The 1980s was a period of economic volatility. There was a deep recession in 1981 as the government tried to control inflation. The recession particularly hit manufacturing causing unemployment to rise to over 3 million. Unemployment did not fall until the mid and late 1980s when the economy boomed during the “Yuppie-years” of rising wages, …
The economic trade cycle shows how economic growth can fluctuate within different phases, for example: Boom (which is a period of high economic growth possibly causing inflation) Peak (top of trade cycle, where growth rates may start to fall) Economic downturn/Recession ( where the growth rate falls and may become negative – leading to a fall in …
Unemployment in many European countries has risen sharply due to the credit crunch and global recession. The worst hit countries include Spain (ES) and Greece (EL), who both have unemployment rates of over 24%. In the past few months, there has been a slight reduction in European unemployment, but the prolonged period of mass unemployment …
Interest rates have been cut to a record low of 0.25% – essentially due to grim economic news from the short-run demand side shock of Brexit. Economic theory states that in normal circumstances, lower interest rates should boost aggregate demand (AD). To give a quick recap, lower interest rates should in theory: Reduce the incentive …
At the 1992 General election, the Conservative Party won a stunning electoral victory – despite being in the middle of a self-imposed recession. Many point to this as an example of how the press can influence national debate and influence elections. The 1991/92 recession was a classic example of a boom and bust. It wasn’t …
A look at different aspects of UK economic history, concentrating on the different decades of the Twenty and Twenty-First Century. Includes histories of particular sectors, such as housing and the coal industry. The economy of the 1920s – a legacy of war debt, deflation and life under the gold standard The economy of the 1930s …
What is the UK’s debt burden? Firstly, there are different types of debt to consider Government debt – See: public sector debt (often referred to as National debt) Private sector debt – indebtedness of householders, finance sector and non-financial companies. External debt – the amount we ‘owe’ to other countries In addition, you might take …
The German economy has been one of the world’s strongest economies in the post-war period. There are many aspects of the German economy which deserve praise and emulation – not least strong productivity growth, a booming export sector and prolonged low inflationary growth. In the post-war period Germany has played an important role in promoting …