In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxation) and expenditure (spending) to influence the economy. The two main instruments of fiscal policy are government taxation and expenditure. Changes in the level and composition of taxation and government spending can affect the following variables in the economy:
- Aggregate demand and the level of economic activity;
- The pattern of resource allocation;
- The distribution of income.
Fiscal policy refers to the use of the government budget to influence economic activity.
Read more about Fiscal Policy: Stances of Fiscal Policy, Economic Effects of Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Straitjacket
Famous quotes containing the word policy:
“Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality,—that it never secures any moral right, but considers merely what is expedient? chooses the available candidate,—who is invariably the devil,—and what right have his constituents to be surprised, because the devil does not behave like an angel of light? What is wanted is men, not of policy, but of probity,—who recognize a higher law than the Constitution, or the decision of the majority.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)