Politicians are often keen on making targets to eliminate budget deficits by a certain year. There is a strong political motivation to be seen as strong and committed to reducing government debt. Politicians who are vague about the debt are often heavily criticised and it is seen as poor politics. An advantage of budget deficit …
The Eurozone inflation rate is 0.4% (ECB database) (Sept 2014) Eurozone HCIP inflation rate HCIP (Harmonized consumer index prices) Source:| (ECB Inflation graphs, sometimes a few months outdated) Food inflation Food inflation is currently negative. Food inflation tends to be one of the most volatile components. This negative food inflation is one factor reducing the …
Readers Questions: Could you not also argue not that the Euro is a failure but that it’s members/ECB are pursuing the wrong policy? Predictions of the death of the Euro seem to have been much exaggerated & surely Europe has the potential to be a world economic superpower to rival the US or China? It …
A trade deficit implies the value of imports of goods is greater than exports. (M>X) The trade deficit is an important component of the current account on the balance of payments. Sometimes people use a trade deficit and a current account interchangeably, but in the UK this is not correct. The current account also includes …
A look behind the causes and consequences of the economic crisis, and why it has been difficult to solve. Background to Economic Crisis The 1990s and early 2000s was a period of economic prosperity – Low inflation and high economic growth gave an impression of economic stability, but in other areas of the economy there …
Readers Question: Hello I recently saw a programme How China Fooled the World – with Robert Peston and I was wondering what threats and opportunities does the growth of economies like China and India provide to the UK economy? According to the IMF, in 2010, the Chinese economy was $5,878 billion – second only to …
The European Union is facing the prospect of a serious bout of deflation (or at least, very low rates of inflation / disinflation) Deflation occurs when prices fall. But, very low rates of inflation are considered to raise problems associated with deflation. In the Eurozone, the main index of inflation has fallen to 0.7% – …
Readers Question: Seeing the recent releases of positive UK data come through, I’ve been thinking whether these are signs of a recovery or it is too soon to say. To what extent is the recent run of positive data across sectors a sign of a balanced & sustained recovery in the UK? (question 7th. Nov) …