A problem that the Fed faces when it attempts to control the money supply is that:
a. the 100-percent-reserve banking system in the U.S. makes it difficult for the Fed to carry out its monetary policy.
b. the Fed has to get the approval of the U.S. Treasury Department whenever it uses any of its monetary policy tools.
c. the Fed does not have a tool that it can use to change the money supply by either a small amount or a large amount.
d. the Fed does not control the amount of money that households choose to hold as deposits in banks.
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Assume that banks do not hold excess reserves and that households do not hold currency, so the only form of money is demand deposits. To simplify the analysis, suppose the banking system has total reserves of $400. Determine the money multiplier and the money supply for each reserve requirement listed in the following table.
| Reserve Requirement | Simple Money Multiplier | Money Supply |
|---|---|---|
| (Percent) | (Dollars) | |
| 20 | ||
| 10 |
A higher reserve requirement is associated with a money supply.
Suppose the Federal Reserve wants to increase the money supply by $200. Again, you can assume that banks do not hold excess reserves and that households do not hold currency. If the reserve requirement is 10%, the Fed will use open-market operations to worth of U.S. government bonds.
Now, suppose that, rather than immediately lending out all excess reserves, banks begin holding some excess reserves due to uncertain economic conditions. Specifically, banks increase the percentage of deposits held as reserves from 10% to 25%. This increase in the reserve ratio causes the money multiplier to to . Under these conditions, the Fed would need to worth of U.S. government bonds in order to increase the money supply by $200.
Which of the following statements help to explain why, in the real world, the Fed cannot precisely control the money supply? Check all that apply.
- The Fed cannot control the amount of money that households choose to hold as currency.
- The Fed cannot prevent banks from lending out required reserves.
- The Fed cannot control whether and to what extent banks hold excess reserves.
