Macroeconomic Impact on Business Operations

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Macroeconomic Impact on Business Operations

Money supply is the availability of money in the hands of the public (economy) that can be used to purchase goods, services and securities. In macroeconomics, the price of money is equivalent to the rate of interest. There's an inverse relationship between money supply and interest rates. As money supply increases, interest will decrease. On the other hand, interest will increases as money supply decreases. It is very important to understand that the economy works at market equilibrium. There are several factors affecting money supply; and these contributing factors will be the main focus of this paper. Understanding the basic principle on money supply is imperative to have a good grasp on the macroeconomic impact of money supply on business operations.

The Scenario/Simulation

Here's the scenario: "Recent global developments have pushed the economy into a slump. Industrial production is sluggish and it has become difficult to stimulate demand. The Real GDP is slipping and though inflation looks to be under control, unemployment seems to be soaring. As the Chairman of the Federal Reserve appointed by the President of Oval Office, an effective control of the money supply has to be done.

Tools that Control Money Supply

The Federal Reserve use several tools like discount rate, federal funds rate, required reserve ratio and open market operations to control the money supply. In the simulation, the effect of controlling the money supply on the economy was presented. Typically, releasing money into the system results in higher Real GDP and lower unemployment. On the other hand, it also raises inflation.

Inflation and Real GDP work cross-purposes. As stated in the simulation, "striking the right balance between the two is very critical". In addition, "compounding this with the effects of domestic policies and international happenings, and macro-economic system will almost become unpredictable". Money-Multiplier is another thing that is unpredictable. This determines whether the base money that the Fed will release should decrease or increase. As stated in the simulation, the Fed also "tries to use the money supply as a lever to keep the economy on the rails". This is not an easy task for it requires very complicated analysis.

Influence on Money Supply

There are several factors affecting the money supply: spread between the discount rate and federal funds rate, required reserve ratio and open market operations. It is very important to understand that whenever the "DR charged by Fed is lower than the FFR charge by other banks; banks tend to borrow from the Fed.

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