The long-run trend rate of growth is the average sustainable rate of economic growth over a period of time. It could also be termed as the ‘underlying trend rate of economic growth’ The long-run trend rate is determined by growth in productive capacity (AS). It is the rate of growth which is consistent with low …
In the UK and US there is often a mistrust of the government’s inflation figures. People often feel that their cost of living is rising faster than official CPI statistics. In developing countries like Venezuela and Argentina, there is even greater mistrust as government’s have an incentive to modify inflation rates and have the power …
Readers question: What is the difference between tax and inflation? Tax is a way for the government to raise revenue. It includes charges placed by the government on goods/income. For example, VAT is a tax which means consumers have to pay an additional 20% of the price in the form of tax which goes to …
An inflation target means the Central Bank has the objective to use monetary policy in order to keep inflation close to an agreed level (e.g. 2%) If inflation is forecast to rise above the target, they are likely to increase interest rates to moderate demand and slow down inflationary pressures. If the Central Bank is …
Q. How does the Bank of England decide and set interest rates? The Bank of England set the repo rate. This is sometimes known as the ‘base rate’. It is the interest rate at which commercial banks (like Lloyds and Natwest) borrow from the Bank of England. The Bank of England can control liquidity and …
The UK government has given the Bank of England an inflation target of CPI 2 % +/-1. The Bank of England is responsible for using monetary policy (e.g. interest rates) to achieve this goal of low inflation. But, as well as targeting inflation, the Bank of England also has a wider remit of considering objectives …
I’ve been studying economics for 13 years and I can still get confused at the bewildering array of interest rates. Basically, interest rates can range from anywhere between 0% and 2,316% The most important rate is the base rate (sometimes referred to as the repo rate). This is the rate set by the Bank of …
The natural or (equilibrium) level of unemployment is determined by calculating the level of unemployment when the labour market is in equilibrium. Diagram Showing Natural Rate of Unemployment The labour force includes everyone of working age who is either working or looking for work. The Aggregate Supply (AS) of labour is every one who is …