Economic Growth
Economic Growth is a measure of the percentage increase in either real gross domestic product (GDP) or potential GDP of an economy. GDP measures the output of goods and services produced by an economy by factors of production located within that economy.
The figure above shows the trend of UK’s economic growth from 2008 to mid-2014. As illustrated in the figure the credit crunch of 2007-08 hit the UK economy hard and caused a steeper drop in real GDP than even the great depression of the 1930s. However, due to loosening of monetary and fiscal policy, the UK experienced a partial recovery in 2010 and 2011 before heading back into a recession as seen in Q1 2012. By the end of Q1 2013, the economy started picking up
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The aim of quantitative easing is to increase private sector spending in the economy thereby increasing real GDP.
As the figures above illustrate, there is a significant GDP gap. HM treasury forecasts a GDP gap of -2.7% for 2012/2013. This, however, may underestimate the amount of spare capacity in the UK economy. If the output gap were closer to -10% it would make a much stronger case for more accommodative monetary and fiscal policy use.
Inflation
Inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level, leading to a fall in the purchasing power of money. It is measured in two different ways, through the Retail Price Index (RPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The difference between the two is that the RPI takes into account different things compared to the CPI, such as housing costs.
Currently, inflation was at 0.3% in January, measured by the CPI, with the target level being 2%. This fell from 0.5% in December due to ‘Cheaper fuel and lower energy prices’ . Illustrating this on a demand and supply diagram, there would clearly be a rightward shift in the Short Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS) curve, as costs of productions for firms have reduced.
One monetary policy enforced in the economy are low interest rates, set by the Central Bank. The reason they are low is to influence aggregate demand in the economy. Low interest rates mean that the cost of borrowing
The performance of the UK economy depends very much on the level of Aggregate demand within the economy. AD=C+I+G+(X-M). The UK economy can be judged by a number of key indicators mainly sustainable economic growth, low inflation (target 2%), a surplus on the
In comparison with other competitive countries, Britain’s economy was also lagging behind. One aspect was that Britain’s GDP growth rate was the lowest in Western
In this report you will find current and past trends and target values for these indicators and the current macroeconomic policies of the Federal Government of Australia and the RBA.
Economics growth is, it the short run an increase in real GDP and in the long run an increase in the productive capacity of an economy (the maximum output that the economy can produce). GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product which is the country’s production of goods and services valued at market price in a given time period. Real GDP is when these figures are corrected for inflation using a base year (The UK uses 2003 as its base year). It can be measured in three different ways; the output measure is the value of the goods and services produced by all sectors of the economy; agriculture, manufacturing, energy, construction, the service sector and government. The
According to (Parkin, Powell and Matthews, 2014) Economic Growth is defined as a sustained expansion of production possibilities measured as the increase in real GDP over a period of time. Achieving economic growth depends on the government fulling one of its macroeconomic objectives between them is stable economic growth, low level of inflation, low level unemployment, and adequate level of balance of payments. UK’s economic growth fluctuates significantly year to year as mentioned by (Fyfe and Threadgould, 2013, p.1) “The trend rate of economic growth of the UK economy has been assumed for several years to be between 2.5% and 2.75% per year”. The fluctuations can be seen in Figure 1 shows detail changes in economic growth. The “Credit Crunch”, from mid-2007 to 2009 UK’s growth fell from 2.7% to -2.3% resulting in a recession. However, UK has been
Monetary policy uses changes in the quantity of money to alter interest rates, which in turn affect the level of overall spending . “The object of monetary policy is to influence the nation’s economic performance, as measured by inflation”, the employment rate and the gross domestic product, an aggregate measure of economic output. Monetary policy is controlled by
This diagram shows how an increase in aggregate demand from AD to AD1 can cause and increase in real GDP from Y1 to Y2. However the price level has also risen from P1 to P2, this is demand pull inflation as aggregate demand is outstripping aggregate supply.
