The Balances Mechanics (German : Saldenmechanik; from balances of bookkeeping respectively the credit system and mechanics to characterize the strict universal identities) is a work and mean of economics, comparable with Stock-Flow Consistent Modelling. Statements of Balances Mechanics are not based on assumptions and preconditions of a model but are of trivial arithmetic nature, usually shaped as equation and universal without restrictions. Balances Mechanics were developed by Wolfgang Stützel and published in his books Paradoxa der Geld- und Konkurrenzwirtschaft(Paradoxes of Competition-Based Monetary Economies) and Volkswirtschaftliche Saldenmechanik(Balances Mechanics of Economics). [1]
Balances Mechanics deals with interrelations, the validity of which – contrary to most economics postulates – does not depend on assumptions about human behaviour. [3] Balances Mechanics allows to put these frequently necessary assumptions of economic theories and postulates onto a logic fundament of overall economics thinking (Size Mechanics). Previously false conclusions in pricing theory, theory of money, and trade cycle theory, resulting from single economy thinking (partial sentence) are overcome by a correct micro foundation and introduction of the real existing credit economy to the modeling (global sentence, size mechanics/relational sentence). [4]
For example, from the view of the single economy experience it seems to be absolutely logical that rising expenses of a national economy go along with a rising need for medium of exchange in terms of quantity theory. From the view of Balances Mechanics one recognizes, with regard to the counter entry, that growing expenses in overall economy mean growing revenues as well and that, for instance, at payment lock step there is no correlation at all between overall sales volume and need for medium of exchange. [5]
Beside the mechanics of the real identities, in particular of buy surplus and sales surplus, it is just the insight from Balances Mechanics thinking that shows many issues, which commonly and with levity are viewed as connected, are not connected mechanically at all. Stützel uses the term "problem plaitings" (German : "Problemverschlingungen") when e.g. the equilibrium of the plans for changes of money assets are identified as invalid with the lock step of those changes and the steady state of the overall expenses or the capital stock. Similar applies to Balances Mechanics of – strictly viewed as separated – operations of money assets and operations of medium of exchange, which can only enable a self-consistent clarification of the interrelations between money system and real economy by using a clear distinction. [6]
Balances Mechanics thus uses the interrelations of real identities and reveals serious fallacies of model making from wrongly assumed identities (ex ante equilibrium conditions/ex post identity equations). [7] [8]
Balances Mechanics considers the mechanics of private credit creation and recognizes the credit mechanics, which comes from Otto Pfleiderer and Wilhelm Lautenbach. [9] (Wolfgang Stützel often spoke of the "Lautenbachsche Kreditmechanik").
From the mechanics of giving a loan it becomes obvious: Once a debtor uses its credit entry, [10] which corresponds to a liability, as payment for a purchase at the market, by Balances Mechanics this creates a surplus of the debtors expenses over its revenues. With that the remainder of the economy has a surplus of revenues over expenses.
This business relationship (temporarily) created new fiat money (if the seller does not use the received money to pay back own bank liabilities). [11] and in tendency leads to national economy value added [12] (in a phase of growing economy only).
This relativises common statements by classic theories which claim that so called capital collector locations would loan deposits from savers to debtors. Because the surplus of expenses of a debtor enables additional property to the economy (lowering liabilities, increasing monetary property) it is valid to say , in no case the opposite. [13]
Stützel distinguishes the totality of all economic entities (overall economy) and groups of economic entities. A group is defined as the totality of all economic entities minus at least one economic entity.
Thereby a group also can be a single economic entity. Each group has a complementary group, so that the sum of group plus complementary group gives the overall economy.
Examples for groups are all private households of a national economy or all companies of a national economy. The group of private economic entities (private sector) is the sum of all companies and all private households.
A national economy is a group as well. It is the sum of all economic entities of a nation (following the inland concept, these are all economic entities inside a state territorium; following the inhabitant concept, these are all economic entities of same nationality).
The complementary group to the sector of private households are all not-households (state, companies, foreign countries). The complementary group of a national economy are all other national economies, the foreign country sector.
So groups can be defined as needed and for a certain purpose.
