By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Explain crowding out and its effect on physical capital investment
• Explain the relationship between budget deficits and interest rates
• Identify why economic growth is tied to investments in physical capital, human capital, and technology

The underpinnings of economic growth are investments in physical capital, human capital, and technology, all set in an economic environment where firms and individuals can react to the incentives provided by well-functioning markets and flexible prices. Government borrowing can reduce the financial capital available for private firms to invest in physical capital. But government spending can also encourage certain elements of long-term growth, such as spending on roads or water systems, on education, or on research and development that creates new technology.

CROWDING OUT PHYSICAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT

A larger budget deficit will increase demand for financial capital. If private saving and the trade balance remain the same, then less financial capital will be available for private investment in physical capital. When government borrowing soaks up available financial capital and leaves less for private investment in physical capital, the result is known as crowding out.

CROWDING OUT PHYSICAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT

A larger budget deficit will increase demand for financial capital. If private saving and the trade balance remain the same, then less financial capital will be available for private investment in physical capital. When government borrowing soaks up available financial capital and leaves less for private investment in physical capital, the result is known as crowding out.

THE INTEREST RATE CONNECTION

Assume that government borrowing of substantial amounts will have an effect on the quantity of private investment. How will this affect interest rates in financial markets? the original equilibrium (E₀) where the demand curve (D₀) for financial capital intersects with the supply curve (S₀) occurs at an interest rate of 5% and an equilibrium quantity equal to 20% of GDP. However, as the government budget deficit increases, the demand curve for financial capital shifts from D₀ to D₁. The new equilibrium (E₁) occurs at an interest rate of 6% and an equilibrium quantity of 21% of GDP.

Figure 2. Budget Deficits and Interest Rates. In the financial market, an increase in government borrowing can shift the demand curve for financial capital to the right from D₀ to D₁. As the equilibrium interest rate shifts from E₀ to E₁, the interest rate rises from 5% to 6% in this example. The higher interest rate is one economic mechanism by which government borrowing can crowd out private investment.

After all, use expansionary monetary policy to reduce interest rates, or in this case, to prevent interest rates from rising? This useful question emphasizes the importance of considering how fiscal and monetary policies work in relation to each other. Imagine a central bank faced with a government that is running large budget deficits, causing a rise in interest rates and crowding out private investment. If the budget deficits are increasing aggregate demand when the economy is already producing near potential GDP, threatening an inflationary increase in price levels, the central bank may react with a contractionary monetary policy. In this situation, the higher interest rates from the government borrowing would be made even higher by contractionary monetary policy, and the government borrowing might crowd out a great deal of private investment.

On the other hand, if the budget deficits are increasing aggregate demand when the economy is producing substantially less than potential GDP, an inflationary increase in the price level is not much of a danger and the central bank might react with expansionary monetary policy. In this situation, higher interest rates from government borrowing would be largely offset by lower interest rates from expansionary monetary policy, and there would be little crowding out of private investment.

However, even a central bank cannot erase the overall message of the national savings and investment identity. If government borrowing rises, then private investment must fall, or private saving must rise, or the trade deficit must fall. By reacting with contractionary or expansionary monetary policy, the central bank can only help to determine which of these outcomes is likely.

PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN PHYSICAL CAPITAL

Public physical capital investment of this sort can increase the output and productivity of the economy. An economy with reliable roads and electricity will be able to produce more. But it is hard to quantify how much government investment in physical capital will benefit the economy, because government responds to political as well as economic incentives. When a firm makes an investment in physical capital, it is subject to the discipline of the market: If it does not receive a positive return on investment, the firm may lose money or even go out of business.

In some cases, lawmakers make investments in physical capital as a way of spending money in the districts of key politicians. The result may be unnecessary roads or office buildings. Even if a project is useful and necessary, it might be done in a way that is excessively costly, because local contractors who make campaign contributions to politicians appreciate the extra business. On the other hand, governments sometimes do not make the investments they should because a decision to spend on infrastructure does not need to just make economic sense; it must be politically popular as well. Managing public investment so that it is done in a cost-effective way can be difficult.

If a government decides to finance an investment in public physical capital with higher taxes or lower government spending in other areas, it need not worry that it is directly crowding out private investment. Indirectly however, higher household taxes could cut down on the level of private savings available and have a similar effect. If a government decides to finance an investment in public physical capital by borrowing, it may end up increasing the quantity of public physical capital at the cost of crowding out investment in private physical capital, which is more beneficial to the economy would be dependent on the project being considered.

PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL

In most countries, the government plays a large role in society’s investment in human capital through the education system. A highly educated and skilled workforce contributes to a higher rate of economic growth. For the low-income nations of the world, additional investment in human capital seems likely to increase productivity and growth. For the United States, tough questions have been raised about how much increases in government spending on education will improve the actual level of education.

Not all spending on educational human capital needs to happen through the government: many college students in the United States pay a substantial share of the cost of their education. If low-income countries of the world are going to experience a widespread increase in their education levels for grade-school children, government spending seems likely to play a substantial role. For the U.S. economy, and for other high-income countries, the primary focus at this time is more on how to get a bigger return from existing spending on education and how to improve the performance of the average high school graduate, rather than dramatic increases in education spending.

