Guide to Economic Indicators: Making Sense of Economics, Fifth Edition (The Economist Series)
Language: English
Pages: 240
ISBN: 1576601455
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product), GNP (Gross National Product), and GNI (Gross National Income)
- Growth, trends, and cycles
- Population, employment, and unemployment
- Government
- Consumers
- Investments and savings
- Industry and commerce
- Balance of payments
- Exchange rates
- Money and financial markets
Now in its fifth edition, this fully updated, revised guide is invaluable for anyone who needs or simply wants to have the underlying economic realities of the world we live in clearly explained
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which in turn implies more imports, so exports should never be considered in isolation. This brief should be read in conjunction with the previous brief on imports. Note especially the comments on goods and services (page 131–2) and special factors (pages 135–6). 10.3 2.1 Exports of goods and services % of GDP, 2005 Belgium Netherlands Austria Denmark Switzerland Sweden Germany Canada EU25 OECD Italy UK France Spain Australia Japan USA 0 Sources: IMF; OECD 136 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
problem; it reflects choice as much as necessity. For most of the past 200 years Britain has run a deficit on visible trade which has been more than offset by one of the world’s largest surpluses on invisibles. Countries with large manufacturing sectors, such as Japan and Germany, have tended to run visible-trade surpluses and invisibles 139 GUIDE TO ECONOMIC INDICATORS Table 10.3 Trade and current-account balances Trade balancea 2005, $bn Australia -13.7 Austria 3.4 Belgiumb 2.0 Canada
by a weighted average of competitors’ gdp deflators. This is the most comprehensive basis for comparison, covering unit labour costs and profits per unit of output. One drawback is that some of the items in gdp are not traded, although it might be argued that inflation pressures are ultimately transmitted uniformly through all goods and services. Another problem is that the deflators are available only after a sizeable lag. Relative unit labour costs. An alternative to price competitiveness is to
demand) and overnight to 12-month money. Interest rates on 12month paper are higher than on shorter maturities if market participants expect interest rates to rise, or lower if rates are expected to fall. Supply and demand imbalances can cause temporary interest rate bulges at various maturities. It is not unknown for overnight money rates to top 100% on rare occasions. Use 3-month rates as the benchmark. Credit risk. Treasury bills (loans to the government) are regarded as completely safe in the
unlike shares the maturity value is fixed, so the yield on long-dated government bonds may be taken as an indicator of expected trends in interest rates and inflation. 179 GUIDE TO ECONOMIC INDICATORS Table 12.3 Benchmark yields June 21st 2006 Australia Austria Belgium Canada Denmark France Germany Italy Japan Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland UK USA Coupon % 6.000 4.000 3.250 4.500 4.000 3.250 4.000 3.750 1.900 3.250 3.150 3.000 2.500 4.000 5.130 Redemption date Feb 2017 Sep 2016 Sep