In 1952 when Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne, the UK was a major economic power, but still reeling from the costs of the Second World War, with rationing and austerity still visible. The post-war period saw a remarkable rising living standards, strong economic growth and radical changes in the economy, but also saw …
Politicians often promise tax cuts can lead to higher productivity, higher economic growth, and even pay for themselves through a boost to long-term incomes. These promises may chime with the electorate who tend to prefer promises of tax cuts. But, do tax cuts really increase economic growth? There are two impacts of lower tax. Increasing …
Historical Interest Rates in UK since 1800 Interest rates in the UK since 1800. Bank Rate 1830–1972 and 2006–09, Minimum Lending Rate 1972–81, London clearing banks’ base rate 1981–97, repo rate 1997–2006. End year observation.
A recent report by the Bank of England made for grim reading. UK Output is forecast to fall and inflation is predicted to rise to a level not seen since the early 1980s. The UK like many economies is facing short-term pressures – rising energy prices, supply shortages and slowing growth. But, the malaise of …
A recession is a period with a significant decline in economic activity characterised by falling GDP, rising unemployment and a decline in real incomes. A quick and simple definition of a recession (used in the UK and EU) is – negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters. The US uses a more comprehensive definition of …
When I started teaching economics in the early 2000s, I remember quite a few commentators predicting imminent house price falls because house prices were overvalued by historical trends, I used to occasional dip into house price crash forums to see a debate about when prices would fall. Yet, since 2000, even accounting for the financial …
A recession is defined as a period of negative economic growth. However, there can be different causes and types of economic contraction. Different types of recession will influence the length, depth and effects of the recession. These are some of the different types of recessions. Boom and bust recession (e.g. UK 1991/92) – Very high …
The economics of happiness seeks to relate economic decisions to a wider measure of welfare and happiness rather than traditional measures of just income and wealth. Happiness economics attempts to evaluate a wider range of factors affecting well-being, quality of life and self-reported levels happiness. There are now several measures of happiness, such as Gross …