The Balance of Payments is a record of a country’s transactions with the rest of the world. It shows the receipts from trade. It consists of the current and financial account. UK current account 1955-2018 1. Current account This is a record of all payments for trade in goods and services plus income flow it …
Readers Question: What are the types of unemployment? Firstly, we can make a distinction between: Supply-side unemployment (the natural rate of unemployment). These are usually microeconomic imbalances in labour markets. Demand-side unemployment (Unemployment caused by lack of aggregate demand in the economy). In recessions, we can expect demand deficient unemployment (sometimes called cyclical unemployment) to …
GDP measures gross domestic product. It is a measure of a nations economic output/income/expenditure. GDP is an excellent guide to the total number of marketable goods and services produced and consumed in an economy. It is a useful economic statistic – especially for managing the economic cycle, but has often become a short-hand for economic …
A look into the effect of higher oil prices on economies, firms and consumers. Effect of Higher Oil Prices on the EconomyWatch this video on YouTube Readers Question: With oil prices rising towards $100, what are the economic effects of rising oil prices? In the short term, higher oil prices will lead to higher …
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, …
Measuring economic welfare is not an exact science. Often in economics, we focus on GDP statistics (measuring national output). However, quality of life depends on many other factors apart from just GDP. Quality of Life Indicators GDP – the total output of an economy. This is a guide to national output and influences the level of …
By different measures, US corporate profit has increased significantly in the past two decades. It stands at 10.5% of GDP. What is behind the large rises in profit? Source St Louis Fed CP (not this is for nominal profit) In 2021, US corporate profit after tax stands at 2,700 billion (or $2.7 trillion) This is …
Across the globe we are seeing a dramatic fall in the birth rate, with countries like Italy forecast to see their population decline from 61 million to 28 million by 2100. There are several reasons for falling birth rates – traditional factors include economic growth, improved education and access to contraception. But, in recent years, …