Tag: confidence

28 April 201128 April 2011

Making a lot of a little

According to the first estimates by the Office for National Statistics, real UK GDP rose by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2011. In the House of Commons, David Cameron claimed that “it’s clearly a success the economy is growing”, while Ed Balls, Shadow Chancellor, countered this by stating that the economy “flat-lined in the last six months with no growth at all”.

So who is right? According to the statistics both are, in the sense that the economy grew by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2011 after shrinking by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010. But what bigger picture do the figures paint? Is the economy now in recovery mode? Or is the fact that growth is so small a sign that the economy is still fragile? Could it easily dip back into recession as the tax increases and government expenditure cuts begin to bite?

And what of the policy implications? Do the latest figures make a rise in Bank Rate more or less likely in the near future? And how will the figures impact on confidence? Are they more or less likely to stimulate investment? Will consumers feel more confident that recovery is under way and their jobs are therefore more secure?

The following articles assess the situation and look ahead at the prospects for the UK economy.

Articles
UK economy ‘on a plateau’ as 0.5pc GDP rise disappoints The Telegraph, Emma Rowley and Philip Aldrick (28/4/11)
GDP figures: Cameron accused of complacency over economy Guardian, Hélène Mulholland (27/4/11)
Low growth figure suggests economy is stagnating – at best Independent, Sean O’Grady (28/4/11)
A matter of interpretation but nobody’s happy at the latest news Scotsman, Terry Murden (28/4/11)
UK economy grows by 0.5% in first quarter of 2011 BBC News (27/4/11)
Britain ‘on the edge of a double dip recession’ The Telegraph, Philip Aldrick (27/4/11)
British GDP grows by 0.5 per cent Channel 4 News, Faisal Islam (27/4/11)
GDP: Slow but not stagnant BBC News blogs: Stephanomics, Stephanie Flanders (27/4/11)
GDP figures: Despite meagre growth, we must hold our nerve The Telegraph (27/4/11)
The economic gamble looks ever more reckless Independent (28/4/11)
If George Osborne thinks this is the road to recovery, he needs a new satnav Guardian, Heather Stewart (27/4/11)
GDP figures: the verdict Guardian, Michael Burke, Eamonn Butler, Frances O’Grady, Ian Brinkley (27/4/11)
UK GDP grows 0.5pc: reaction The Telegraph, various commentators (27/4/11)

Data
GDP growth ONS
GDP preliminary estimates ONS
Forecasts for Output, Prices and Jobs The Economist
Forecasts for the UK economy: a comparison of independent forecasts HM Treasury

Questions

What are the causes of short-term economic growth?
Why has UK growth been lower than that of most other developed economies?
What are the arguments for and against the government using fiscal policy at the current time to increase aggregate demand?
Why has the construction sector performed so badly while the manufacturing sector has performed relatively well?
How might the growth figures impact on consumer and business confidence? Why is this difficult to predict?
What impact are the growth figures likely to have on interest rate decisions by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee?

29 March 2011

GDP revised up

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in the domestic economy. It gives us an idea about whether national output is growing or falling and by how much. A recession represents a period of 2 consecutive quarters where economic growth is negative. Following the quarters of declining growth, the UK economy slowly began to pick up, but in the final quarter of 2010, economic growth once again turned negative. Data first showed a decline of 0.5%, which was then revised down to 0.6%. However, the most recent data from the ONS has put the decline in economic growth back to just 0.5% and the snow we experienced is supposedly to blame. Still a decline, but not as much as previously thought.

What does this mean for the economy? It might be better than previously thought, but it does little to change the economic outlook for the economy. Furthermore, the UK’s position remains relatively weak compared to other nations. As Chris Williamson from Markit said:

“The decline [in growth] overstates the weakness in the economy, reflecting the bad weather at the end of last year, but is nevertheless still a dire reading compared to the UK’s peers.”

The UK also saw a declining trade balance in the final quarter of 2010 to £27bn, showing that the UK was importing more than it was exporting. This was the second biggest deficit since the second quarter of 2009. Whilst the data for growth is a little better, the key for the UK economy will be what happens in Q1 of 2011, especially given that inflation is so far above the target. In order to get inflation back to its 2% target, interest rates need to rise, but this may put the economic recovery in jeopardy. The key is likely to be confidence. If confidence returns to the economy, aggregate demand may begin to rise and put the economy back on track to achieve its 1.5% forecast rate of growth.

UK GDP less bad than forecast at end-2010, Q1 key Reuters (29/3/11)
UK GDP figures show smaller fall BBC News (29/3/11)
UK GDP shrinks by less than expected: reaction Telegraph (29/3/11)
UK growth figures: what the economists say Guardian (29/3/11)
Disposable income falls by 0.8% The Press Association (29/3/11)
British economy shrank 0.5% in fourth quarter Associated Press (29/3/11)
UK GDP figures revised higher The Economy News (29/3/11)

Questions

What is GDP? Is it a good measure of the standard of living in a country?
To what extent does the revised figure change the economic outlook for the UK economy?
How do you think the Monetary Policy Committee will be affected in their decision on changing interest rates, given this new GDP data?
What factors are worsening the UK’s relative to other countries who also suffered from the recession?
How were financial and currency markets affected by the revised GDP data? Was it expected?

