Short-Term Economic Fluctuations - Output gaps and cyclical unemployment - Potential output and the output gap

3 important questions on Short-Term Economic Fluctuations - Output gaps and cyclical unemployment - Potential output and the output gap

Potential output, also called potential GDP or full-employment output, is:

The amount of output (real GDP) that an economy can produce when using its resources, such as capital and labour, at normal rates, defined as Y*. Potential output is not a fixed number but grows over time, reflecting increases in both the amounts of available capital and labour and their productivity.

Short-term economic fluctuations can be caused by:

  • Changes in the rate of growth of potential output
  • Actual output does not always equal potential output, this difference is the output gap.

A recessionary gap is:

A positive output gap, which occurs when potential output exceeds actual output (Y* > Y)

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