Economics
We Are The 99%…Aren’t We?
By Adam Walker, Economics Correspondent Since the global recession struck we have cut society into two vastly unequal groups as a means of pigeon holing blame. The one per cent - those with a total household income that exceeds £300,000 annually – have become targets in the financial downturn. The credit crunch in 2007, the Icelandic Banking crisis in late 2008 and the Eurozone Sovereign Debt crisis in 2010 have all at one point referred back to this section of...
SAVE THE LAST PENCE
By Valentina Magri The Bank of England (BoE) gave us both good and bad news during the presentation of the last inflation report in February. The good news: the UK will be one of the fastest-growing advanced economies, with a GDP growth equal to +2.6 per cent. The bad news: this growth relies too much on consumer spending. Indeed, the inflation report shows that consumption contribution to GDP have risen from 0.4 percentage points of the second quarter of 2013...
The great London housing crisis
By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic The great London housing crisis is a potent example of how capitalist structures fail when left to their own devices. Mayor of London Boris Johnson believes we would be utterly nuts as a society if we "slammed the door" on wealthy foreigners buying property in the capital. Loosely translated, this means that London residents are competing with the top one per cent of wealth in the world in a market that is...
Environmental challenges of urbanisation
By Stephen Angus Peter Junor China’s urbanisation plan is designed to boost the economy by increasing domestic consumption and connecting more people to the global workplace. The government also hope to improve living standards for everyone, but urbanisation can have drastic and irreversible effects on the environment while also reshaping the cultural fabric of the country which has historically been very rural. The last couple of years have seen the urban population outnumber the rural population for the first time in...
Techonomics
By Adam Walker, Economics Correspondent The Digital-Savvy Generation Rises To Power Facebook has acquired mobile phone messaging app WhatsApp for a total of $19 billion, giving them a bigger corporate value than giants such as American Airlines, Ralph Lauren and Tiffany. Launched in 2009 the app was based on a £0.79 subscription model for all of its users. Following the explosive growth of smartphone ownership and the immense popularity of the application it became one of the most prominent pieces of software...
The Four Freedoms
By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic One of Britain’s biggest exporters shows the power of the four freedoms. In July 2011 the decision of the British government to award a £1.4 billion Thameslink contract to German firm Siemens was met with uproar. To quote the Daily Mail (deplorable but, in this instance, understandable), it was “beggars belief that Bombardier could have lost out to the Germans…. This would never have happened if Britain had put the national and...
Urbanisation and China’s future
By Stephen Angus Peter Junor Since economic reforms implemented by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970’s, urbanisation in China has been relentless and it shows no signs of slowing down. Poor economic policy along with labour and market restrictions had previously suppressed urban growth, but since then China has developed into a major economic and political power. The city remains the hallmark of urban growth and the development of new cities has been rapid. In 1978 there were 191 cities in...
The four enemies of the British recovery
by Valentina Magri According to IMF forecasts, Britain will enjoy a bigger increase in GDP than any other country in Europe after being upgraded from 1.9 per cent to 2.4 per cent. But there are at least four risk factors that may weaken the recovery. Puzzling politics There is a complicated political background to deal with this year. To start with, David Cameron has promised British people “reform first, referendum second” over Europe exit by the end of 2017. The...
Is London a Drain on the UK?
By Adam Walker, Economics Correspondent A Northerner’s Perspective London is an economic powerhouse, a hub of global headquarters and a melting pot of cultures, but is it a drain on the rest of the UK? Recently there has been a lot of speculation and debate surrounding the question of whether London has a positive or negative influence on the overall UK economy with heavyweights such as The Times’ David Smith and Vince Cable contributing their own analysis. Research by the Centre for...