uk rwc

Question 1

what is the PED of UK exports

Answer 1

very low PED:
low manufacturing base
high value added exports that aren’t sensitive to price changes
banking specialisation eg Monzo

Question 2

what is the PED of UK imports

Answer 2

price inelastic:
necessities
lack of domestic substitutes
integrated supply chains and contract agreements

Question 3

what is a crucial need for the uk and why

Answer 3

supply side policies as a weak £ does little to narrow a current account deficit and is needed to resolve structural weaknesses in the UK

Question 4

what is most needed in the uk economy and why

Answer 4

supply side policies as a weak £ does little to narrow the current account deficit and is needed to restructure the weaknesses in the uk economy

Question 5

how many income earners pay no income tax at all and why

Answer 5

42% due to rises in income tax free allowance at £12,570 (Q4 2023)

Question 6

what’re the UK forecasted stats for 2024

Answer 6

0.8% gdp growth
1.5% inflation by Q4 2024
negative gdp/capita growth
budget deficit of 4.2%
97.6% national debt gdp to linger

Question 7

what’s the uk output gap

Answer 7

-0.1%

Question 8

what’s the uk GDP

Answer 8

£2.5trillion

Question 9

what is the composition of british exports

Answer 9

services 79%
manufacturing 14%
construction 6%
agriculture 1%

Question 10

what’s the uk unemployment stats

Answer 10

4.2% unemployment (3.5% natural uk rate, 4.5-5% nairu)
74.5% employment
22.2% economic inactivity rate
5.6% wage growth, positive growth
falling job vacancies
11% youth unemployment
very poor consumer confidence

Question 11

what’re uk inflation stats

Answer 11

3.2% as of march 2024 from 11.1% in october 2022, disinflationary pressure
low 0.6% producer price inflation rate
-1.8% house price inflation
one of the highest global minimum wages

Question 12

what’re uk trade stats

Answer 12

weak sterling
current account deficit = 3.2% of GDP (will be improved due to weak £)
very poor productivity/investment due to financial crisis and brexit)
4th largest global exporter

Question 13

what’re gov finance stats

Answer 13

budget deficit of 4.2% of gdp
national debt = 98% of gdp (imf risk of defaulting)
income tax bands frozen until 2029 (fiscal drag)
NI fallen from 12% to 10% to 8%
corporation tax of 25%
vat of 20%
gini risen from 0.34-0.36 (bad)
uk annual debt interests are ~£50bn

Question 14

what’re interest rate stats

Answer 14

BoE base 5.25%, average lending rate of 6.25%, good loan willingness
very poor consumer confidence
poor business confidence
10.5% savings ratio
QE pumped ~£900bn into uk economy (>1/2 from covid, a very high amount)