Readers Question: explain how economists define ‘full employment’? The first definition of full employment would be the situation where everyone willing to work at the going wage rate is able to get a job. This would imply that unemployment is zero because if you are not willing to work then you should not be counted …
Government policies to increase economic growth are focused on trying to increase aggregate demand (demand side policies) or increase aggregate supply/productivity (supply side policies) Demand side policies include: Fiscal policy (cutting taxes/increasing government spending) Monetary policy (cutting interest rates) Supply side policies include: Privatisation, deregulation, tax cuts, free trade agreements (free market supply side policies) …
Stop-go policies refer to macroeconomic policies which result in economic boom or recession. To manage the economy, the government can change monetary and/or fiscal policy, but the danger is that they might over-react and the economy can go from very fast ‘unsustainable growth’ to very slow/negative growth. Stop-go policies may be linked to the ‘political …
Definition: The fiscal stance of a government refers to how its level of spending and taxation impact on aggregate demand and economic growth. Higher taxes and a budget surplus is seen as fiscal consolidation or deflationary stance. A budget deficit has an expansionary impact. A fiscal stance can be expansionary, neutral or deflationary. Expansionary stance: …
Definition: Underemployment is defined as a situation where people are working fewer hours than they wish; e.g. you would like to work 40 hours a week, but the firm only gives you 30 hours. Underemployment may also refer to the fact workers accept jobs that don’t utilise their skills. e.g. graduate working in McDonald’s may …
Readers Question: How does the MPC predict future inflation? Inflation is caused by a mixture of demand-pull and cost-push factors. Therefore, the MPC will look at many statistics which give an indication of whether the economy is reaching full employment and causing inflationary pressures. This will include rate of economic growth, unemployment and the amount …
The interest rate cycle is closely related to the economic or trade cycle. In theory, movements in interest rates should mirror the economic cycle. If the economy is growing strongly and inflationary pressures increasing – Central Banks will increase interest rates to slow down the economy and prevent inflation. If the economy enters into recession …
The misery index (sometimes known as the Economic Discomfort Index EDI ) is simply the sum of the inflation rate plus the unemployment rate. The higher the combined score, the worse the economic situation. The Misery index was developed by economist Arthur Okun. Where Unemployment rate (ut) and the current inflation rate (πt) High unemployment …