At this time of the year, my students are preparing for their exams with a mixture of trepidation, confidence, resignation, hope or fear. The best way to prepare is to simply do one thing at a time. Concentrate on making small improvements and importantly keep practising past papers. Students who just do a bit of …
GDP at chained volume measure is a series of GDP statistics adjusted for the effect of inflation to give a measure of ‘real GDP’. Chained volume GDP statistics are calculated by measuring output using the price level of the preceding year and then linking the statistics to give a reflection of actual output changes and …
A look at different aspects of UK economic history, concentrating on the different decades of the Twenty and Twenty-First Century. Includes histories of particular sectors, such as housing and the coal industry. The economy of the 1920s – a legacy of war debt, deflation and life under the gold standard The economy of the 1930s …
In recent years, the UK has seen a more flexible labour market. One phenomena is the growth in self-employed contractors. This category of workers have different rights to employees. Self-employment can be attractive to workers seeking greater flexibility. But, there is also concern firms are using the categorisation of self-employment as a bogus method to …
Readers question: Will a sustained recovery in the UK lead to inflation? A sustained economic recovery could lead to inflation. If economic growth is above the long run trend rate for a prolonged period, if demand grows faster than productivity, then in that scenario we are likely to see rising inflation (rise in the cost …
At different times there have been campaigns to ‘Buy British’ – patriotic efforts to support the economy. The campaigns seem quite popular, but usually fade out, having made little difference to major macro-economic variables. It is a form of economic nationalism and similar campaigns can be seen in many different countries. Buy British campaigns can …
In 1972, the UK raised the school leaving age to 16. Now there are plans to raise the school leaving age to 18. This means people under 18, would either have to stay in school or receive some kind of vocational training. Benefits of Raising the School Leaving Age Helps to tackle youth unemployment. In …
The economic cycle plays an important role in determining the level of government borrowing, especially in the short run. Essentially, higher economic growth leads to lower government borrowing, but a recession will increase government borrowing. Over the past few years (2008-12) – the idea that an economic downturn increases government borrowing is probably one of …