2 - The Macroeconomic Environment (6/80) Flashcards
Productivity Factors
Land
Labour
Capital
Enterprise
Living Standards
GDP or GNP per capita
Uk 5th highest in Europe
Economic Sectors
Primary Secondary Tertiary Quaternary (science, R&D) Quinary (government)
Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient
Gini Coefficient = level of inequality = Area of A / (Area of A + B)
Emerging Markets growth
Internal - domestic trade/production
External - trade with G7
Market Failure
Markets fail to deliver optimum allocation
Demand =/= supply therefore welfare not maximised
Government can intervene to prevent failure
Caused by externalities -> indirect benefit/cost caused by a third party
Merit goods
Better for people than they realise (subsidised)
Public goods
Serve everyone equally
Non-excludability (‘Free rider’ risk)
Non-rivalry (one consuming doesn’t restrict another)
Trade Agreements
Unilateral = change trade rules without others changing
Bilateral = two countries agree
Multilateral = multiple agree (e.g. regional)
GDP, GNP, National Income
GDP = Consumer Spending + Investment + Gov. Spending + Trade Balance
GNP = GDP + Income from Abroad
NI = Gross National Product - Capital Consumption
Injections = investment, exports, gov. spending
Withdrawals = savings, imports, taxation
What do growth rates depend on?
- Growth and productivity of labour force
- Rate capital is channelled into innovation
- Infrastructure being developed/maintained
Business Cycles
Boom and bust, growth and recession etc.
Typically 7-10 years
If growth rate > trend growth rate, inflation creeps in
If growth rate is negative for 2 quarters, economy is in recession
What are the Key Economic Indicators?
Interest rates Inflation (RPI or CPI) Retail sales Unemployment Industrial production Stock markets Money supply FX rates
Indicator Characteristics
Procyclic (move with cycles, e.g. GDP)
Countercyclic (e.g. unemployment)
Acyclic
Leading (change before the economy, e.g. stock markets)
Lagging (after the economy, e.g. unemployment)
Coincident (same time, e.g. GDP)
Fiscal Policy
Taxation and Spending
Expansionary = higher spending and borrowing Contractionary = higher taxes without higher spending Neutral = higher taxes and spending
Taxing and spending uses money otherwise saved, so increases the money supply and causes a ‘balanced budget multiplier’