A broader measure of unemployment that includes discouraged and underused workers has fallen even further (see chart).The Federal Reserve has been toying for months with plans for a new round of "quantitative easing"—the purchase of bonds with newly created money as a way of stimulating demand.
Infrastructure spending, for instance, can have a powerful impact by stimulating demand and creating jobs but, like much else in the economy, it often takes years to work.
The central bank's monetary policy committee voted to leave the benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent and to keep its program for asset purchases, enacted as an unorthodox means of stimulating demand in early 2009, at £200 billion, or $322 billion.
The British central bank's monetary policy committee voted to leave its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent, where it has been since March, and to keep its program for asset purchases, enacted as an unorthodox means of stimulating demand, at £200 billion ($318.5 billion).
The act had broad support from economists, who considered it essential for stimulating demand during a financial collapse that was, by some measures, more alarming than the crisis that initiated the Great Depression.
While tax incentives for households like payroll and child tax credit might be well-targeted at the group with high propensity to spend, tax cuts in general will be less effective in stimulating demand, given a secular rise in the savings rate expected over the next few years.
Those against them (some conservation charities and some academics in the field) argue that any sale of ivory will lead to an increase in poaching by stimulating demand, and that little of the money raised actually goes to elephants.Overall, the CITES trade ban seems to have worked pretty well for elephants.
That's a valid point, but innovation is one means of stimulating demand.
"We've got a lot of experience over 37 years of lowering fares and stimulating demand," Mr. Kelly said.
In a rational world, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T would thank Netflix for stimulating demand for their service.
And by stimulating demand, cheaper electricity will bring the risk of rationing a bit closer.
