The Economic Trends of Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States: A Comparative Analysis

1. Who are the country’s main competitors and how is it positioned relative to these main competitors?

Answer the next question on the basis of the following production possibilities tables for countries Alpha and Beta:

In view of the weak economy of the last several years, explain which of the four components of GDP had, or is having, the greatest positive impact in our economy. Use your results from the second e-Activity to support your response.

iii. How does the average annual growth rate you calculated in (ii) above compare to the average growth rate the U.S. normally expects?

1) What are some of the factors causing the problems in measuring performance in the Southeast Asia sector?

Department of Finance Canada (2009) states Canada has been significantly affected by the global recession and Canadian economy growth began to slow in the fourth quarter of 2008. Real GDP declined by 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Although Canadian economy is being affected by the global recession, the Canadian economy is still better than other industrialized countries (CMA Business Case)

10. Supposing that Athens and Troy agree to trade ships and food at an international terms of trade of 1, what observation can you make about their relative demands for ships and food? Which country experiences the greater gains from trade?

The United States of America is one of the world leading economic powers in the world. The question is, how does the Unites States compare to other nation powers.Australia ,Cananda , China and Britain are just a few of the nation powers that can compare to the United states. This report will focus more one of the main rivials to the United States and that is Japan. Here is just a sample of Japans Numbers for 2004 compared to the United States. Unite States GDP growth is 4.30% ,unemployment is 5.60% and Inflation Rate is 1.90%. In Japan the GDP growth is 4.50% , unemployment is 4.60% and Inflation Rate is -.04%. . I think this is an important perspective because we really do live in a global

Japan’s unemployment rate of about 4% opposed to the U.S. unemployment rate of close to 10%. Even the financial debt to GDP ration is an advantage, and debt in the private sector has not increased unlike the U.S. and European countries, (Time, 2009). In addition, since Japan is a huge exporter and with the U.S. demand going downward, the international balances and growth declined especially as the dollar value dropped and the yen surged. •

The following essay will thoroughly examine the severe economic downturn of 2008, formerly known as the housing bubble collapse. We will mainly focus our discussion on the effects the financial crisis had on Canada and the U.S and examine why both countries were affected differently. Although the collapse of the housing bubble is the most identifiable cause, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint one specific defining moment or event triggering the global financial collapse. There are many factors involved, due to the complex nature of the financial systems across the world, and this paper will delve in the key contributing variables that led to this financial crises.

Australia: Australia is a self-governing country Western democracy with a population of more than 22 million. It is one of the world’s most developed countries. Australia’s life style reflects it’s mainly Western roots, but Australia is also a multicultural

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.

In 1945, Japan was devastated and lost a quarter of the national wealth after suffering a defect in the second world war. A majority of the commercial buildings and accommodation had been demolished, and massive machinery and equipment formerly used in production for the civil market were out of service to provide metal for military supplies (Miyazaki 1967). Despite the trash and ruins had left over in Japan, Japan was able to rebuilding its infrastructure and reconstruct their economy. It is revealed that the Japanese economy was on its way to recovery, which received a rapid development since the war, and the reconstruction of Japan had spent less than forty years to become the world’s second largest economy in the 1980s. This essay will explore the three factors account for the economic growth of post-war Japan: the financial assistance from the United States, the external environment, and the effective policy of Japanese government.

In order to prevent the current crisis from deepening, immediate actions are required from the major industrial countries and from the international community. There is evidence that the world economy is experiencing a major slowdown, which may deepen if inadequately managed. For example, Japan is in its worst recession since the war, much of East and South-East Asia is in depression, Russia is experiencing a major downturn, growth has stalled in Latin America, and the prices of primary commodities and a number of manufactures are falling in international markets. Authorities in the industrial countries must nonetheless continue to be alert. Several downside risks still remain, and current policies may prove insufficient to prevent the world economy from slipping into recession. Expansionary fiscal policies may be required in other industrial economies, in addition to Japan. It is also crucial that the rules of an open international trading system should operate smoothly, allowing the economies that face adjustment to reduce their deficits or generate trade surpluses with the more vigorous industrial economies.

Japan ranks as the third largest economy in the world as of 2010. The GDP at current prices in US dollars in Japan was reported at 5068.06 billion in 2009, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Japan’s resurgence after World War II has however reached an inflection point in yearly 1989 after the burst of Japan’s asset price and real estate bubbles. As can be seen from the graph below, Japan’s GDP has hovered around the same level through more than 20 years of economic stagnation. The GDP’s slow growth has been exacerbated by the world financial crisis of 2008. A major landmark of Japan’s stagnation has been the BOJ’s fight against deflation.