Stimulating Times
I was drawn to this very interesting graphic from the latest IMF report on the state of government (fiscal) finances in countries around the world.
read more...»Investment - Teacher Presentation
This revision presentation is ideal for AS Macro students who wish to build their knowledge and understanding of the important topic of investment and its role in driving macroeconomic performance. The presentation stays clear of AD-AS or PPF diagrams as we cover this analysis next - I will post a second presentation on applying investment to the AD-AS framework sometime next week.
Launch interactive presentation on the economics of investment
Download printable pdf (slides)
Broadband and economic development
Access to and the speed and reliability of broadband infrastructure is one of the key institutional factors that impact on economic development. The lack of an affordable and cost-effective broadband network can be a huge barrier to economic growth especially in an age where companies in many rich countries are looking to outsource their back office and call centre services to countries where operating costs are lowest. The 2009 UNCTAD Information Economy Report provides a wealth of background information on the global digital divide.
According to the latest report, businesses and consumers are 200 times more likely to have access to broadband in developed countries than in the poorest Least Developed Countries (LDCs). And the monthly cost of broadband access varies to an incredible degree - from over $1,300 a month in Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic to less than $13 in Egypt.
read more...»Paul Romer on Growth and Cities
BBC Radio’s Global Business this week sees Peter Day in conversation with Professor Paul Romer from Stanford University, Paul Romer is an expert in the causes of long run run growth and his current focus is on the economics of new cities in developed and developing countries. It is a programme well worth listening to, Romer is tremendously optimistic about the opportunities created by faster economic growth - especially growth built around innovation and appropriate rules systems.
read more...»Taxing hot money - is Brazil getting it wrong?
Carl Mortished’s excellent world business briefing in the Times today covers developments in the Brazilian economy. Huge inflows of foreign direct investment have helped to drive their currency higher and the Brazilian Finance Ministry has responded with a 2 per cent capital tax on foreign ‘hot money’ inflows into stocks and bonds. The article suggests that Brazil might be better off in the long run by cutting import tariffs on capital goods thus reducing the price of imports of hi-tech machinery that will give her economy a major supply-side boost. In contrast to China, Brazil exports a relatively low percentage of her national output and it is largely self sufficient. The country has enjoyed a significant improvement in her terms of trade with strong world prices for many of her key exported commodites such as iron ore, coffee and orange juice. The boom in commodity exports has helped to increase the real purchasing power of millions of Brazil’s poorest people but a huge amount remains to be done and income and wealth inequalities are vast.
“Brazil is not China; it does not trade that much. Where China’s motor is manufacturing exports, Brazil is largely a self-sufficient economy, more like the United States, with a vast hinterland of eager, albeit poor, consumers.”
UK broadband in the slow lane
The relatively slow speed of the average broadband connections for most UK businesses and households will act as a contsraint on future competitiveness and growth. This report from BBC news finds that a study of the global state of broadband has put the UK 25th out of 66 countries in terms of the quality and reach of its networks. Rory Cellan Jones follows up the report with his own observations
“Britain has done well in the first broadband wave, using a pretty efficient copper network and DSL technology to get homes across most of the country connected. But other countries are moving forward more rapidly to build next generation networks using cable and fibre-optics.”
Investment in broadband can have significant demand and supply-side effects - the real consequences of under-investment will become more painful and obvious as time goes on - but who should pay for the extra capital spending needed? Will the new broadband tax make any noticeable difference?
Gloomy summary
Here is a summary of four reports posted on the Business and Economics sections of the BBC News website over the last few days. Be warned - none of them are particularly hopeful, the green shoots of summer giving way to autumn mists.
Explaining the Paradox of Thrift
Dugie Young looks at the paradox of thrift and its relevance to today’s financial and economic crisis.
read more...»Rated: 
(5/5), based on 1 review
Beijing worries that supply is outpacing demand
Not all investment contributes to growth - and in an economy where super-charged capital spending has been a driving force of economic expansion over several decades, there is always a risk that a country that invests over forty per cent of GDP on capital goods can eventually suffer an investment-led slump. Japan learned to her cost the dangers of being over-capitalised. Is China recognising the same symptoms in time? This article from the Times makes for fascinating reading.
“Beijing is eager to keep GDP growth above the level of 8 per cent supposedly required to maintain social stability and job creation. But there are fears that huge imbalances between production capacity and actual demand could lead to price wars, corporate failures and severe setbacks for the country’s stellar expansion trajectory.”
Read Beijing moves to halt growth as supply starts to outstrip demand
Let a falling pound rebalance the economy
Stephen King has a superb article on the importance of exports and a cheaper currency to prospects of recovery in today’s Independent.
“If consumer spending, government spending and investment spending are going to be weak, the only likely source of growth is exports. One way to boost exports is to adjust the relative price of goods and services produced in Britain, and an obvious way of doing this is to encourage sterling to fall. Unlike the individual eurozone members, the UK still enjoys exchange-rate flexibility.”
But he makes the point that a lower currency on its own provides little more than a quick palliative to the fragily economic situation - the UK needs to reinforce our competitive advantage in many different industries by improving non-price quality, keeping costs under control and investing in productive capacity rather than simply relying on a weaker sterling to boost the profitability of exports.
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