Three sentences about the relationship of groups and overall economy can be set:
When a partial sentence is applied to the totality of economic entities then that is a fallacy of composition.
Example:
This example is an application of the paradox of competition (Konkurrenzparadoxon).
For a single economic entity and groups of economic entities the partial sentence is valid, that the entities can rise their net-money assets by surplus of revenues (partial sentence):
Furthermore, it is valid that the expense of an economic entity A is the revenue of an economic entity B:
A purchase of a good by a customer leads to a revenue to the seller, the wage payment of an employer leads to the revenue of a worker and so on. Because every expense faces a revenue (and every revenue faces an expense) the sum of all expenses must be the sum of all revenues:
From that the global sentence derives that the aggregate expense-revenue-balance of a closed aggregate economy equals zero (current account/performance record). This is valid for the global economy and closed national economies. Open national economies are groups because they can have a current account balance value. For them the partial sentence is valid that their net money assets can differ from zero. In addition, it is valid that every debt claim of an economic entity corresponds to a liability of an other economic entity, so that the sum of all claims necessarily corresponds to the sum of all liabilities:
From that comes the global sentence that the aggregate net financial assets of a closed economy (all claims minus all liabilities) necessarily is Zero. The same is valid for changes of claims and liabilities:
Here the Global Sentence is: The totality of economic entities cannot rise or lower their overall net money assets.
After all the Size Mechanics shows the conditions which make the partial sentence valid that individuals and groups can change their net money assets by expense-revenue-balances:
Every economic entity (individuals, private households, companies, states, national economies etc.) has a balance sheet which consists of assets (activa) and liabilities (passiva). On the assets side there is the tangible assets (examples: machines, buildings, etc.) and the accounts receivable (examples: money, shares, bonds, etc.). On the liabilities side there are the liabilities and the net worth (also called equity).
So it is valid for each economic entity:
Claims minus liabilities equals net money assets:
The claims can be divided into medium of exchange and other claims:
Generally all "other claims" can be converted into a medium of exchange by monetization. Debt claims against business banks are monetized claims because they commonly are accepted as fiat money as medium of exchange.
The most essential application field of Balances Mechanics in economics is the analysis of changes in net financial assets. Net financial assets is the margin between claims and liabilities and changes with the expense-revenue-balances. In contrast to that, the money creation of the bank system generates medium of exchange against debt (in which an accurate demarcation of medium of exchange as part of the monetary assets is not possible).
Revenue surpluses of a group are only possible if the complementary group enables an expense surplus. Economic relationships always are two-sided, because every expense comes up to a revenue and every debt to a claim. If an economic entity gains more than it spends, the complementary group must spend more than it gains:
If individual economic entities cut their expenses, so that their expenses are lower than their revenues the global sentence is as follows:
At each economy subject (in the meaning of every individual) revenues and expenses can differ, for all economy subjects (in the meaning of all together) revenues and expenses compulsorily must be equal. [15]
For example, it counts:
Surplus of the private households (financial saving) = expenses surplus of the companies + expenses surplus of the state (state deficit) + expenses surplus of foreign countries (trade balance).
The overall national accounts includes the revenues and expenses surplus (funding balances) of the individual sectors of the national economy (including the foreign sector) and thus it appears: the sum of funding balances of all individual sectors (difference between revenues and expenses) results to Zero. [16]
Action Concurrency refers to the revenues and expenses balances of a group of agents in any period and describes their similarity in actions at the same time. Stützel defines Action Concurrency as follows:
"Action Concurrency occurs, when - by accidence - the same that applies to the overall economy, applies to individual agents, too" [17]
For example, if revenues would be fully spent (without delay) in favor of other agents and all other agents act the same way (strict revenue-expense concurrency), then the demand for credit of each of the agents would be zero. According to the Size Mechanics theorem, credit demand occurs only if the complementary group generates savings through spending less than is earned:
"Credit demand is a function of the deviation from expenses concurrency, not a function of the level of expenses." [18]
Balances Mechanics itself is no trade cycle theory, but it allows the accurate micro founding of the behaviour assumptions needed.
