Austerity – Pros and Cons
A look at the pros and cons of austerity (government spending cuts). Is austerity a way to solve economic problems, or does it merely lead to a deeper recession and lower tax revenues.
Search Results for: economic impact
Importance of exports to the economy
Exports play an important role in the UK economy, influencing the level of economic growth, employment and the balance of payments. In the post-war period, lower transport costs, globalisation, economies of scale and reduced tariff barriers have all helped exports become a bigger share of national income. In 2011, exports of goods and services accounted …
Rational expectations
Definition of Rational expectations – an economic theory that states – when making decisions, individual agents will base their decisions on the best information available and learn from past trends. Rational expectations are the best guess for the future. Rational expectations suggest that although people may be wrong some of the time, on average they …
What caused the Wall Street Crash of 1929?
The 1929 stock market crash was a result of an unsustainable boom in share prices in the preceding years. The boom in share prices was caused by the irrational exuberance of investors, buying shares on the margin, and over-confidence in the sustainability of economic growth. Some economists argue the boom was also facilitated by ‘loose …
Housing market crash
Despite housing being a secure asset, the housing market can be prone to bubbles and periods of rapidly falling prices. In recent years, the period 2005-09 saw a prolonged and significant fall in house prices in both the US and Europe. A housing market crash can be precipitated by a change in economic fundamentals (higher …
Problems of free movement of labour
In a recent post, we looked at the advantages of free movement of labour. But, what about the problems which might arise from free movement of labour? Firstly, free movement of labour depends on the area in question. To make an easy contrast, initially, the EU was free movement of workers between 12 / 15 …
Exchange rates
The exchange rate is the rate at which one currency trades against another on the foreign exchange market If the present exchange rate is £1=$1.42, this means that to go to America you would get $142 for £100. Similarly, if an American came to the UK, he would have to pay $142 to get £100. …
Time Lags
In economics we often see a delay between an economic action and a consequence. This is known as a time lag. An impact of time lags is that the effect of policy may be more difficult to quantify because it takes a period of time to actually occur. Example of time lags Change in interest …