A recession is a period with a significant decline in economic activity characterised by falling GDP, rising unemployment and a decline in real incomes. A quick and simple definition of a recession (used in the UK and EU) is – negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters. The US uses a more comprehensive definition of …
Latest UK housing market stats and graphs. Including house prices, Price to income ratios and construction of new housing.
Higher interest rates increase the cost of borrowing, reduce disposable income and therefore limit the growth in consumer spending. Higher interest rates tend to reduce inflationary pressures and cause an appreciation in the exchange rate. Higher interest rates have various economic effects: Effect of higher interest rates Increases the cost of borrowing. With higher interest …
A recession is defined as a period of negative economic growth. However, there can be different causes and types of economic contraction. Different types of recession will influence the length, depth and effects of the recession. These are some of the different types of recessions. Boom and bust recession (e.g. UK 1991/92) – Very high …
In the aftermath of the invasion, the Russian Ruble rallied, becoming one of the best-performing currencies in the world. This perplexed many commentators, who assumed sanctions on Russia would lead to rapid economic deterioration. But, the strength of the Russian Ruble masks the underlying reality. The high value of the Ruble was due to stringent …
The economics of happiness seeks to relate economic decisions to a wider measure of welfare and happiness rather than traditional measures of just income and wealth. Happiness economics attempts to evaluate a wider range of factors affecting well-being, quality of life and self-reported levels happiness. There are now several measures of happiness, such as Gross …
When people talk of UK debt, they usually refer to government debt. This is debt the government has borrowed to finance budget deficits (when government spending is greater than taxation revenue) There is also external debt, which is the net amount the UK (private and public sector) owes abroad. This external debt is high (2011, …
In theory, there is a strong link between the money supply and inflation. If the money supply rises faster than real output, then prices will usually rise. This means if a Central Bank prints more money, we will often (though not always!) get higher inflation. Explanation of why increased money supply causes inflation The money …