At buyers markets the plans for consumption and investment determine the overall expenses, and with that the overall revenues and the economic cycle. Balances Mechanics allows, with the modeling of the real existing credit economy instead of an imaginary barter economy, to picture the influences of the financial system on the expenses plans.
The starting point is the balance of the individual economies' and the state's plans for building monetary assets. If the balance of the plans for building money assets (plans for sales surplus) has a surplus over the plans for money assets reduction (plans for buy surplus) this generates a negative momentum. As a consequence, economic actors overall -as expected- make less expenses in the following periods when they reduce money assets unplanned and make more expenses in the opposite case when their money assets increase by planning.
This momentum is reinforced by the multiplier which results from the average willingness of the economic actors to accept unplanned changes of their money assets.
Wolfgang Stützel describes a theoretical edge case where the state at all costs wants to enforce a buildup of own money assets, but where no private actor wants to accept a reduction of its money assets: "Economy would instantly stand still." He goes on: "In this case the Keynes-multiplier would be negative and of infinite number. Because the sum of plans to heighten money assets would at any revenue level exceed the concurrent plans for reducing money assets." [19]
Balances Mechanics allows from the ex-post-analysis of the funding balances of the macroeconomic accounting (national accounts) as well as from the Balances Mechanics of national debt and in connection with only a few behavioral assumptions, to give very specific policy recommendations in order to limit national debt.
In 2002 Ewald Nowotny for instance explained: "Significant for economy politics thereby is the compulsory Balances Mechanics relationship, that a policy aiming at reducing budget deficits (funding consolidation) can only be successful when it succeeds in reducing the financial surplus of the private households (e.g. by higher private consumption) and/or in rising the debt willingness of companies (for instance, by investments) and/or in improving the trade balance (for example, by additional export)." [20]
The historical cost of an asset at the time it is acquired or created is the value of the costs incurred in acquiring or creating the asset, comprising the consideration paid to acquire or create the asset plus transaction costs. Historical cost accounting involves reporting assets and liabilities at their historical costs, which are not updated for changes in the items' values. Consequently, the amounts reported for these balance sheet items often differ from their current economic or market values.
Double-entry bookkeeping, also known as double-entry accounting, is a method of bookkeeping that relies on a two-sided accounting entry to maintain financial information. Every entry to an account requires a corresponding and opposite entry to a different account. The double-entry system has two equal and corresponding sides, known as debit and credit; this is based on the fundamental accounting principle that for every debit, there must be an equal and opposite credit. A transaction in double-entry bookkeeping always affects at least two accounts, always includes at least one debit and one credit, and always has total debits and total credits that are equal. The purpose of double-entry bookkeeping is to allow the detection of financial errors and fraud.
An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture, or an automobile is often referred to as an expense. An expense is a cost that is "paid" or "remitted", usually in exchange for something of value. Something that seems to cost a great deal is "expensive". Something that seems to cost little is "inexpensive". "Expenses of the table" are expenses for dining, refreshments, a feast, etc.
Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit, the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget of a government, private company, or individual. A central point of controversy in economics, government deficit spending was first identified as a necessary economic tool by John Maynard Keynes in the wake of the Great Depression.
Debits and credits in double-entry bookkeeping are entries made in account ledgers to record changes in value resulting from business transactions. A debit entry in an account represents a transfer of value to that account, and a credit entry represents a transfer from the account. Each transaction transfers value from credited accounts to debited accounts. For example, a tenant who writes a rent cheque to a landlord would enter a credit for the bank account on which the cheque is drawn, and a debit in a rent expense account. Similarly, the landlord would enter a credit in the rent income account associated with the tenant and a debit for the bank account where the cheque is deposited.
In macroeconomics and international finance, a country's current account records the value of exports and imports of both goods and services and international transfers of capital. It is one of the two components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. Current account measures the nation's earnings and spendings abroad and it consists of the balance of trade, net primary income or factor income and net unilateral transfers, that have taken place over a given period of time. The current account balance is one of two major measures of a country's foreign trade. A current account surplus indicates that the value of a country's net foreign assets grew over the period in question, and a current account deficit indicates that it shrank. Both government and private payments are included in the calculation. It is called the current account because goods and services are generally consumed in the current period.
