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What are the advantages and disadvantages of expansionary fiscal policy?

Author

Isabella Turner

Updated on December 30, 2025

It expands the expenditure of the government, so it leads to reduced taxation. A reduction in taxes would lead to an increment in the deficit of the government financial plan and this would run towards high borrowing and rising government debt.

How does fiscal policy help the economy?

The government can use fiscal stimulus to spur economic activity by increasing government spending, decreasing tax revenue, or a combination of the two. Increasing tax revenue tends to slow economic activity by decreasing individuals’ disposable income, likely causing them to decrease spending on goods and services.

What is a strength of fiscal policy?

Ability to target sectors of the economy. Fiscal policy can target specific sectors by making changes in the composition of government spending depending on government priorities. Direct impact of government spending on aggregate demand.

Why is fiscal policy better than monetary?

Generally speaking, the aim of most government fiscal policies is to target the total level of spending, the total composition of spending, or both in an economy. In comparing the two, fiscal policy generally has a greater impact on consumers than monetary policy, as it can lead to increased employment and income.

What is the benefit of expansionary fiscal policy?

The purpose of expansionary fiscal policy is to boost growth to a healthy economic level, which is needed during the contractionary phase of the business cycle. The government wants to reduce unemployment, increase consumer demand, and avoid a recession.

What are the objectives of fiscal policy?

Fiscal policy objectives Some of the key objectives of fiscal policy are economic stability, price stability, full employment, optimum allocation of resources, accelerating the rate of economic development, encouraging investment, and capital formation and growth.

What is the purpose of contractionary fiscal policy?

The goal of contractionary fiscal policy is to reduce inflation. Therefore the tools would be an decrease in government spending and/or an increase in taxes. This would shift the AD curve to the left decreasing inflation, but it may also cause some unemployment.

What are the functions of fiscal policy?

The traditional view is that fiscal policy performs three main functions: allocation, distribution, and stabilization. The allocation function is the process of dividing total resource use between private and social goods and choosing the mix of social goods.

Is fiscal policy Effective?

Thus, the fiscal policy is effective in promoting economic growth. Second, even the fiscal policy has positive effects on economic growth; the study finds interesting evidences that fiscal policy loses this effect in the case of high indebted countries.

What are the problems with using fiscal policy?

Poor information. Fiscal policy will suffer if the government has poor information. E.g. If the government believes there is going to be a recession, they will increase AD, however, if this forecast was wrong and the economy grew too fast, the government action would cause inflation.

How does contractionary fiscal policy affect the economy?

Contractionary fiscal policy does the reverse: it decreases the level of aggregate demand by decreasing consumption, decreasing investments, and decreasing government spending, either through cuts in government spending or increases in taxes.

It expands the expenditure of the government, so it leads to reduced taxation. A reduction in taxes would lead to an increment in the deficit of the government financial plan and this would run towards high borrowing and rising government debt. There is a lack of value stability on different items.

In comparing the two, fiscal policy generally has a greater impact on consumers than monetary policy, as it can lead to increased employment and income. By increasing taxes, governments pull money out of the economy and slow business activity.

What are the disadvantages of contractionary fiscal policy?

An unwanted side effect of a contractionary monetary policy is a rise in unemployment. The economic slowdown and lower production cause companies to hire fewer employees. Therefore, unemployment in the economy increases.

What is fiscal policy and its importance?

Fiscal policy is an important instrument to stabilise the economy, that is, to overcome recession and control inflation in the economy. Fiscal policy is of two kinds: On the other hand, to control inflation the Government cuts down its expenditure or raises taxes.

What are the impact of fiscal policy?

The direct and indirect effects of fiscal policy can influence personal spending, capital expenditure, exchange rates, deficit levels, and even interest rates, which are usually associated with monetary policy.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of fiscal policy?

Economic Growth Increase – The various fiscal measures a country employs facilitate expansion of the national economy. For example, when the government reduces tax rates, businesses and individuals will have a greater incentive to invest and steer the economy forward.

What does it mean to have an expansionary fiscal policy?

Unemployment Reduction – When unemployment is high, the government can employ an expansionary fiscal policy. This involves increasing spending or purchases and lowering taxes. Tax cuts, for example, can mean people have more disposable income, which should lead to increased demand for goods and services.

When is fiscal policy most effective in a recession?

Fiscal policy is most effective in a deep recession where monetary policy is insufficient to boost demand. For example, if the government pursue expansionary fiscal policy, but interest rates rise, and the global economy is in a recession, it may be insufficient to boost demand. Also to know, what are the problems with fiscal policy?

What is the net fiscal benefit ( NFB )?

The Net Fiscal Benefit (NFB) is the amount of resource revenues the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is able to keep after devolution, without affecting its federal transfer payments. Also, is Fiscal Policy Effective? Fiscal policy is most effective in a deep recession where monetary policy is insufficient to boost demand.