MankiwEconomicsChap34中山大学吴柏林教授《曼昆·经济学原理》绝密资料.ppt

* * * * * * * * * * Con: Tax laws should not be reformed to encourage saving Raising public saving by eliminating the government’s budget deficit would provide a more direct and equitable way to increase national saving. Summary Advocates of active monetary and fiscal policy view the economy as inherently unstable and believe policy can be used to offset this inherent instability. Critics of active policy emphasize that policy affects the economy with a lag and our ability to forecast future economic conditions is poor, both of which can lead to policy being destabilizing. Summary Advocates of rules for monetary policy argue that discretionary policy can suffer from incompetence, abuse of power, and time inconsistency. Critics of rules for monetary policy argue that discretionary policy is more flexible in responding to economic circumstances. Summary Advocates of a zero-inflation target emphasize that inflation has many costs and few if any benefits. Critics of a zero-inflation target claim that moderate inflation imposes only small costs on society, whereas the recession necessary to reduce inflation is quite costly. Summary Advocates of reducing the government debt argue that the debt imposes a burden on future generations by raising their taxes and lowering their incomes. Critics of reducing the government debt argue that the debt is only one small piece of fiscal policy. Summary Advocates of tax incentives for saving point out that our society discourages saving in many ways such as taxing income from capital and reducing benefits for those who have accumulated wealth. Critics of tax incentives argue that many proposed changes to stimulate saving would primarily benefit the wealthy and also might have only a small effect on private saving. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Five Debates over Macroeconomic Policy Chapter 34 Copyright ? 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.All rights reserved.?? Requests for permission to make copies of any part of thework s