Monetary Policy vs. Fiscal Policy: What's the Difference?

Monetary policy and fiscal policy refer to the two most widely recognized tools used to influence a nation's economic activity. Monetary policy is primarily concerned with the management of interest rates and the total supply of money in circulation and is generally carried out by central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve. Fiscal policy is a collective term for the taxing and spending actions of governments. In the United States, the national fiscal policy is determined by the executive and legislative branches of the government. 

Central banks typically have used monetary policy to either stimulate an economy or to check its growth. By incentivizing individuals and businesses to borrow and spend, monetary policy aims to spur economic activity. Conversely, by restricting spending and incentivizing savings, monetary policy can act as a brake on inflation and other issues associated with an overheated economy.

The Federal Reserve, also known as the "Fed," frequently has used three different policy tools to influence the economy: opening market operations, changing reserve requirements for banks, and setting the discount rate. Open market operations are carried out on a daily basis when the Fed buys and sells U.S. government bonds to either inject money into the economy or pull money out of circulation. By setting the reserve ratio, or the percentage of deposits that banks are required to keep in reserve, the Fed directly influences the amount of money created when banks make loans. The Fed also can target changes in the discount rate (the interest rate it charges on loans it makes to financial institutions), which is intended to impact short-term interest rates across the entire economy.

Monetary policy is more of a blunt tool in terms of expanding and contracting the money supply to influence inflation and growth and it has less impact on the real economy. For example, the Fed was aggressive during the Great Depression. Its actions prevented deflation and economic collapse but did not generate significant economic growth to reverse the lost output and jobs.

Expansionary monetary policy can have limited effects on growth by increasing asset prices and lowering the costs of borrowing, making companies more profitable.

Generally speaking, the aim of most government fiscal policies is to target the total level of spending, the total composition of spending, or both in an economy. The two most widely used means of affecting fiscal policy are changes in government spending policies or in government tax policies.

If a government believes there is not enough business activity in an economy, it can increase the amount of money it spends, often referred to as stimulus spending. If there are not enough tax receipts to pay for the spending increases, governments borrow money by issuing debt securities such as government bonds and, in the process, accumulate debt. This is referred to as deficit spending.

By increasing taxes, governments pull money out of the economy and slow business activity. Typically, fiscal policy is used when the government seeks to stimulate the economy. It might lower taxes or offer tax rebates in an effort to encourage economic growth. Influencing economic outcomes via fiscal policy is one of the core tenets of Keynesian economics.

When a government spends money or changes tax policy, it must choose where to spend or what to tax. In doing so, government fiscal policy can target specific communities, industries, investments, or commodities to either favor or discourage production—sometimes, its actions are based on considerations that are not entirely economic. For this reason, fiscal policy often is hotly debated among economists and political observers.

Essentially, it is targeting aggregate demand. Companies also benefit as they see increased revenues. However, if the economy is near full capacity, expansionary fiscal policy risks sparking inflation. This inflation eats away at the margins of certain corporations in competitive industries that may not be able to easily pass on costs to customers; it also eats away at the funds of people on a fixed income.