Readers Question. Could you give any more information on how you think consumer buying habits will be affected by the credit crunch moving into 2009. Obviously people are spending less nowadays and tightening their purse strings. Will this continue into 2009? Will we see the birth of a new type of savvy consumer who knows …
National Statistics online has had a well overdue make over. The new web design takes up the whole screen and is easier to navigate and read. It also comes with RSS feed which is useful For any economist, National Statistics Online is a very useful resource for finding latest data and statistics and understanding some …
Readers Question: This one is about flexibility in the labour market. I am wondering why globalisation has made a contribution to the increase in flexibility. Is it because firms face fierce competition so they have to hire workers only when they need them? Increased competition is certainly one factor. If a firm has a domestic …
Readers question: Should the Government intervene to deal with the problem of Oil Shortages or is it better to leave it to a free market? As oil runs out, supply will shift to the left and the price will increase. Because demand is inelastic, oil firms will make increased profits. This creates an incentive for …
In the UK, it is currently the exam season and my students are finally thinking of doing some actual revision. These are some tips to make your revision more effective. Be practical. Don’t worry over results or speculate on grades, make small efforts to improve knowledge and exam writing technique. If you make those small …
The price of oil reached another record high yesterday – $125 Brent Crude oil reached $126 US light crude oil reached $128 before setting back to $127 This means that, even adjusted for inflation, oil is now close to the all time high, last reached in the 1970s. What are the reasons behind the Recent …
Readers Question: What would stop the falling dollar? The dollar has been falling for many reasons. These are some of the factors which would stop the dollar falling and lead to a recovery in the value of the dollar. Higher Interest rates. US interest rates have been cut to 0% in an effort to stave …
A Common question at AS and A2 Level is to understand economic graphs and statistics. Look at the graph below and explain what happens to GDP at current prices between 1974-1983? Many students will answer – In this period GDP is falling. However, this is wrong. What is happening is that the growth rate is …