Aggregate Demand and Its Components
Aggregate Demand and Its Components
It is the total demand for all the goods and services produced in an economy in a
year. It represents the total expenditure on goods and services in the economy.
Symbolically,
AD = C+I+G+(X-M)
In a 2 sector economy, AD=C+I
In a 3 sector economy, AD=C+I+G
MPC = ∆C
∆Y
Aggregate Supply:
It refers to the value of total output in an economy in a year. It represents the
national income of the country during the given period.
AS = Y = C+S
AS curve is a 45o straight line starting from the origin. It is a 45o line because
consumption and savings are always equal to Y. The following table shows
consumption function given by C= 100 + 0.8Y
Consumption C Income Y MPC= C/ Y
100 -- 0 --- 0.8
180 80 100 100 0.8
260 80 200 100 0.8
340 80 300 100 0.8
420 80 400 100 0.8
500 80 500 100 0.8
580 80 600 100 0.8
660 80 700 100 0.8
740 80 800 100 0.8
2
820 80 900 100 0.8
900 80 1000 100 0.8
The consumption function crosses the 45o line at B which is known as break-
even-point. Here, the consumption is exactly equal to income. At that level of
income, the households are just breaking even. In the given example, the break-
even point of the economy is Rs.500 crore. To the left of B, consumption
expenditure is greater than income. The shortage in income compels the
households to go for Dissaving. The amount of dissaving or savings is always
measured by the vertical distance between consumption function and 45 o line.
Savings Function:
It refers to the ratio of level of saving to the level of income.
S=Y-C
Substituting the consumption function in the above equation.
_
S=Y-(C + bY)
= Y – C – bY
= - C + Y(1- b)
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Marginal Propensity to Save
S = --C +(1—b)Y
= --100 + (1—0.8)Y
= --100 +0.2Y
Consumption and Savings function can be illustrated with the help of the
following table and diagram.
4
In the diagram, part A shows consumption function and part B shows saving
function. The break-even income is Rs.500 crores (part A) and savings is Rs.0
crore (part B).
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Investment: It is the second component of aggregate demand. It means addition
to the stock of capital goods in the form of equipment, residential structures and
inventory.
Government Expenditure
It is the third component of aggregate demand. The level of government
expenditure is determined by the government policy.
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Net Exports
It is the fourth component of aggregate demand. It is the difference between
exports and imports. When foreigners purchase domestic goods and services, it
adds to the demand for domestic goods and services and is hence a part of
aggregate demand.
Correspondingly, our spending on foreign goods has to be subtracted from the
demand for domestic goods in order to get the net demand for domestic goods
and services by foreigners.