Readers Question: what are the pros and cons of price control? Summary Price controls can take the form of maximum and minimum prices. Price controls can also be used to limit price increases as a way to try and reduce the rate of inflation. Maximum prices can reduce the price of food to make it …
Summary Natural gas is a key raw material for heating and electricity generation, therefore higher prices will significantly increase the cost of living, increase inflation and could slow down economic growth. In the long term, higher gas prices will encourage consumers to find alternatives and firms to increase supply (e.g. fracking for natural gas), but …
Russia is a medium sized economic with a GDP of $1.48 trillion (USD) about half the size of the UK $2.7 trillion (2020) The strengths of the economy is based on exports of oil and natural gas. And with these sales, since 2014, Russia has built up foreign currency reserves of $630bn – a large …
Inflation is a sustained rise in prices and increase in the cost of living. The general costs of higher inflation will be reduced purchasing power of money, fall in the value of savings, a depreciation in the exchange rate, less certainty for firms and the inconvenience of dealing with changing prices. In addition, developing economies …
Biflation is a term used to describe a period where some prices are rising and some prices are falling. It can appear we have both inflation and deflation at the same time. CPI = Headline inflation rate CPI less food and energy = underlying or core inflation. In the above example, the headline rate is …
Readers Question: What will happen to the value of a currency during times of deep recession and high inflation? There is no hard and fast rule about what will happen to the value of a currency during a deep recession – though, a currency is likely to fall because country becomes a less attractive place to …
Since the financial crisis, we have seen an unprecedented stagnation/decline in real wages. This decline has been most noticeable for low-income workers, with growing levels of inequality. The decline/stagnation in real wages is a global phenomenon – though some countries have been more affected than others. Reasons suggested for falling/stagnant wages since 2008 include: Recession …
One of the great events in European economic history was the great plague of the 14th Century. The Black Death, which swept across Europe (killing up to 30% of citizens), led to a profound change in economic circumstances. Due to the shortage of labour, peasants were freed from their serfdom. With great demand for labour, …