Definition: Structural unemployment is caused by a mismatch of skills between the unemployed and available jobs. Structural unemployed is caused by changes in the economy, such as deindustrialisation, which leaves some unemployed workers unable to find work in new industries with different skill requirements. Structural unemployment occurs even during periods of strong economic growth. It …
Economic growth means an increase in real GDP – which means an increase in the value of national output/national expenditure. Economic growth is an important macro-economic objective because it enables increased living standards, improved tax revenues and helps to create new jobs. Aspects of economic growth Causes of economic growth Costs/benefits of economic growth Policies …
Readers Question: Why is it that the value of the exchange rate falls when there is higher inflation? How inflation affects the exchange rate A higher inflation rate in the UK compared to other countries will tend to reduce the value of the Pound Sterling because: High inflation in the UK means that UK goods …
Definition of a Giffen Good. A good where a higher price causes an increase in demand (reversing the usual law of demand). The increase in demand is due to the income effect of the higher price outweighing the substitution effect. The concept of a Giffen good is limited to very poor communities with a very limited …
Economic growth is an increase in real GDP; it means an increase in the value of goods and services produced in an economy. The rate of economic growth is the annual percentage increase in real GDP. There are several factors affecting economic growth, but it is helpful to split them up into: Demand-side factors (e.g. …
Readers Question: To what extent are higher government debt levels a constraint on economic growth? There has been much debate about the extent to which high levels of government debt might slow down rates of economic growth. In particular, a 2010 paper “Growth in a Time of Debt,” by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff seemed …
The aggregate supply curve shows the total supply in an economy at different price levels. Generally, the aggregate supply curve slopes upwards – a higher price level encourages firms to supply more. However, there are different possible slopes for the aggregate supply curve. It could be highly inelastic (vertical) to very elastic. It is important …
Readers Question: How much are US economic policies are responsible for its current account deficit? At one stage, the US current account deficit reached 6.5% of GDP, which was one of the highest in the industrialised world. Since the early 1980s, the US has been running a persistent current account deficit. Reasons for the US …