Keynesian economics developed in the 1930s offering a response to the unique challenges of the Great Depression. Keynesian economics involves: Government intervention to stabilise the economic cycle e.g. expansionary fiscal policy – cutting tax and increasing spending. The argument is that governments can speed up economic recovery. Criticisms of Keynesian Economics Borrowing causes higher interest …
Definition of ‘Animal spirits’ – Animal spirits refers to the confidence and the ‘gut instincts’ of businessmen on their future business prospects. It is a term coined by the economist John Maynard Keynes, who explained how the economic cycle could be volatile because of the changing ‘spirits’ of the businessmen involved. “Most, probably, of our …
The 1930s economy was marked by the effects of the great depression. After experiencing a decade of economic stagnation in the 1920s, the UK economy was further hit by the sharp global economic downturn in 1930-31. This lead to higher unemployment and widespread poverty. However, although the great depression caused significant levels of poverty and …
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is responsible for setting interest rates and trying to achieve a target rate of inflation. Until 1997, the government set interest rates and monetary policy. But, it was felt that the government might make bad decisions because they would be influenced by short-term political pressures. Therefore, they …
Definition of Ricardian equivalence This is the idea that consumers anticipate the future so if they receive a tax cut financed by government borrowing they anticipate future taxes will rise. Therefore, their lifetime income remains unchanged and so consumer spending remains unchanged. Similarly, higher government spending, financed by borrowing, will imply lower spending in the …
Readers Question: Discuss the circumstances in which reducing the exchange rate and introducing quotas are effective policies to tackle a trade deficit. The trade deficit occurs when the value of imports is greater than the value of exports. This could reflect a lack of competitiveness or high levels of consumer spending on imports. The trade …