Financial Sector: Saving, Investment and the Financial SystemAP EconomicsMr. Bordelon

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•Savings-investment spending identity.

Savings and investment spending are always equal for the economy as a whole.▫Why? This is an algebraic identity, so bare

with me.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•Assume there is an economy with no

government or foreign trade, meaning only consumer and investment spending exist.

•Income would have to equal spending. People earn income by selling, and that selling of goods is done by spending.

•Total Income = Total Spending

Savings-Investment Spending Identity• Total Income = Total Spending• With income, consumers can either spend or

save money.▫Total Income = Consumer Spending (C) +

Savings (S)• With spending, in this economy, spending is

either done by consumers or investors.▫Total Spending = C + Investment Spending

(I)• Total Income = Total Spending C + S =

C + I

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•C + S = C + I S = I•In short, with a basic economy, we end up

with savings equal to investment. This is an accounting principle.

•This is a simplified economy, however. What happens when we add government spending and net exports?

•Let’s add government spending first.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity• Government spending implies that governments

can have savings.▫ Budget surplus. Difference between tax revenue

and government spending when tax revenue exceeds government spending.

• Government can also exceed its budget.▫ Budget deficit. Difference between tax revenue

and government spending when government spending exceeds tax revenue.

• One term to be aware of for our equation:▫ Budget balance (BB). Difference between tax

revenue and government spending.• National savings. Sum of private savings and

BB. Total amount of savings in the economy.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•Looking at government spending,

government spends money on g/s and pays transfers. To pay for this, government collects tax revenue.

•If there is a balanced budget, thentax revenue = G + gov’t transfer payments

•We can rewrite this equation to find the BB:BB = tax revenue – G – transfers.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•BB = tax revenue – G – transfers

▫If BB > 0, the government has a budget surplus (saving)

▫If BB < 0, the government has a budget deficit (dissaving)

▫If BB = 0, the government has a balanced budget.

•S + BB. National savings—combination of public and private sector.▫Awesome, so now what? Well, add it to the

S = I identity.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•S + BB = I

▫BB > 0 (surplus): I increases.▫BB < 0 (deficit): I decreases.▫Even with surpluses and deficits, the S = I

identity holds true.•Excellent. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

Remember we need to look at net exports.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•Two Sides:

▫Americans save money in U.S. or elsewhere.▫Foreigners can save money in home country or

U.S.▫In other words, for any country, there is a

series of capital inflows (savings) and outflows (spending).

▫Capital inflow (CI). Net inflow of funds into a country. Mathematically:CI = total inflow of foreign funds – total outflow of domestic funds

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•CI = total inflow of foreign funds – total

outflow of domestic funds•CI can be positive or negative, which

means it can increase or decrease total funds available for investment.▫CI > 0: more foreign funds coming in than

U.S. funds going out▫CI < 0: less foreign funds coming in than

U.S. funds going out.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•Adding this to our S = I identity:

S + BB + CI = I▫CI > 0: more foreign funds coming in than

U.S. funds going out—I increases.▫CI < 0: less foreign funds coming in than

U.S. funds going out, I decreases.

Savings-Investment Spending Identity•Summary:

S = IS + BB = IS + BB + CI = I

•For the AP exam, if they ask a question on S-I identity, then it typically follows these equations.▫Example. In Miltonia, no foreign trade is

conducted. Which of the following would be an accurate statement of the savings-investment spending identity? C. S + BB = I

Financial System Tasks—Key Terms• Interest rate. Price, calculated as a

percentage of the amount borrowed, charged by lenders to borrowers for the use of their savings for one year.

• Wealth. Value of accumulated savings.• Financial asset. Paper claim that entitles the

buyer to future income from the seller.• Physical asset. Claim on a tangible asset that

gives the owner the right to dispose of the object as he sees fit.

• Liability. Requirement to pay money in the future.

• Keep these terms in mind as you focus on what financial systems do.

Financial System Tasks• Reduce transaction costs.

