Difference Between Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy

Definition of Fiscal Policy

When the government of a country employs its tax revenue and expenditure policies to influence the overall demand and supply for commodities and services in the nation’s economy is known as Fiscal Policy. It is a strategy used by the government to maintain the equilibrium between government receipts through various sources and spending over different projects. The fiscal policy of a country is announced by the finance minister through budget every year.

If the revenue exceeds expenditure, then this situation is known as fiscal surplus, whereas if the expenditure is greater than the revenue, it is known as the fiscal deficit. The main objective of the fiscal policy is to bring stability, reduce unemployment and growth of the economy. The instruments used in the Fiscal Policy are the level of taxation & its composition and expenditure on various projects. There are two types of fiscal policy, they are:

• Expansionary Fiscal Policy: The policy in which the government minimises taxes and increase public spending.
• Contractionary Fiscal Policy: The policy in which the government increases taxes and reduce public expenditure.

Definition of Monetary Policy

Monetary Policy is a strategy used by the Central Bank to control and regulate the money supply in an economy. It is also known as credit policy. In India, the Reserve Bank of India looks after the circulation of money in the economy.

There are two types of monetary policies, i.e. expansionary and contractionary. The policy in which the money supply is increased along with minimization of interest rates is known as Expansionary Monetary Policy. On the other hand, if there is a decrease in money supply and rise in interest rates, that policy is regarded as Contractionary Monetary Policy.

The primary purposes of the monetary policy include bringing price stability, controlling inflation, strengthening the banking system, economic growth, etc. The monetary policy focuses on all the matters which have an influence on the composition of money, circulation of credit, interest rate structure. The measures adopted by the apex bank to control credit in the economy are broadly classified into two categories:

• General Measures (Quantitative Measures):
  • Bank Rate
  • Reserve Requirements i.e. CRR, SLR, etc.
  • Repo Rate Reverse Repo Rate
  • Open market operations
• Selective Measures (Qualitative Measures):
  • Credit Regulation
  • Moral persuasion
  • Direct Action
  • Issue of directives