Readers Question: I trying to find appropriate policies that the Icelandic government could adopt to deal with the country`s substantial current account deficit. Do you know what policies they are using for the moment, and more importantly which policies they should adopt? Related Problems with Iceland Economy Solving UK Current account deficit At the height …
Readers Question. what is the benefit to a country having low personal debt??…apart from fear that people wud default what else? A low level of personal debt has various advantages. Typically saving rates will be higher. This enables more investment in the economy. If banks are lending to consumers for personal debt, it means that, …
An interesting graph showing relationship between the output gap and levels of government borrowing. A negative output gap indicates GDP is below full capacity and there is unemployed resources. Therefore, in a deep recession, like 2009, the output gap will rise. In a boom, we will have a positive output gap as firms struggle to …
A recession is a period of negative economic growth. Falling output leads to higher unemployment, and this rise in unemployment causes a negative multiplier effect. e.g. those made unemployed will spend less causing even less demand in the economy. Thus there are many factors which make it difficult to get out of a recession. What …
UK Inflation Since 2000 Readers Question: How can we have both inflation and deflation in the economy at the same time? (the RPI falling to 0% and CPI rising to 3.2%) Deflation requires a fall in prices. We would need a negative inflation rate (e.g -0.3%) to have deflation Note if the inflation rate fell …
Readers Question: Actually, I would like to know if the current UK’s recession is caused whether economic policies which have been practised or the UK has been affected from outside the country? The recession is caused by a mixture of domestic and international factors. For more detailed explanation see: Economic crisis explained Who is to …
Readers Question: Evaluate policies which a government could adopt in response to falling behind mortgage payments The problems of mortgage defaults are explained here What can the government / monetary authorities do? Cut interest rates. The MPC can cut interest rates as long as inflation is not a problem. However, the government do not set …
Readers Question: How can a smaller government fiscal deficit cause a larger international trade surplus? A smaller fiscal deficit means the government is reducing its borrowing. Therefore tax revenues must be increasing faster than government spending. A trade surplus means that the value of exports is greater than the value of imports. Suppose the government …