Spain has had one of the highest persistent rates of unemployment in the EU for several years. However, since the credit crunch and housing bubble burst in 2008, unemployment has spiked to over 4.9 million. [1. BBC Link] The problem is more acute amongst young workers. More than 45% of young Spanish are out of …
Source: OECD The shaded area represents the range of statistics amongst OECD countries from highest to lowest. The OECD have recently published a report on the UK economy. These graphs illustrate how the UK is performing against other OECD Countries. Economic Growth (GDP index) During 2008, the UK’s decline in GDP was similar to the …
Note: Bicycles left hand side. Cars right hand side Note: Scale on right hand side doesn’t start at 0, therefore drop in spending on cars looks more pronounced than it actually is. 2009 We spent £1.4bn on new bikes and £35bn on cars. [1. Cycle Stats, Cycling Info, ONS] An interesting statistic to show the …
The Irish economy is in crisis because: Irish Banks lost substantial sums in the credit bubble and bust, this meant the Irish government had to bail them out. After several years of high growth, the Irish economy went into recession. Recent austerity measures (spending cuts) have caused a double dip recession and the current turmoil …
Q. Why does Japanese Yen appreciate after Earthquake and Tsunami? Japan has suffered a tragic natural disaster. Aside from the very real human tragedies, it will have an adverse economic impact. Yet, since the crisis, the Japanese Yen has appreciated in value. Why has the Yen appreciated when perhaps you may have expected the opposite? …
Source: ONS This graph shows how inflation rates for different categories can vary enormously. Firstly, gas and electricity prices are by far the most volatile. This reflects the volatile nature of supply, it also reflects the fact demand and supply are inelastic. See: volatile food prices for the economic theory behind this volatility. Despite the …
Though the UK economy may appear very weak to British consumers who are facing tax rises and spending cuts, there are various reasons which explain why sterling has recently been stronger and could continue its upward movement. Prospect of Higher Interest rates. With one of the highest inflation rates in Europe, and higher than US, …
In recent years, the gap between average female wages and men’s wages have decreased, however, for various reasons, men’s pay is still higher than women. Reasons for Gender Pay Gap Career breaks to have children (Studies have shown that women without children have a much smaller pay gap than women who take time off work …