Interactions between microeconomics and macroeconomics
Consumption tax and cost-push inflation
Aim of the consumption tax was to reduce consumption
Possibly because of the negative externalities generated by the consumption of the good
However, higher costs of such goods raises cost of living for households (who consume fuel) and cost of production for firms (who also consume fuel to power their factories and processes)
Causes the AS curve to shift up, resulting in inflationary growth and cost-push inflation
Subsidies --> Budget deficit, Pubic debt, global inequality
Aim of subsidies is to improve income inequality, give workers in certain (declining and agricultural) industries a more decent income, prevent bankruptcies
Pressure fced from trade unions and advocacy groups that possess significant political clout
However, subsidies can be extremely costly for governments --> incur huge debts and budget deficits that may turn out to be unsustainable and unhealthy
Unnecessary protection of productively inefficient industries (protectionism) is allocatively inefficient as resources are siphoned away from more productive initiatives (like public infrastructure and education)
Negatively affects the country’s long-run growth, especially if resources are prevented from being invested in aforementioned sectors
Exacerbates global inequality --> agricultural subsidies from the developed countries artificially depress global prices on agricultural produce, undercutting the incomes of third-world countries’ farmers and worsening global income disparity
The accumulation of huge buffer stocks as a result from the subsidisation of agricultural production in DCs will also contribute to the worsening of global income inequality as these stocks will eventually find their way into the markets of LDCs (as food aid etc)
Act as substitutes to local agricultural produce, oftentimes cheaper substitutes --> diminishes the demand for LDCs’ domestic agricultural products and the incomes of domestic farmers
Government intervention --> Long-run growth
Government intervention to correct market failures can confer positive externalities and contribute to the country’s potential growth
Education is subjected to market failure, namely positive externalities and is a merit good
By subsidising the consumption and production of education, not only solves the inherent allocative inefficiency in the micro-market, but also improves labour mobility and productivity, which in turn contributes positively to the productive capacity and potential growth of the macroeconomy