Readers Question: What are the factors that influence the fixing of a minimum wage? The UK’s first National Minimum wage was established in 1999 and was set at £3.60 for those over 21. It was feared by business that a minimum wage would cause unemployment. However, over the period between 1999 – 2007, in the …
Readers Question. Lastly, what effect would a poor unemployment figure (e.g. lower than expected nonfarm payroll numbers) have on a country’s currency? Is it likely to strengthen (due to lower expectations of inflation) or weaken (due to less domestic productivity and higher imports? Poor unemployment figures would probably weaken the currency. If unemployment figures are …
Readers Question: On Jan 2009 I asked a question on the greek current account deficit, the fixed EUR rate, the lack of competitiveness and the debt load and you expanded brilliantly on the dangers of the twin deficits and the deteriorating Greek credit quality. Now I just need to make a comment that all the …
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 …
Can Governments Increase the Rate of Economic Growth? Governments often seek to increase the rate of economic growth. Higher growth rates improve public finances, increase economic welfare and help reduce unemployment. However, it is debatable how much the government can actually increase the rate of economic growth. The greatest potential for increasing economic growth occurs …
Nice work if you can get it Recently, I was in the city of Venice. I enquired about an iconic Gondola ride. – It is just a mere 100 Euros for one hours ride. That certainly sounds like a good monopoly. The market is heavily regulated with the council only giving a very restricted number …
In times of uncertainty, people seek to find a safe investment. But, what are safe investments? Gold is currently over $1,500 May 2011 Gold / Silver. These are typically seen as a good investment and safeguard against inflation. Inflation decreases the value of money, but gold retains its value. With experiments in quantitative easing, there …
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 …