29 January 201129 January 2011

The world economy

Periodically, the BBC hosts debates on major global topics. The following links are to the January 2011 debate on the state of the world economy and on what policies governments and central banks should pursue.

Should governments be boosting aggregate demand by raising government expenditure and cutting taxes in order to stimulate growth and plan to bring down deficits over the long term once growth is established? Or should they embark on tough fiscal consolidation now by cutting government expenditure and/or raising taxes in order to stimulate confidence by international financiers, thereby keeping long-term interest rates down and creating the foundations for sustainable economic growth? The debate considers these two very different policy approaches.

The participants in the debate are Joseph Stiglitz (Professor of Economics, Columbia University), Christina Romer (Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley and Adviser to Barack Obama (2009–10)), George Papaconstantinou (Finance Minister of Greece), Dominique Strauss-Khan (Managing Director, IMF) and Zhou Xiaochuan (Governor, Chinese Central Bank). The debate is in five separate webcasts.

Webcasts

World debate on the global economy BBC World Service (20/1/11)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Questions

What are the arguments for maintaining economic stimulus, at least for the time being? What are the relative merits of fiscal and monetary stimulus? Explain whether such policies are consistent with Keynesian polcies.
What are the arguments for tough fiscal consolidation? Explain whether such policies are consistent with new classical policies.
How successful have US policies been in stimulating the US economy?
What role can China play in the recovery and long-term growth of the global economy and are there any imbalances that need correcting?
Why might countries’ domestic policies result in currency wars? Is currency realignment necessary for sustained global growth?
How important are consumer and business confidence to short-term recovery and long-term growth and to what extent do government policies respond to swings in confidence?

28 January 201128 January 2011

The wrong kind of economics?

Business leaders and politicians pay a great deal of attention to economic forecasts. And yet these forecasts often turn out to be quite wrong. Very few economists predicted the banking crisis of 2008 and the subsequent credit crunch and recession. And the recently released 2010 Q4 growth figures for the UK economy, which showed a decline in real GDP of 0.5%, took most people by surprise.

What is more, forecasters often disagree. If, for example, you look at the forecasts made by various panel members for Consensus Forecasts, you can see the divergence between their various predictions.

So why is economic forecasting so unreliable? Is it the fault of economic models? Or are there too many unpredictable factors that can impact on economies – factors such as business and consumer confidence, or political events, or natural disasters, such as the recent floods in Australia, South Africa and Brazil? Will economic forecasting always be a very inexact science?

Articles
Davos 2011: Why do economists get it so wrong? BBC News, Tim Weber (27/1/11)
Popular Semi-Science Slate, Robert J. Shiller (24/1/11)
Fed Often Gets It Wrong In Its Forecasts on US Economy American Public Media, Justin Wolfers (26/1/11)
Don’t bet on economic forecasting CNBC, Jeff Cox (21/9/10)

Forecasts
Forecasts for the UK economy HM Treasury
Econ Stats: The Economic Statistics and Indicators Database Economy Watch (large database of worldwide annual statistics, including forecasts to 2015)
World Economic Outlook IMF (follow link in right-hand panel)
OECD Economic Outlook: Statistical Annex OECD
European Economic Forecasts European Commission, Economic and Financial Affairs DG

Questions

For what reasons may economic forecasts turn out to be wrong?.
To what extent is economic forecasting like weather forecasting? Which is harder and why?
Wo what extent can the poor accuracy of economic forecasts be blamed on the application of the ‘wrong type of economics’?
How much variation is there in the independent forecasts of the UK economy reported by the Treasury (see HM Treasury link above)?
Using the HM Treasury link, compare the forecasts made of 2010 in January 2010 with those made of 2010 in January 2011. Attempt an explanation of the differences.

20 October 201026 October 2010

Cutting edge

Now the details of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) are known, the comments are coming thick and fast. As we saw in the last news blog, Taking sides in the war of the cuts, economists are divided over whether the cuts will be compensated by a rise in private expenditure or whether overall aggregate demand will fall, driving the economy back into recession. As you will see in the articles below, they are still as divided as ever.

At least we know the details of the cuts. The plan is for an average cut across government departments of some 19 per cent over four years, although the size will vary enormously from department to department. The government is predicting that the effect will be about 490,000 fewer jobs in the public sector. In addition to the cuts, the retirement age is to rise to 66 for both men and women by 2020 and regulated rail fares will rise by 3% above RPI inflation for three years from 2012.

Examine the details of the measures in the articles below and consider what the effects are likely to be, both on the macro economy and on income distribution.

The Spending Review document
Spending Review 2010 HM Treasury (20/10/10)
Link to HM Treasury Spending Review site

Briefing and analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Opening remarks IFS, Carl Emmerson (21/10/10)
Link to briefing presentations (PowerPoint) IFS (21/10/10)

Analysis of fiscal consolidation by the IMF
Will It Hurt? Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Consolidation World Economic Outlook, Chapter 3, IMF (Oct 2010)

Questions

What is the distribution of cuts between government departments?
To what extent can it be said that there will be a real increase in health expenditure?
What will be the effect of the cuts and tax increases on the distribution of income?
What will determine whether the effect of the cuts will be to stimulate or dampen economic growth (or even drive the economy back into recession)? Which do you think is most likely and on what do you base your judgement?
Trace through the multiplier effects of the measures.
If the effect of the cuts is to drive the economy back into recession, what should the government’s ‘Plan B’ be?