Recent blogs and links

 Some recent blogs from economicshelp.org:


To what extent can the government help boost domestic industry and manufacturing?

"In recent weeks, several politicians have talked about their desire to help UK manufacturing and boost industrial production. It may be a noble endeavour to try and boost UK industry and rebalance the economy away from financial services to manufacturing. But, how practical is it for the government to actually boost manufacturing output?"

• Can the government really help stem the decline in UK industrial production?

UK House prices

If you're stuck for something to write about, you can always have a look at the crazy world of the UK housing market. Why UK house prices are set to rise, despite being over-priced already. - UK house prices

Should we worry about national debt?

One of the big questions of the past few years -   Governments have been borrowing for centuries. The figures for national debt are staggering. In the US, National debt is over $11 trillion. In the UK, debt is over £1.1 trillion. From a personal perspective, we are brought up to believe debt is a bad thing, and therefore people frequently worry that national debt is too high. But, how much should we worry about these levels of national debt? ... - Should we be concerned about national debt?

Also: post on UK national debt updated - now 76% of GDP)

Explaining the fall in UK unemployment

UK unemployment edged down to 7.7% - a 'relatively' 'good' figure,  given the extent of the economic downturn in the past 5 years. What is going on with UK unemployment?

Technology

• Growth of the global tablet market - why the sales of tablets are soaring and the price falling.
• Facebook and productivity - How the internet can boost and hamper productivity - it's a very different kind of technological breakthrough to the assembly line or electricity.
• Could Google lose its monopoly power - anything is possible, but it's hard to see it in the short-term.

Readers questions

• Readers question: Why do external benefits in the housing market cause market failure?
• Readers question: Why did bond yields in the USA rise at news of the Fed Tapering back in August?
• Readers question: Are there different types of government borrowing?
• Readers question: Would a cap on house prices work?

A Level help

• The use of real data in A Level exams - how important is it to know what is going on in the economy?
• The purpose of banks