions could be aimed at reducing or increasing money supply in the economy (Gitman, 2009). Fiscal policy is manipulation of government expenditure to achieve certain objectives. Fiscal policies include public adjustment of taxes, reducing or increasing government expenditure. Preparation of deficit or surplus budgets is fiscal policies that can be implemented to achieve certain objectives (Zoli, 2005). Open ...

Economics of Global Money Markets

When money became a commodity, money market became part of the financial markets for the reasons that assets that are involved in short-term buying, borrowing, selling and lending with the original maturities of about one year or less. The trade in money markets is carried out over the counter and as such it is wholesale. There are various instruments that exist and they include deposits, treasury bills, bankers’ acceptances, certificates of deposit, bills of exchange, commercial paper, federal funds, repurchase agreements and asset backed securities. This provides a funding that is liquid for the global financial system. Capital markets and money ...

Introduction

A discount rate is the interest rate that is used in cash flow discounting so as to determine future cash flows’ present value. This discount rate caters for the time value of money and uncertainty or risks of expected cash flows in future, which could be less or more than expected. Time value of money is an idea that the value of money currently is worth much more than that amount in future since it may be earning interests. A discount rate could also be defined as a rate of interest which an eligible depository organ or institution is charged ...

Introduction

In the United States, the Federal Reserve System is charged with regulating the country’s monetary policy. The system was implemented after leaders noted the deficiencies in the previous national banking system. The previous system had a currency that was inelastic and there were liquidity problems in the economy. There were a lot of financial panics in the economy caused by the inefficiencies in the system. A republican representative proposed the creation of a centralised banking system that would operate with a minimum level of government involvement. The Federal Reserve System was instituted in 1913. The system was able to solve three ...

Fed and the Economy

For an economy that is in recession, the FED does not directly affect the output and the economy. Rather, it does so in an indirect manner through the lowering of the federal funds rate, which, in most cases is short-term in nature. Open market operations are employed in this case. These are usually meant for the bank reserves, otherwise referred to as the federal funds market. In such a case, it is a requirement that banks have a certain amount or more set aside for reserves (Maxwell, 2003, p.6).

The federal funds market

The amount of reserves a bank wants to hold is bound to vary with ...

Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the structure, behavior, and the performance of the economy in its entirety. The major goal of macroeconomics is to achieve price stability, economic growth, full employment and external balance. The United States economy has not been doing well in the recent past. Statistics from the Federal Reserve indicate that the economy grew by a mere 1.7% in the year 2009 and although everyone attributed the dismal growth to the infamous economic recession, things are not looking any better this year. Unemployment rates stand at a high of 9.6% and the consumer price index ...