The Role of Supply Side Policies in a Recession

Supply side policies are efforts to increase competitiveness and efficiency in the economy. They can include policies such as tax cuts, privatisation, investment in education and more flexible labour markets. Usually, supply side policies are long-term efforts to increase productivity and the long-run trend rate of growth. The traditional solution to a recession is to …

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The great recession 2008-13

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The great recession refers to the economic downturn between 2008 and 2013. The recession began after the 2007/08 global credit crunch and led to a prolonged period of low/negative growth, rising unemployment and a period of fiscal austerity. In particular, the great recession highlighted problems within the Eurozone which experienced a double-dip recession and high …

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Fiscal Policy

Definition of fiscal policy Fiscal policy involves the government changing the levels of taxation and government spending in order to influence aggregate demand (AD) and the level of economic activity. AD is the total level of planned expenditure in an economy (AD = C+ I + G + X – M) The purpose of Fiscal …

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The True Level of Unemployment in UK

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Readers Question: To what extent do the official UK figures for unemployment accurately reflect economic reality? The unemployment rate measures those who are officially seeking work but unable to find employment. However, the official unemployment rate does not include those who are not working and are classed as economically inactive. For example, economically inactive can …

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Tips and advice for evaluation in essays

Evaluation is an important component of an advanced essay. It requires the ability to look at facts, arguments and analysis, with a degree of critical distance. Evaluation involves: Looking at what other factors may affect the outcome. Time lags involved. How it might depend on other issues, e.g. elasticity of demand Why the original statement …

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Effects of slower economic growth

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Economic growth means an increase in national income/national output. If we have a slower rate of economic growth – living standards will increase at a slower rate. For example, in the post-war period, western economies grew at 2.5% to 4.% per year. However, since the early 2000s, growth rates have slowed down. This process of …

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Letter of 365 economists – did they really get it wrong?

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The March 1981 UK budget was controversial. In a period of rising unemployment, recession and high inflation. The government pursued deflationary fiscal policy trying to reduce inflation. The chancellor increased taxes by a total of £4 billion, with the aim of reducing inflation and reducing the budget deficit. Tax measures included A new 20% tax …

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Economic Growth UK

Economic growth measures the change in real GDP (national income adjusted for inflation; ONS call it chained volume measure of GDP) Since the end of the great recession (2008 – 2009) the UK economy has grown in fits and starts. It has been a relatively weak economic recovery compared to previous recessions. 2019 has seen …

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