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CAPITAL ACCOUNT: One of two parts of a nation's balance of payments. The capital is a record of all purchases of physical and financial assets between a nation and the rest of the world in a given period, usually one year. On one side of the balance of payments ledger account are all of the foreign assets purchase by our domestic economy. On the other side of the ledger are all of our domestic assets purchased by foreign countries. The capital account is said to have a surplus if a nation's investments abroad are greater than foreign investments at home. In other words, if the good old U. S. of A. is buying up more assets in Mexico, Brazil, and Hungry, than Japanese, Germany, and Canada investors are buying up of good old U. S. assets, then we have a surplus. A deficit is the reverse.
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                           DERIVATION, CONSUMPTION LINE: A consumption line, a graphical depiction of the relation between household sector consumption and income, can be derived from a simple consumption schedule, a table or chart showing the relation between household sector consumption and income. This is easily accomplished by plotting the consumption-income pairs from the schedule as points in a diagram that measures consumption on the vertical axis and income on the horizontal axis, then connection the points with a line. The consumption line can also be derived directly by plotting the consumption function using slope and intercept values. The consumption line, also termed propensity-to-consume line or consumption function, can be derived by plotting the consumption-income combinations from a consumption schedule into a graph. It can also be derived by plotting the mathematical specification of a consumption function using slope and intercept.Consumption Schedule |  | | Consumption Line | 
| First up is the consumption schedule. A representative consumption schedule is presented in the upper panel of the exhibit to the right. The two columns in the table measure income and consumption in trillions of dollars.The first column of this table presents total income of the household sector. These values conveniently range from $0 to $10 trillion. The second column then presents the amount of this income the household sector uses for consumption expenditures. These values range from $1 trillion to $8.5 trillion. The derivation of the consumption line involves plotting the consumption-income pairs in the schedule into a diagram, such as the space presented in the bottom panel of the exhibit. This currently blank space measures consumption on the vertical axis and income on the horizontal axis. The consumption-income pairs from the top panel can be plotted in the bottom panel by clicking the [Consumption Line] button. Once all points are plotted, the result is the red consumption line labeled C. The two features of the consumption line are slope and intercept. - Slope: The slope is positive, but less than one. In fact, the slope of the consumption line is numerically equal to the marginal propensity to consume (MPC). In this case the slope is equal to 0.75. The positive slope reflects induced consumption expenditures--more income means more consumption. Click the [Slope] button to illustrate.
- Intercept: The consumption line intersects the vertical axis at a value of $1 trillion. This intersection point is autonomous consumption--consumption expenditures unrelated to income. Click the [Intercept] button to illustrate.
The consumption line can also be plotted directly using the consumption function. The two key bits of information needed for this task are the intercept and the slope. The following linear consumption function can be used to illustrate.where: C is consumption expenditures, Y is income (national or disposable), a is the intercept, and b is the slope.The consumption line can be constructed by simply drawing a line with slope b that emerges for the vertical axis at intercept a.
 Recommended Citation:DERIVATION, CONSUMPTION LINE, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2025. [Accessed: July 11, 2025]. Check Out These Related Terms... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Or For A Little Background... | | | | | | | | And For Further Study... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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