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Phillips Curve – Short-Run vs Long-Run Trade-off

HL Content
Macroeconomics

This diagram illustrates the short-run and long-run Phillips Curve, showing the relationship between inflation and unemployment.

Diagram
Phillips Curve – Short-Run vs Long-Run Trade-off
Curves and Elements

srpc1

SRPC1: Initial short-run Phillips Curve showing inverse inflation-unemployment trade-off.

srpc2

SRPC2: New short-run Phillips Curve after expectations adjust (e.g., following disinflation policies).

lrpc

LRPC: Long-run Phillips Curve — vertical at the natural rate of unemployment (NRU).

nru

NRU: Natural Rate of Unemployment — the unemployment level where inflation is stable.

Key Explanations
1

The short-run Phillips Curve (SRPC) shows an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment — lower unemployment can be achieved at the cost of higher inflation, and vice versa.

2

SRPC1 represents the initial trade-off, while SRPC2 shows the effect of lower inflation expectations due to successful disinflation policies.

3

The Long-Run Phillips Curve (LRPC) is vertical at the natural rate of unemployment (NRU), indicating that in the long run, there's no trade-off between inflation and unemployment.

4

Attempts to maintain unemployment below the NRU will lead only to accelerating inflation without reducing unemployment in the long term.

5

This framework supports monetarist views that inflation is primarily a monetary phenomenon and long-term policy should aim to reduce inflation expectations.

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