Readers Question: What is the impact of persistent national debt on economic growth? Source: IMF (2012) In summary, there is no obvious link between national (public sector) debt and levels of economic growth. Both UK and US finished the Second World War with high levels of national debt – but this did not prevent rapid …
A few years ago, I wrote several posts about the need for a government to borrow in a recession. One thing I would have said is that when the economy recovers, tax receipts will automatically rise and the deficit will fall. You could almost say ‘solve unemployment and the deficit will take care of itself.’ …
This privatization was left to the last for a number of reasons Loss-making nature of British Rail Heavy dependence on external subsidies for rural and provincial services The need to see safety as an overriding priority Positive externalities of railways, – taking traffic off congested roads BR was an integrated national network with a complex …
Fiscal policy involves changing the level of taxation and government spending to influence the rate of economic growth. Expansionary fiscal policy is used to stimulate aggregate demand and boost the rate of economic growth. It involves higher spending, lower taxes and will result in higher government borrowing. Expansionary fiscal policy will be used in a …
A few selected AS macroeconomic essay questions – with suggested answers. Q.1 Evaluate policies that the government can use to increase the rate of economic growth. Q.2 Discuss the importance of supply-side policies in improving the performance of the UK economy? Q.3 Explain Causes of Inflation Q.4 Explain the reasons for the changes in unemployment in …
The UK recession of 1991 was primarily caused by high-interest rates, falling house prices and an overvalued exchange rate. Membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (1990-1992) was a key factor in keeping interest rates higher than desirable. The recession also came after the late 1980s economic boom – a period of high economic growth and …
Outline some of the problems the economy might face in recovering from a period of recession. To recover from a recession there needs to be either a rise in AD or a readjustment in prices and wages. An increase in aggregate demand will increase GDP and help the economy recover from recession. Low Consumer …
Definition of tight fiscal policy Tight fiscal policy involves increasing the rate of tax and/or cutting government spending. It is sometimes known as deflationary fiscal policy and aims to improve government finances Purpose of tight fiscal policy The aim of tight fiscal policy could be either Reduce inflationary pressure by reducing the growth of aggregate …