Applying economics in everyday life

At the start of the academic year, I always feel a little pressure to justify the study of economics. Students come up asking things like, should they do economics or history? It’s hard to know what to say, but to get people excited about economics it’s good to try and think how economics can be …

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Foreign Direct Investment

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Definition of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). FDI is the net transfer of funds to purchase and acquire physical capital, such as factories and machines, e.g. Nissan, a Japanese firm, building a car factory in the UK. In recent years, foreign direct investment has also widened to include the purchase of assets and shares which give …

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UK Labour Productivity

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Labour productivity measures the output per worker in a period of time. Labour productivity is an important factor in determining the long-run trend rate of economic growth; tax revenues, inflation and real wages. Since the start of the great recession in early 2008, UK labour productivity growth has remained very low – well below the …

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Money illusion

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Money illusion is the belief that money has a fixed value and the effects of inflation are ignored. Because of money illusion, during inflation, individuals may perceive an increase in nominal income as higher welfare – when this is actually an illusion and their real spending power has not changed because prices have risen at …

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Definition of Full Employment

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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 …

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Winners and losers from low interest rates

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With UK interest rates close to zero, who benefits from low-interest rates? In summary, the main effects of low-interest rates are: Savers will get lower interest payments on their savings. Borrowers, especially mortgage owners will see lower interest payments on their debt, increasing discretionary income. The government can borrow from the private sector at a …

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What caused globalisation?

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Readers Question: Evaluate the significance of the factors which have contributed to globalisation. Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. The world economy has become increasingly interdependent for a long time. However, in recent decades the process of globalisation has accelerated; this is due to a variety of factors, but important ones include improved trade, increased …

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