nominal
(adjective)
Without adjustment to remove the effects of inflation (in contrast to real).
Examples of nominal in the following topics:
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Calculating Real GDP
- The nominal GDP is the value of all the final goods and services that an economy produced during a given year.
- In economics, a nominal value is expressed in monetary terms.
- For example, a nominal value can change due to shifts in quantity and price.
- It transforms the money-value measure, nominal GDP, into an index for quantity of total output.
- This image shows the nominal GDP for a given year in the United States.
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The GDP Deflator
- It is a price index that measures price inflation or deflation, and is calculated using nominal GDP and real GDP.
- In other words, real GDP is nominal GDP adjusted for inflation.
- If there is no inflation or deflation, nominal GDP will be the same as real GDP.
- The GDP deflator is calculated by dividing nominal GDP by real GDP and multiplying by 100 .
- It is calculated by dividing nominal GDP by real GDP and multiplying by 100.
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Real Versus Nominal Rates
- Real exchange rates are nominal rates adjusted for differences in price levels.
- A nominal value is an economic value expressed in monetary terms (that is, in units of a currency).
- The real exchange rate is the nominal rate adjusted for differences in price levels.
- The nominal exchange rate would be A/B 2, which means that 2 As would buy a B.
- Calculate the nominal and real exchange rates for a set of currencies
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Relationship Between Expectations and Inflation
- Anything that is nominal is a stated aspect.
- This is the nominal, or stated, interest rate.
- The difference between real and nominal extends beyond interest rates.
- Each worker will make $102 in nominal wages, but $100 in real wages.
- Workers will make $102 in nominal wages, but this is only $96.23 in real wages.
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Shifts in the Money Demand Curve
- The nominal demand for money generally increases with the level of nominal output (the price level multiplied by real output).
- The real demand for money is defined as the nominal amount of money demanded divided by the price level.
- The demand for money shifts out when the nominal level of output increases.
- It shifts in with the nominal interest rate.
- The level of nominal output has increased and there is a liquidity advantage in holding on to money.
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The Demand for Money
- Generally, the nominal demand for money increases with the level of nominal output and decreases with the nominal interest rate.
- This is the equivalent of stating that the nominal amount of money demanded (Md) equals the price level (P) times the liquidity preference function L(R,Y)--the amount of money held in easily convertible sources (cash, bank demand deposits).
- Specific to the liquidity function, L(R,Y), R is the nominal interest rate and Y is the real output.
- However, when the demand for money is not stable, real and nominal interest rates will change and there will be economic fluctuations.
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The Slope of the Long-Run Aggregate Supply Curve
- The AS curve is drawn given some nominal variable, such as the nominal wage rate.
- In the short run, the nominal wage rate is taken as fixed.
- However, in the long run, the nominal wage rate varies with economic conditions (high unemployment leads to falling nominal wages -- and vice-versa).
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Distribution Effects of Inflation
- Assuming that loans must be paid back according to a nominal amount (i.e. the borrower must pay back $100 in one year), inflation is good for borrowers and bad for lenders.
- This is because the inflation rate is built in to the nominal interest rate, which is the sum of the real interest rate and expected inflation.
- For example, if the real cost of borrowing money is 3% and inflation is expected to be 4%, the nominal interest rate on a loan would be 7%.
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The Slope of the Short-Run Aggregate Supply Curve
- The AS curve is drawn using a nominal variable, such as the nominal wage rate.
- In the short-run, the nominal wage rate is fixed.
- An alternate model explains that the AS curve increases because some nominal input prices are fixed in the short-run and as output rises, more production processes encounter bottlenecks.
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The Taylor Rule
- The rule stipulates how much a central bank should change the nominal interest rate (real rate plus inflation) in response to changes in inflation, output, or other economic conditions.
- In particular, the rule stipulates that for each one-percent increase in inflation, the central bank should raise the nominal interest rate by more than one percentage point.