In bookkeeping, an account refers to assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and equity, as represented by individual ledger pages, to which changes in value are chronologically recorded with debit and credit entries. These entries, referred to as postings, become part of a book of final entry or ledger. Examples of common financial accounts are sales, accountsreceivable, mortgages, loans, PP&E, common stock, sales, services, wages and payroll.
In economics, a country's national saving is the sum of private and public saving. It equals a nation's income minus consumption and the government spending.
Working capital (WC) is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organisation, or other entity, including governmental entities. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Gross working capital is equal to current assets. Working capital is calculated as current assets minus current liabilities. If current assets are less than current liabilities, an entity has a working capital deficiency, also called a working capital deficit and negative working capital.
A chart of accounts (COA) is a list of financial accounts and reference numbers, grouped into categories, such as assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses, and used for recording transactions in the organization's general ledger. Accounts may be associated with an identifier and a caption or header and are coded by account type. In computerized accounting systems with computable quantity accounting, the accounts can have a quantity measure definition. Account numbers may consist of numerical, alphabetic, or alpha-numeric characters, although in many computerized environments, like the SIE format, only numerical identifiers are allowed. The structure and headings of accounts should assist in consistent posting of transactions. Each nominal ledger account is unique, which allows its ledger to be located. The accounts are typically arranged in the order of the customary appearance of accounts in the financial statements: balance sheet accounts followed by profit and loss accounts.
The paradox of thrift is a paradox of economics. The paradox states that an increase in autonomous saving leads to a decrease in aggregate demand and thus a decrease in gross output which will in turn lower total saving. The paradox is, narrowly speaking, that total saving may fall because of individuals' attempts to increase their saving, and, broadly speaking, that increase in saving may be harmful to an economy. The paradox of thrift is an example of the fallacy of composition, the idea that what is true of the parts must always be true of the whole. The narrow claim transparently contradicts the fallacy, and the broad one does so by implication, because while individual thrift is generally averred to be good for the individual, the paradox of thrift holds that collective thrift may be bad for the economy.
Fund accounting is an accounting system for recording resources whose use has been limited by the donor, grant authority, governing agency, or other individuals or organisations or by law. It emphasizes accountability rather than profitability, and is used by nonprofit organizations and by governments. In this method, a fund consists of a self-balancing set of accounts and each are reported as either unrestricted, temporarily restricted or permanently restricted based on the provider-imposed restrictions.
In accounting, finance and economics, an accounting identity is an equality that must be true regardless of the value of its variables, or a statement that by definition must be true. Where an accounting identity applies, any deviation from numerical equality signifies an error in formulation, calculation or measurement.
In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can be converted into cash . The balance sheet of a firm records the monetary value of the assets owned by that firm. It covers money and other valuables belonging to an individual or to a business. Total assets can also be called the balance sheet total.
Dr. Wilhelm Lautenbach was a German economist and financial expert who served as a consultant for financial matters in the Ministry of Economics during the 1930s. He primarily focused on currency issues, the German banking crisis, the impact of reparations payments, and the prevalent mass unemployment of the time.
The sectoral balances are a sectoral analysis framework for macroeconomic analysis of national economies developed by British economist Wynne Godley.
Wolfgang Stützel was a German economist and professor of economics at the Saarland University, Germany. From 1966 to 1968 he was member of the German Council of Economic Experts.
Paradox of competition in economics names a model of a situation where measures, which offer a competitive advantage to an individual economic entity, lead to nullification of advantage if all others behave in the same way. In some cases the finite state is even more disadvantageous for everybody than before. The term Paradox of competition was coined by German economist Wolfgang Stützel. It is about a case of a rationality trap.
Heiner Flassbeck is a German economist and public intellectual. From 1998 to 1999 he was a State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Finance where he also advised former finance minister Oskar Lafontaine on a reform of the European Monetary System. He became the Chief of Macroeconomics and Development of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva in January 2003, a position that he held until resigning at the end of 2012 due to his age.