Lesson Plan - Keynesian Macroeconomics



I. Keynesian versus classical macroeconomics
- classical focuses on AS
- asserts that AS is vertical
- thus, AS determines employment while AD determines prices
- Keynesian focuses on AD
- assumes that AS is horizontal, at least in the short-run
- thus, AD determines employment while AS determines prices

II. Aggregate Expenditures
- what is aggregate expenditures (AE)?
- total value of domestic spending on goods and services
- what does an Aggregate expenditures curve show?
- what are the components of AE?
- consumption
- investment
- government spending
- net exports
- Consumption and Saving
- what is autonomous consumption?
- what is induced consumption?
- what is autonomous savings?
- what is induced savings?
- what is the relationship between disposable income (Yd), Consumption (C), and Savings (S)?
- Yd = C + S
- graphics
- the consumption function
- what is the relationship between C and Yd?
- how is S found on the graph?
- the savings function
- what is the relationship between S and Yd?
- what is the relationship between the two graphs?
- what is the marginal propensity to consume (mpc)?
- what is the marginal propensity to save (mps)?
- mpc + mps = 1 (why?)
- what is the average propensity to consume (apc)?
- what is the average propensity to save (aps)?
- apc + aps = 1 (why?)
- other determinants of consumption (besides Yd)
- wealth
- household type
- stocks
- Investment (I)
- why do we invest?
- relationship between investment and expected rate of return
- other impacts on investment
- cost of new capital
- taxes
- interest rates
- effect of investment on Aggregate Expenditures
- Government Spending (G)
- what is autonomous government spending?
- Net Exports
- autonomous exports (X)
- autonomous imports (M)
- AE = C + I + G + (X - M)
- but recall that C = Ca + mpc*Yd
- so AE = Ca + mpc*Yd + I + G + (X - M)
- what does the AE function look like graphically?
- what is the relationship between C and National Income (Y)?
- assume no taxes, no transfers, no retained earnings => Y = Yd = GDP

III. Keynesian Equilibrium
- What is Demand in the Keynesian model?
- Aggregate Expenditures
- additional assumptions
- no government or foreign sectors
- what is equilibrium?
- equilibrium exists where Y (income or output) = AE (demand)
- graphically
- what is the equilibrating mechanism?
- planned vs. unplanned investment
- what happens to unplanned investment (inventories) when Y > AE?
- what happens to unplanned investment (inventories) when Y < AE?
- the relationship of Savings to Investment at equilibrium
- mathematical example
- the multiplier - if autonomous expenditures (either C or I) increase, by how much does equilibrium output increase?
- the multiplier effect - output increases by a multiple of the original increase in spending
- why?
- calculating the multiplier (Keynesian autonomous spending multiplier = 1/mps)
- what is the mps? the leakage from the system
- other potential leakages?
- taxes and imports
- what is full employment output?
- recessionary gaps
- inflationary gaps
- GDP gaps
- what is the relationship between Keynesian AE and AD?
- what impact does falling prices have on Keynesian equilibrium?
- graphically
- recessionary, inflationary, and GDP gaps for AD