Tag: multiplier

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Recession – it’s official at last

Given all the attention that the recession has had for months in the media, it may be surprising to find out that in fact Britain only went into recession officially today (January 23rd 2009). This is because, as economists, we have a more precise definition of recession than much of the media. A recession is when there is two successive quarters of negative economic growth. Figures released by the ONS today, show that this is finally the case. The links below give a flavour of the media attention dedicated to this announcement.

Recession Britain: It’s official Guardian (23/1/09)
Countdown to recession Guardian (23/1/09)
No end to the melodrama Guardian (22/1/09)
Recession: we knew it was coming, but we didn’t know it would be this bad Times Online (24/1/09)
Recession: Sector-by-sector breakdown Times Online (23/1/09)
It’s official – Britain is in recession Times Online (23/1/09)
UK in recession as economy slides BBC News Online (23/1/09)
Recession figures heighten the gloom Independent (23/1/09)
UK recession: It’s official and the worst since 1980 Telegraph (23/1/09)
UK recession: How does this one compare to those since 1945 Telegraph (23/1/09)
UK recession: It’s now official Telegraph (23/1/09)

Questions

  1. Explain the principal reasons why the UK has fallen into recession.
  2. Discuss the extent to which the UK recession is likely to be worse than in other countries in Europe.
  3. Analyse whether the policies adopted by the UK government will reduce the length and depth of the UK recession.
  4. Evaluate two further policies that the governmnt could adopt to reduce the depth of the recession.
  5. Assess which sectors of the economy are likely to suffer (a) the most and (b) the least, as a result of the recession.
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Building – from boom to bust!

One of the industries always hard hit by any economic downturn is the building and construction industry. The three articles below look at different aspects of the construction downturn. The building industry in Spain (article 1) has been particularly hard hit, perhaps because of the previous scale of the boom. When there is a recession, different industries are always hit in different ways, depending on the nature of the demand they face. Construction and building can be very badly affected as much of the expenditure on them is ‘investment’ expenditure and this will often be delayed in times of economic downturn.

Building boom reduced to ruins by collapse of Spain’s economic miracle Guardian (19/1/09)
Housing starts lowest since 1924 as construction bears brunt of recession Guardian (15/12/08)
UK construction activity slumps to record low Times Online (5/1/09)

Questions

  1. Write a short paragraph explaining the current state of the construction industry in the UK.
  2. Explain the accelerator theory.
  3. Discuss the extent to which the accelerator theory might help to explain the current state of the construction industry in the UK and Spain.