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Macro Economics
Notes Net Investment: gross investment minus replacement investment.
Ex-ante Investment: investment which is intended or planned.
Ex-post Investment: actual or realised investment.
Autonomous Investment: investment taken generally for social welfare. It is independent
of income, output or profit.
Induced Investment: investment induced by a change in level of income or output.
Private business investment is often divided into two categories:
Autonomous investment
Induced investment
Investment which is brought about by any changes in the level of income (i.e., GNI) or output
(i.e., GNP) is called induced investment. However, major portion of private investment does not
depend on national income or output.
Example: Suppose a new invention of 3D television becomes popular. It is quite likely
that business firms will make investment in developing the new product even if there had been
no prior change in national or per capita income.
This investment which is independent of national income or its rate of change is called autonomous
investment.
!
Caution Thus investment which depends on national income or its rate of change is called
induced investment. On the other hand, investment which depends on all other variables
except national income is called autonomous or income independent investment.
Notes In his income and employment theory, JM Keynes considered only autonomous
investment. He ignored induced investment because he was concerned with the economic
problems of depreciation. During depression national income tends to fall steadily.
Therefore induced investment is unlikely to occur.
However in 1917, J.M. Clark developed the famous acceleration principle on the basis of
the concept of induced investment.
Self Assessment
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Investment is a ..................... variable.
(a) Stock
(b) Flow
(c) Stable
(d) Steady
2. ..................... investment is the total addition to the capital stock.
(a) Gross
(b) Net
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