Readers Question: I’d like to ask you about routine ways (apart from so called “printing new money”) by which the total volume of money in the economy grows. The money supply measures the stock of money in the economy. A narrow definition of money (M0) includes the stock of notes/coins and operational deposits at Bank …
Stop-go policies refer to macroeconomic policies which result in economic boom or recession. To manage the economy, the government can change monetary and/or fiscal policy, but the danger is that they might over-react and the economy can go from very fast ‘unsustainable growth’ to very slow/negative growth. Stop-go policies may be linked to the ‘political …
Economics is a broad subject concerned with the optimal distribution of resources in society. Within the subject, there are several different branches which focus on different aspects. Also, there are different schools of thought which generally have different views on aspects of economics. The first way to split economics is microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics – …
There is no absolutely agreed definition to a depression. But I would define a depression as A deep and long-lasting period of negative economic growth, with output falling for at least 12 months and GDP falling by over 10%. A depression means the economy experiences a significant fall in output, higher unemployment and disruption to …
One of the main issues in economics is the extent to which the government should intervene in the economy. Free market economists argue that government intervention should be strictly limited as government intervention tends to cause an inefficient allocation of resources. However, others argue there is a strong case for government intervention in different fields, …
The world economy is already entering a very deep recession, with GDP falling by an estimated 20-25%. Unemployment will rise very fast as large parts of the economy close down. An optimistic assessment is that the economic shock will be short-term, policymakers are responding with as much monetary and fiscal help as they can, and …
In a recession, fiscal policy and monetary policy can, in theory, be used to increase aggregate demand and boost economic growth. However, in practice, there can be many difficulties with preventing a recession. If the world economy was to get close to recession in 2020, could policymakers act decisively to prevent a recession? Factors …
The economic cycle plays an important role in macroeconomics. Typically every 8-10 years, there is a recession (fall in output) or at least an economic downturn. Recessions tend to last for between six months and up to 2 or 3 years. But, even the deepest recession tends to end and the economy returns to a …