ECONOMICS (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -A contractionary policy is a tool used to reduce government spending or the rate of monetary expansion by a central bank to combat rising inflation. The main contractionary policies employed by the United States include raising interest rates, increasing bank reserve requirements, and selling government securities.

Detailed explanation-2: -When GDP in a nation is growing too fast, causing inflation to increase beyond a desirable rate of 2%, central banks will implement a contractionary monetary policy. The Federal Reserve, or any central bank, has three primary tools to reduce the money supply.

Detailed explanation-3: -Note that the goal of contractionary monetary policy is to decrease the rate of demand for goods and services, not to stop it. So, higher interest rates through contractionary policy can be used to dampen inflation and move the economy back to the price stability component of the dual mandate.