The effect of a current account surplus

current-account-surplus

Readers Question: how does a current account surplus affect domestic employment? A current account surplus means an economy is exporting a greater value of goods and services than it is importing. A country with a current account surplus will have a deficit on the financial/capital account. i.e. a country with a current account surplus will …

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What is Austerity?

Readers question: What is Austerity? Simple definition of Austerity Austerity involves policies to reduce government spending (or higher taxes) in order to try and reduce government budget deficits – during a period of weak economic growth. Austerity policies are often associated with higher unemployment and lower economic growth. Austerity policies (and automatic stablisers) have reduced …

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Real business cycle

technological change in RBC

 Summary Real business cycle models state that macroeconomic fluctuations in the economy can be largely explained by technological shocks and changes in productivity. These changes in technological growth affect the decisions of firms on investment and workers (labour supply). Hence changes in output can be traced to microeconomic and supply-side factors. Real business cycle models …

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What could cause the next recession?

fall-in-ad-arrow-ad-as

A recession is a period of negative economic growth – a fall in output accompanied by rising unemployment. Recessions tend to occur in cycles of 8-10 years, though there is no hard and fast rule. Attempting to predict a recession by the number of years is not guaranteed to work. Recessions in UK Source: ONS …

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Seasonal Unemployment

seasonal-unemployment

Definition: Seasonal unemployment occurs when people are unemployed at particular times of the year when demand for labour is lower than usual. For example, in a Ski resort unemployment is likely to be higher in the summer when there is no snow. Often unemployment falls around Christmas time because extra jobs are available (e.g. Royal …

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The Turkish boom and bust

After a decade of secular stagnation in the west and ultra-low interest rates – from an economic perspective, the Turkish economy is ‘interesting’ in the sense that it gives a very different set of economic circumstances. An economic boom with parallels and similarities to the 1997-98 Asian Crisis. Since 2000, the Turkish economy has grown …

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Rust belt – definition and causes

Rust-belt

The rust belt is an area of mid-west US dominated by declining manufacturing industry. Cities and regions affected tend to have: High unemployment Declining populations Falling real incomes Social problems associated with structural unemployment. Although the rust belt refers mostly to the mid-west of the US, it can refer to any area which experienced a …

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Does a trade war cause a recession?

effect-tariffs-on-consumer-surplus

A trade war involves the imposition of tariffs between trading partners. This will almost certainly cause a fall in economic welfare for all the countries who experience higher tariffs and a fall in trade. However, this fall in economic welfare is not the same as a recession (a fall in GDP). In some circumstances, a …

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