Category: Essentials of Economics: Ch 15

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Pound breaks the $2 barrier

It was over 25 years ago that £1 was worth more than $2 on the foreign exchange markets, but that important psychological barrier was broken again this month as the value of sterling crept above $2 on foreign exchange markets. The continuing weakness of the dollar is making life difficult for UK exporters and also for firms in the Eurozone as the weakness in the dollar also affects the Euro and other major currencies.

Pound reaches 26-year dollar high BBC News Online (18/4/07)
UK pound goes through $2 barrier BBC News Online (17/4/07)
Yen hits record low against euro BBC News Online (16/4/07)
Pound hits 25-year dollar high Guardian (18/4/07)
British pound breaks through $2 International Herald Tribune (17/4/07)

Questions

1. Explain the impact of the weak value of the dollar on international markets on the price of UK imports and exports.
2. Assess the likely impact of the high value of sterling on the major UK economic targets.
3. Assess policies that the government could use to try to reduce the value of sterling against the dollar if they chose to.
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Oxfam slams bilateral trade deals

Many new regional trade agreements (RTAs) and bilateral trade agreements have been signed in recent years. In a report – Signing away the future – Oxfam has argued that these trade agreements may often significantly disadvantage the poorer developing countries. The links below give access to the briefing paper and some FAQs about these agreements.

Oxfam slams bilateral trade deals BBC News Online(20/3/07)
The state of world trade – Oxfam Oxfam website
Signing away the future – Oxfam Briefing Paper Oxfam website
Signing away the future – Q&A Oxfam website

Questions

1. Explain the difference between a regional trade agreement and a bilateral trade agreement.
2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for developing countries of signing (a) bilateral trade agreements and (b) regional trade agreements.
3. Choose a specific recent regional trade agreement and assess the impact it has had on the member countries.
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The west fails to deliver on aid

The United Nations has set a target for developed countries to donate 0.7% of their GDP to poor nations. However, the average figure is just 0.33% for the developed world and according to a recent OECD report many nations are set to miss this target if they fail to boost aid spending significantly. Indeed, only a few countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – are currently meeting this target.

West set to fail aid targets, OECD says Guardian(22/2/07)

Questions

1. Explain what is meant by ‘official development assistance’.
2. Discuss the likely impact on the developing world of a failure to meet the aid targets set by the United Nations.
3. Assess the extent to which developing countries are likely to gain from globalisation.
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UK does not have an exchange rate policy

Since the 1970s and 1980s we have moved away from an active exchange rate policy as part of an overall demand management strategy. Indeed, by the mid 2000s, even the role of fiscal policy in demand management had diminished. The article below looks at these changes and considers whether this new approach to demand management is proving effective.

It’s a fashionable club but can the MPC keep us out of the rough? Guardian (11/2/07)

Questions

1. Explain how the approach to management of the economy has changed over the last three decades.
2. Assess the problems that might arise from trying to manage the economy using just one policy instrument (i.e. interest rates)..
3. Explain what is meant by an exchange rate policy. Discuss whether the reintroduction of an exchange rate policy would help with the management of the economy.
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Is an independent Scotland economically viable?

The 300th anniversary of Scotland’s union with England was marked with renewed speculation (backed up by opinion polls) about the constitutional future of the union and a reinvigorated debate about whether Scotland should ‘go it alone’. However, could an economically independent Scotland survive? The article below considers the issues relating to an ‘economically independent’ Scotland.

Where there’s oil ……. Guardian (8/2/07)

Questions

1. Discuss the impact of North Sea Oil on the Scottish economy.
2. Assess the extent to which an independent Scotland would survive economically.
3. Discuss the changes that would take place in the fiscal position of Scotland if they were independent.