Shadow costs – shadow pricing

Shadow costs are the estimated value placed on intangible costs in a project. A shadow cost is an estimated price for an outcome that is not normally sold or given accounting value. For example, if a firm is deciding whether to build a new factory, the actual costs of material and labour will be easy …

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Savings ratio UK

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Definition of Household savings ratio: The percentage of disposable income that is saved. (1) Total savings = Disposable income – Household consumption UK Saving Ratio Latest UK household savings ratio: 2021 = 10% But, by 2021 Q4 the saving ratio had fallen to 6.2% By contrast, the average savings ratio in the past 54 years …

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Economic impact of war

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Putting aside the very real human cost, war has also serious economic costs – damage to infrastructure, a decline in the working population, inflation, shortages, uncertainty, a rise in debt and disruption to normal economic activity. From some perspectives, war can appear to be beneficial in terms of creating demand, employment, innovation and profits for …

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Vaccines and masks as a public good

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A public good has characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. This means that once the good is provided, everybody benefits, and if one person benefits it doesn’t reduce the amount available to others. Public health can be seen as a public good. If you take precautions to remain healthy and not pass on Covid, you benefit …

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Dutch Disease

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The Dutch disease refers to the problems associated with a rapid increase in the production of raw materials (like oil and gas) causing a decline in other sectors of the economy. When the raw materials run out, the economy can be in a worse position than before. – Can the discovery of substantial raw materials …

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Will automation cause unemployment?

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Technological unemployment occurs when the adoption of new technology causes job losses. Automation is a process of using robots, AI and machines to take the place of workers – not just in manufacturing, but increasingly new avenues – even in the service sector. The pace of automation is causing job disruption – with workers – …

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Impact of falling birth rates

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In the past few decades, there has been a dramatic decline in global birth rates, with many developed economies seeing their birth rate fall well below the ‘replacement ratio’ of 2.1 – meaning that their population will be set to decline in future years. Italy gives a stark warning of the impact of a low …

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Difference between economic growth and development

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Readers Question: What is the difference between growth and development?  Can a country experience economic growth without development? In summary Economic growth means an increase in real national income / national output. Economic development means an improvement in the quality of life and living standards, e.g. measures of literacy, life-expectancy and health care. Ceteris paribus, …

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