Readers Question: how to illustrate the world financial crisis by using the graphs of aggregate demand and aggregate supply? The financial crisis has essentially caused an unprecedented fall in aggregate demand. Aggregate demand has fallen because: Bank lending decreased due to the credit crisis and shortage of bank funds. The shortage of bank lending has …
Readers Question: Will interest rates rise? Some say yes, my investment analyst/advisor says no (“because the UK is largely living on credit and the government and bank of England do not want a repeat of 2008”) Interest rates will rise when the Bank of England feel the economy has returned to a normal trend of …
In the Bank of England’s latest forecast for the UK, they predict reasonably good economic growth in term of real GDP. At the same time, forecasts for average real incomes are more pessimistic. The Bank of England suggests UK economic growth will be maintained by consumer spending – spending which will partly be funded by …
Barack Obama served as President from Jan 2009 – Jan 2017. When Obama came to office in Jan 2009, the US economy was in a deep recession, with falling real GDP, high unemployment and rising levels of government borrowing. As President, Obama oversaw a moderate fiscal expansion which helped to promote economic recovery and falling …
Readers Question: Could you differentiate between micro economics and macro economics? Microeconomics is the study of particular markets, and segments of the economy. It looks at issues such as consumer behaviour, individual labour markets, and the theory of firms. Macro economics is the study of the whole economy. It looks at ‘aggregate’ variables, such as …
Readers Question: Does Government debt matter? Do high fiscal deficits threaten economic stability? Summary Many worry that high levels of government debt could cause economic instability. In certain occasions, countries with high debt have seen investors lose confidence, leading to higher bond yields and putting pressure on the government to slash spending, for example, several …
Expansionary monetary policy aims to increase aggregate demand and economic growth in the economy. Expansionary monetary policy involves cutting interest rates or increasing the money supply to boost economic activity. It could also be termed a ‘loosening of monetary policy’. It is the opposite of ‘tight’ monetary policy. When to pursue expansionary monetary policy The …
Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money. Interest rates are normally expressed as a % of the total borrowed, e.g. for a 30-year mortgage, a bank may charge 5% interest per year. Interest rates also show the return received on saving money in the bank or from an asset like a government bond. Different …