Background
The short-run Phillips curve is a graphical representation in macroeconomics that illustrates the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment in the short term. The curve suggests that in the short run, as inflation decreases, unemployment tends to increase, and vice versa.
Historical Context
The Phillips curve is named after economist A.W. Phillips, who, in a 1958 study, observed an inverse relationship between wage inflation and unemployment in the United Kingdom. Over time, economists generalized this relationship to prices and unemployment, leading to the development of the Phillips curve in both the short-run and long-run contexts.
Definitions and Concepts
- Short-Run Phillips Curve: Reflects the short-term inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment. It suggests that efforts to reduce inflation may lead to higher unemployment and vice versa.
- Inflation: The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.
- Unemployment: The situation where individuals who are capable and willing to work cannot find gainful employment.
Major Analytical Frameworks
Classical Economics
Classical economics often downplays the short-run Phillips curve, focusing instead on long-term market equilibriums where money is neutral, and real variables are unaffected by monetary factors.
Neoclassical Economics
Neoclassical frameworks consider the short-run Phillips curve but emphasize that in the long run, expectations adapt, shifting the curve. Thus, policy effectiveness in manipulating unemployment through inflation generally reduces over time.
Keynesian Economics
Keynesian economics gives significant consideration to the short-run Phillips curve, arguing that aggregate demand management can influence unemployment and inflation, especially under special economic conditions like those of a liquidity trap or when output deviates from potential.
Marxian Economics
Marxian economists might interpret the short-run Phillips curve as a feature of capitalist market dynamics but generally would analyze inflation and unemployment in the context of class struggles and capital accumulation, giving it a broader socio-economic perspective.
Institutional Economics
Institutional economics would consider the impact of policies, regulations, and institutional behavior in shaping the practical aspects of inflation and unemployment, affecting the short-run Phillips curve.
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics might explore how cognitive biases and decision-making heuristics influence expectations of inflation and unemployment, which in turn affect the short-run Phillips curve.
Post-Keynesian Economics
Post-Keynesian economists would focus on the role of demand-led conditions, incorporating factors like income distribution and structural aspects that affect inflation and unemployment in relation to the short-run Phillips curve.
Austrian Economics
Austrian economists would critique the short-run Phillips curve by emphasizing the individual’s role and the knowledge problem in interpreting inflation-unemployment dynamics, accentuating the distorting effects of monetary policy.
Development Economics
Development economics would approach the Phillips curve in context-specific ways, examining how structural changes, resource allocation, and macroeconomic stabilization policies affect inflation and unemployment in developing economies.
Monetarism
Monetarist frameworks, heavily influenced by Milton Friedman, challenge the stable short-run Phillips curve by arguing that there is only a short-run, fixed trade-off that breaks down when inflationary expectations adjust, leading to the concept of the natural rate of unemployment and the vertical long-run Phillips curve.
Comparative Analysis
Comparing across schools of thought, the short-run Phillips curve remains a cornerstone of macroeconomic discourse. While Keynesian and Neoclassical frameworks utilize it widely, monetarist critiques have pushed for a better understanding of long-term implications, emphasizing expectations and adaptive behaviors.
Case Studies
- U.S. Economy in the 1970s: Often cited to demonstrate the breakdown of the stable relationship inferred by the Phillips Curve due to stagflation (high inflation and unemployment).
- Japan in the 1990s: Illustrative for examining how the trade-offs depicted by the short-run Phillips curve can manifest differently under deflationary pressures.
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- “Macroeconomics” by N. Gregory Mankiw
- “Economics” by Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus
- “Advanced Macroeconomics” by David Romer
- “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money” by John Maynard Keynes
- “A Monetary History of the United States” by Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz
Related Terms with Definitions
- Phillips Curve: The broader concept depicting the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment over diverse time frames.
- Natural Rate of Unemployment: The level of unemployment consistent with a stable rate of inflation.
- Inflation Expectations: The future rate at which people expect prices to rise, influencing wage-setting behavior and price formulation changes.