▫ Transaction costs. Expenses of negotiating and executing a deal.

▫ Example. Billy wants to buy a loaf of bread, a pound of apples, and a dozen eggs. He could drive to the bakery, then the orchard, and then to the farm. However, it is more convenient, and less costly, to buy it all at Winn-Dixie.

▫ Example. Xayavong, LTD wants to borrow money to build a factory. Xayavong could go individually to Katie, Ryan, etc. for a loan. Or Xayavong could just simply go to a bank, which specializes in providing these funds. Banks, and other financial services companies, are able to make it easier, and less costly, for firms to engage in financial transactions like borrowing to make investments.

Financial System Tasks• Provide liquidity. Liquidity is about the ease

you can turn an asset into cash.▫iPad is an asset, but not all that liquid.▫Savings account is an asset, and very liquid.▫Example. If Xayavong, LTD needs money to

build a factory, that investment in a physical asset will not provide a stream of cash revenue for a long time. Until the factory begins to produce goods that generate revenue, Xayavong may need liquidity (cash) to purchase raw materials, hire some workers and pay the electric bill. The financial system can provide liquidity by issuing loans, bonds, or stocks.

Financial System Tasks• Reduce risk.

▫ Financial risk. Uncertainty about future outcomes that involve financial losses and gains.

▫ Example. Given an uncertain future in investing, building a factory may have a risk that it will not be profitable. Xayavong, LTD may want to build the factory, but using her own money is risky because the factory might not be profitable. Xayavong could raise the money by selling shares of stock in the company. When a person buys a share of stock in a company, it gives that person a small stake in the ownership of the company. Xayavong can pay for the factory, but does not need to risk her own money if the factory should fail to generate profits.

▫ Diversification. Investing in several different assets so that possible losses are minimized.

Financial Assets• Loans. Lending agreement between an

individual lender and individual borrower. Unsecured.

• Bonds. Securitized debt. Seller of a bond promises to pay fixed sum of interest each year and to repay principal to owner of the bond on a particular date.

• Securities. Asset created by pooling individual loans and shares in that pool.

• Stocks. Share in ownership of a company, entitling stockholder to a share of the profits.

Financial Intermediaries• Financial intermediary. Institution that transforms

funds gathered from many individuals into financial assets.▫ Mutual funds. Creates a stock portfolio by buying and

holding shares in companies and then selling shares of the stock portfolio to individual investors.

▫ Pension Funds and Life Insurance Companies. Pension funds are non-profit institutions that collect the savings of its members and invest those funds in a wide variety of assets, providing retirement income. Life insurance companies sell policies which guarantee a payment to the policyholder’s beneficiaries when policyholder dies.

▫ Banks. Financial intermediary that provides liquid assets in the form of deposits to lenders and uses their funds to finance the illiquid investment spending needs of borrowers.

Question 1Please complete the following for each of the four financial assets presented in the textbook.1. Define each financial asset.2. Provide a specific example of each financial asset and the price at which it is selling. For example, the price of a loan is the rate of interest being charged to the borrower.3. How does each asset provide the necessary functions of lowered transaction costs, reduced risk, and liquidity?

Question 2Given the following information about the closed economy of Brittania, what is the level of investment spending and private savings, and what is the budget balance? What is the relationship among investment spending, private savings, and the budget balance? Is national savings equal to investment spending? There are not government transfers.•GDP = $1,000 million•C = $850 million•Tax Revenue = $50 million•G = $100 million

Question 3• Which of the following are examples of

investment spending, investing in financial assets, or investing in physical assets?▫Rupert Moneybucks buys 100 shares of existing

Coca-Cola stock.▫Rhonda Moviestar spends $10 million to buy a

mansion built in the 1970s.▫Ronald Basketballstar spends $10 million to build a

new mansion with a view of the Pacific Ocean.▫Rawlings builds a new plant to make catcher’s

mitts.▫Russia buys $100 million in U.S. government

bonds.