Evolutionary economics is a branch of economics which views the economy through a dynamic model of constant change, adaptation, chaos and revival. Evolutionary economics was coined by radical economist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929). Veblen was interested in psychological factors that often gave better explanations for economic behaviour than traditional rational choice theory. For example, Veblen noted …
Readers Question: In the U.S. I have noticed that most restaurants and fast food places have window signs advertising for workers. Would these minimum wage workers, as a collective, be considered a monopsony or a monopoly? To answer your question, these minimum wage workers would be considered neither a monopoly or monopsony. The fact that …
There was a global recession in 1974, 1980-81, 1991-92 and 2007. Readers Question: In this period of recession, is gold a safe investment? Gold is traditionally seen as a safe investment, especially during a time of financial uncertainty, high inflation, depreciating exchange rates and economic recession. The main reason is that gold has an intrinsic …
A look at the economic and social impact of Mrs Thatcher’s economic policies. Summary of Thatcher’s Economic policies Belief in the desirability of free markets over government intervention. E.g. pursuing policies of privatisation and deregulation. The pursuit of supply-side policies to increase efficiency and productivity. Reducing the power of trades unions and increased labour …
A recession is a period of negative economic growth – a fall in output accompanied by rising unemployment. Recessions tend to occur in cycles of 8-10 years, though there is no hard and fast rule. Attempting to predict a recession by the number of years is not guaranteed to work. Recessions in UK Source: ONS …
The network effect occurs when a good or service becomes more valuable as more people use it. Network effect explained If you own a telephone, but no one else does, the good is of no value. As more people join the telephone network, the more valuable the telephone becomes to yourself. If you buy a …
The Euro is the single European countries adopted by 18/28 EU countries. (though not the UK). It is the second-largest reserve currency in the world after the US Dollar. Euro notes and coins came into circulation on January 1st, 2002. It was hoped that the Euro would confer many benefits on member countries. 1. Lower …
The marginal efficiency of capital displays the expected rate of return on investment, at a particular given time. The marginal efficiency of capital is compared to the rate of interest. Keynes described the marginal efficiency of capital as: “The marginal efficiency of capital is equal to that rate of discount which would make the present …