The Labour Party has announced a policy to nationalise full-fibre optic broadband provision and offer free broadband to every UK home. It is an ambitious policy which would involve costs of £20-£40bn to purchase Openreach from BT (Labour suggest £20bn, BT, £40. Do the benefits of nationalisation outweigh the costs? Arguments for nationalisation External benefits …
From 2010 to 2019, total gross government debt (1) increased by £643 bn from £1.2 trillion to £1.8 trillion. UK Public sector debt 2010 – £1,194.3bn 2019 – £1,838.2bn A more helpful statistic is to consider debt as a percentage of GDP In 2010 Q2, public sector debt was 64.7% of GDP In 2019 Q3 …
Definition: Trade barriers are government policies which place restrictions on international trade. Trade barriers can either make trade more difficult and expensive (tariff barriers) or prevent trade completely (e.g. trade embargo) Examples of Trade Barriers Tariff Barriers. These are taxes on certain imports. They raise the price of imported goods making imports less competitive. Non-Tariff …
Definition of automation Automation refers to the process of automatically producing goods through the use of robots, control systems and other appliances with a minimal direct human operation. Within manufacturing industries, automation has led to increased labour productivity as fewer workers are needed to produce the same number of manufactured goods. A perceived downside of …
The catch-up effect (or convergence theory) suggests that poorer countries will experience a higher rate of economic growth and, over time, get closer to the income levels of the developed world. In other words, there will be a reduction in the gap between the rich and the poor because low-income countries have more opportunities to …
A key economic debate is the extent to which should governments intervene in the economy? At one extreme, free-market economists/libertarians, argue that government intervention should be limited to all but the most basic services, such as the protection of private property and the maintenance of law and order. At the other extreme, Marxist economists argue …
A look at some different topics related to the economics of food. Will a rise in population lead to a shortage of food? I think most people have heard of The Dismal Prophecy of Malthus. (though Economics was termed the ‘dismal science’ for different reasons) Writing in the late eighteenth century, T.Malthus argued that the …
To overcome market failure, the government can use various policies. For example, to reduce consumption of demerit goods, they can increase taxes. Policies to overcome market failure Taxes on negative externalities Subsidies on positive externalities Laws and Regulations Electronic Road Pricing – a specific tax related to congestion Pollution Permits – giving firms the ability to …