Readers question: Firstly, I wholeheartedly praise the magnificent work done by you in exhibiting economic knowledge and demystifying it to us, the mediocre audience. I seriously question one fact that you presented about capitalism and how it “inevitably causes monopoly”. I grew really surprised and perplexed the moment I read that in “The problems of …
Interest rates have been cut to a record low of 0.25% – essentially due to grim economic news from the short-run demand side shock of Brexit. Economic theory states that in normal circumstances, lower interest rates should boost aggregate demand (AD). To give a quick recap, lower interest rates should in theory: Reduce the incentive …
Wind farms seek to offer an environmentally sustainable source of energy that will help reduce our dependence on non-renewal fossil fuels. However, this clean and safe source of energy is controversial with many opposed to their use, often on grounds of aesthetics or lack of efficiency. This looks at pros and cons of wind farms. …
Readers Question: To what extent does the kinked demand curve model explain price rigidity in oligopoly? Often prices appear to be relatively stable in oligopolistic markets. There are different models to explain periods of price stability. The most predominant one being the kinked demand curve model, though this has received substantial criticism and economists have …
National debt is financed by selling government bonds to the private sector. Banks, pension funds and individuals all buy bonds in return for an interest on the bond. In some circumstances, debt can be financed by the Central Bank printing money and buying bonds itself. Responding to a comment on UK National Debt, “The interest …
Cherry picking of data means we look for particular data and statistics that help to illustrate our point of view. It can also mean we present data in a certain way which is more favourable to creating the impression we want. Even the same statistic can be presented in different ways to give a very …
How to judge George Osborne’s and David Cameron’s economic record since May 2010? They inherited an economy recovering from a deep recession, high unemployment and large budget deficit. It was a difficult economic circumstance, but at the same time you might expect a strong economic recovery as there was much unused capacity and potential for …
As a general rule, I try to avoid politics. But, this summer has not been your typical British summer. Yes, the weather has been typically wet and miserable, but the political and economic climate has changed at a speed, not even found in a Jeffrey Archer novel. I started the referendum campaign a somewhat reluctant …