In order to close this inflationary gap, the government should use deflationary FP. By decreeing government spending (G), (therefore decreasing injections into AD), or increasing taxes (T), (increasing withdrawals from the economy), disposable income of the population can be reduced, and in turn AD can be decreased. In figure 3 the inflationary gap is shown, with the gap a-b displaying E>Y and c-d displaying W>J at the full employment level of national income. Other uses of FP include changing the tax system to provide more incentives to increase AS, or to alter the distribution of income, again through increases in T. One major problem with FP is that it is severely affected by time lags. Inflation is difficult to forecast, and in order to smooth out the business cycle, policy must be implemented at the right time, and with the necessary magnitude. If the policies implemented fail to work within these two limits, they could extend a boom period of unstable growth, or deepen a recession further, and so must be carefully implemented. These policies all work to combat inflation; however they could all prove detrimental to the British economy in it’s present state.
The “Great Recession” is commonly used to explain the massive economic contraction that occurred in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2007. However, the actions of the United States spanned to other nations, leaving massive effect on the global economy. One nation that took on serious financial burden during this recession was the United Kingdom. This nation first faced the effects of the Great Recession beginning in the first quarter of 2008. Overall, the initial mass effects on the nation can be attributed to the nation’s reliance on the financial sector. In fact, after partially stabilizing in 2009, the country struggled with a double-dip recession between 2010-12, and continues to struggle with some of these effects.
The economic reforms initiated by Prime Minister Margret Thatcher since 1980’s has made the United Kingdom record steady economic growth in the 1990s. However, successive Labour governments increased government spending significantly. Since 2010, the government upheld austerity as the principal of its economic policy. In 2014, the country recorded its strongest economic growth since 2007 of 2.387 trillion dollars with GDP per capita at 39,350.64 dollars. The GDP increased significantly because of the enhanced performance of the construction, manufacturing, and services sectors. Retail sales also increased with unemployment relatively at lowest
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account in the economy A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time.
George Bernard Shaw, a nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 once said, “If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion” (Mankiw, 1998: 34). Yet, an economic comparison between the United Kingdom and the United States could still be made to distinguish the country with the better economic growth performance. Important indicators when comparing economies is economic growth rate, which is a measure of the yearly rate of development rate of GDP using the market prices (Ros, 2013: 26). Another indicator is the GDP, which is defined as the total amount of goods and services produced in a country per year (Mankiw, 2009: 521). Also, the inflation rate is used, which is a continuos increase in the prices for goods and services in the consumer price index and it is measured yearly (Herr & Kazandziska, 2011: 74). Lastly, the unemployment rate shows the percentage of people whiling and could work but do not have a job (Macdonald, 1999: 238). This report will compare the economic growth performance of the United States and the United Kingdom since 1990 using four indicators: economic growth rate, GDP, inflation, and unemployment rate.
Monetary policy involves manipulating the interest rate charged by the central bank for lending money to the banking system in an economy, which influences greatly a vast number of macroeconomic variables. In the UK, the government set the policy targets, but the Bank of England and the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) are given authority and freedom to set interest rates, which is formally once every month. Contractionary monetary policy may be used to reduce price inflation by increasing the interest rate. Because banks have to pay more to borrow from the central bank they will increase the interest rates they charge their own customers for loans to recover the increased cost. Banks will also raise interest rates to encourage people to save more in bank deposit accounts so they can reduce their own borrowing from the central bank. As interest rates rise, consumers may save more and borrow less to spend on goods and services. Firms may also reduce the amount of money they borrow to invest in new equipment. A
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, the UK government has been implementing various policies to combat the recession and stimulate economic growth. This essay will look at how effective the fiscal and monetary policies used since the crisis are in achieving the four-macro economic objectives. In addition, I will provide my input on the best way the UK government can carry out these policies.
Economic growth refers to the rate of increase in the total production of goods and services within an economy. Economic growth increases the productivity capacity of an economy, thereby allowing more wants to be satisfied. A growing economy increases employment opportunities, stimulates business enterprise and innovation. A sustained economic growth is fundamental to any nation wishing to raise its standard of living and provide a greater well being for all. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the monetary value of all final goods and services produced over a year. It is the total value of production within the economy. The total value of production is the total value of the final goods or services less the cost of