Readers Question: With talk of a Greek exit from the Euro, the situation is almost always compared to Argentina in the 1980s and 90s. Can you explain what happened there and how it was resolved. In the 1980s, Argentina built up substantial debt and also suffered from periods of very high inflation. To stabilise inflation, …
Three questions on quantitative easing, inflation and why inflation in the UK is high despite falling real incomes and lower consumer spending. Readers Question: Isn’t the government (of UK) already printing lots of money? The Bank of England have electronically created money and used this to buy government bonds from financial institutions. The Bank created …
A feature of the UK housing market is the low quantity of new houses built compared to the long term growth in demand. Despite high house prices, firms are unable / unwilling to build as many as market forces dictate. The supply of housing is price inelastic. The lack of supply has meant that the …
Readers Question From why inflation makes it easier to pay government debt 1. Why will wages increase with inflation? There is no law that inflation will automatically lead to higher nominal wages. It is possible for inflation to be higher than the nominal wage growth. In this case, workers see a fall in real wages …
Can Governments Increase the Rate of Economic Growth? Governments often seek to increase the rate of economic growth. Higher growth rates improve public finances, increase economic welfare and help reduce unemployment. However, it is debatable how much the government can actually increase the rate of economic growth. The greatest potential for increasing economic growth occurs …
The arguments for and against the legalization of cannabis and the taxation of the good by the government. Legalising cannabis and placing a tax on the good has several advantages Advantages of legalising cannabis 1. The Government can raise revenue from the tax. Because demand is likely to be inelastic, the tax revenue could be …
Readers Comment: I believe if you want to solve the recession then look at footballers. they earn millions and for what/kicking a ball around!! I think their wages should be cut down to say 75k a year and the remaining money should be used wisely. This recession illustrates that economic policy often involves making decisions …
Champagne is a very good example of a luxury good. (a change in income causes a bigger % change in demand) Furthermore, supply of Champagne is limited to certain regions of France. With this monopoly power over supply, French wine producers have been able to set very high prices. Champagne can easily go for over …