The Australian economy is unique. 35% of the country is practically desert and geographically it is isolated. 98% of its trade is exported by sea. Yet, it has become one of the richest countries in the world. Richer than the UK, France and Germany. From 1991 to 2020, it experienced the world record for the …
The current account on the balance of payments measures the inflow and outflow of goods, services, investment incomes and transfer payments. The main components of the current account are: Trade in goods (visible balance) Trade in services (invisible balance), e.g. insurance and services Primary income account – includes – compensation of employees, investment income from …
In 1913, Britain was the largest trading nation in the world. 50% of global capital investment came from London. It was an economic powerhouse which defied its small size. But, in the past 100 years, the pound has devalued and the UK has seen a steady decline in relative importance. Some of this was inevitable, …
When displaying time series data, it often makes sense to use index numbers. Index numbers are a simple way of making it easier to compare numbers over a period of time. Index numbers measure relative changes in the price of a sum of representative data. For example, the FTSE-100 is an index displaying the average …
Donald Trump and his vice-president have some unorthodox economic policies. Reduce prices, Higher Tariffs, lower tax, devalue the dollar and end immigration. But, will they work? Trumponomics – The Real Impact of Trump Economic PoliciesWatch this video on YouTube At the recent Republican convention, Trump vowed to end the inflation nightmare and bring prices down …
The Eastern European Boom When Will Polish Economy Overtake UK and France?Watch this video on YouTube Whilst Western Europe struggles with low growth, Eastern Europe is booming. In the past two decades, Eastern Europe has quietly witnessed an economic transformation, with growth in living standards outperforming the West. Estonia, Poland and Romania have all seen …
In the 1970s Venezuela was widely admired for its functional democracy and the highest living standards in Latin America. There was good reasons to be optimistic. Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil in the world. Greater than Saudi Arabia, Iran and the US. Yet in recent decades, the economy has lurched from crisis …
Around 2000, something remarkable happened to the Italian economy. It stopped growing and went into a 20 year long-decline. Even if you adjust for population, Italy’s performance was strikingly worse than its main competitors. If we look at productivity, Italy fell far behind. It has effectively lost two decades with real wages remaining virtually stagnant. …