MONETARY POLICY: The Federal Reserve System's use of the money supply to stabilize the business cycle. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System determines the total amount of money circulating around the economy. In principle, the Fed can use three different "tools"--open market operations, the discount rate, and reserve requirements--to manipulate the money supply. In practice, however, the primary tool employed is open market operations. To counter a recession, the Fed would undertake expansionary policy, also termed easy money. To reduce inflation, contractionary policy is the order of the day, and goes by the name tight money.

     See also | Federal Reserve System | money | business cycle | stabilization policies | central bank | open market operations | discount rate | reserve requirements | Federal Open Market Committee | tight money | easy money | fiscal policy | interest rate | inflation | unemployment | expansionary monetary policy | contractionary monetary policy |

MONETARY POLICY, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: July 21, 2026].

Additional information on this term can be found at:

WEB*pedia: monetary policy

Back to the GLOSS*arama

A shock to the long-run aggregate market caused by a decrease in aggregate supply, resulting in and illustrated by a leftward shift of the long-run aggregate supply curve. A decrease in aggregate supply in the long-run aggregate market results in an increase in the price level and a decrease in real production. The level of real production resulting from the shock is a smaller level of full-employment real production.

Complete Entry | Visit the WEB*pedia

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time searching the newspaper want ads hoping to buy either 500 feet of telephone cable or a package of 4 by 6 index cards, the ones with lines. Be on the lookout for vindictive digital clocks with revenge on their minds.
Your Complete Scope

This isn't me! What am I?

-- Erma Bombeck, writer

User Feedback