HOW FISCAL POLICY CAN IMPROVE TECHNOLOGY

Research and development (R&D) efforts are the lifeblood of new technology. According to the National Science Foundation, federal outlays for research, development, and physical plant improvements to various governmental agencies have remained at an average of 8.8% of GDP. About one-fifth should be R&D spending goes to defense and space-oriented research. Although defense-oriented R&D spending may sometimes produce consumer-oriented spinoffs, R&D that is aimed at producing new weapons is less likely to benefit the civilian economy than direct civilian R&D spending.

Fiscal policy can encourage R&D using either direct spending or tax policy. Government could spend more on the R&D that is carried out in government laboratories, as well as expanding federal R&D grants to universities and colleges, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.

KEY CONCEPTS AND SUMMARY

Economic growth comes from a combination of investment in physical capital, human capital, and technology. Government borrowing can crowd out private sector investment in physical capital, but fiscal policy can also increase investment in publicly owned physical capital, human capital (education), and research and development. Possible methods for improving education and society’s investment in human capital include spending more money on teachers and other educational resources, and reorganizing the education system to provide greater incentives for success. Methods for increasing research and development spending to generate new technology include direct government spending on R&D and tax incentives for businesses to conduct additional R&D.

At a Glance of Tax and Fiscal Policy to Economic growth

A market economy is a system where the laws of Supply and Demand directly the production of goods and services. Supply includes natural resources capital, and labor. Demand includes purchases by consumers, businesses, and the government. 

Businesses sell their wares at the highest price consumers will pay. At the same time, shoppers look for the lowest prices for the goods and services they want. Workers bid their services at the highest possible wages that their skills allow. Employers seek to get the best employees at the lowest possible price.

Capitalism requires a market economy to set prices and distribute goods and services. Socialism and communism need a command economy to create a central plan that guides economic decisions. Market economies evolve from traditional economies. Most societies in the modern world have elements of all three types of economies. That makes them mixed economic.

Key Takeaways

• A market economy functions under the laws of supply and demand.
• It is characterized by private ownership, freedom of choice, self-interest, optimized buying and selling platforms, competition, and limited government intervention.
• Competition drives the market economy, optimizing efficiency and innovation. 
• Market economies marginalize those that are unable to compete, contributing to income inequality.

The following six characteristics define a market economy.

Private Property

Most goods and services are privately-owned. The owners can make legally-binding contracts to buy, sell, or lease their property. Their assets give them the right to profit of ownership. There are some assets U.S. law excludes. Since 1865, for example, you cannot legally buy and sell human beings.3 

Freedom of Choice

Owners are free to produce, sell, and purchase goods and services in a competitive market. They only have two constraints. First is the price at which they are willing to buy or sell. Second is the amount of  Capital they have.

Motive of Self-Interest

Everyone sells their wares to the highest bidder while negotiating the lowest price for their purchases. Although the reason is selfish, it benefits the economy over the long run. This auction system sets prices for goods and services that reflect their market value. It gives an accurate picture of supply and demand at any given moment.

Competition

The force of competitive pressure keeps prices low. It also ensures that society provides goods and services most efficiently. As soon as demand increases for a particular item, prices rise thanks to the  law of Demand. Competitors see they can enhance their profit by producing it, adding to supply. That lowers prices to a level where only the best competitors remain. This competitive pressure also applies to workers and consumers. Employees vie with each other for the highest-paying jobs. Buyers compete for the best product at the lowest price.

System of Markets and Prices

A market economy relies on an efficiency in market which to sell goods and services. That's where all buyers and sellers have equal access to the same information. Price changes are pure reflections of the laws of supply and demand. There are five determinant of Demand : product price, buyer's income, prices of related goods, consumer taste, buyer's expectations.

Limited Government

The role of government is to ensure that the markets are open and working. For example, it is in charge of national defense to protect the markets. It also makes sure that everyone has equal access to the markets. The government penalize monopolies that restrict competition. It makes sure no one is manipulating the markets and that everyone has equal access to information.5 

Advantages of a Market Economy

Since a market economy allows the free interplay of supply and demand, it ensures that the most desired goods and services are produced. Consumers are willing to pay the highest price for the things they want the most. Businesses will only create those things that return a profit.

Second, goods and services are produced in the most efficient way possible. The most productive Companies will earn more than less productive ones.

Third, it rewards innovation. Creative new products will meet the needs of consumers in better ways that existing goods and services. These cutting-edge technologies will spread to other competitors so they, too, can be more profitable. This illustrates why Silicon Valley is America's innovative advantage.

Fourth, the most successful businesses invest in other top-notch companies. That gives them a leg up and leads to increased quality of production.1 

Disadvantages of a Market Economy

The key mechanism of a market economy is competition. As a result, it has no system to care for those who are at an inherent competitive disadvantage. That includes the elderly, children, and people with mental or physical disabilities.

Second, the caretakers of those people are at a disadvantage. Their energies and skills go toward caretaking, not competing. Many of these people might become contributors to the economy's overall comparative advantage if they weren't caretakers.

That leads to the third disadvantage. The human resources of society may not be optimized. For example, a child who might otherwise discover the cure for cancer might instead work at McDonald's to support her low-income family.

Fourth, society reflects the values of the winners in the market economy. A market economy may produce private jets for some while others starve and are homeless. A society based on a pure market economy must decide whether it's in its larger self-interest to care for the vulnerable.1

If it decides it is, society will grant the government a significant role in redistributing resources. That is why many market economies are also mixed economies. Most so-called market economies are mixed economies.

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