With the US Federal Reserve Bank poised to allow inflation moderately above 2%, interest rates in the US could remain low for as long as necessary to enable other economic areas in the US economy, such as the labour market, catch up. This decision will determine the price of borrowing and savings deposit rates, not…
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The use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of economic progress has been under fire by welfare economists in recent years as they postulate that GDP figures do not capture the adverse environmental effects of economic processes. Economic progress can be linked to the people’s prosperity and happiness and citizens of countries that…
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The Phillips curve indicates the trade-off between employment and price stability. Price stability is the primary objective of central banks but this cannot be achieved without pursuing associated objectives such as sustainable economic growth, full employment, stable long-term interest rates and stable real exchange rates. The tool is based on the ideology that, ceteris paribus, an…
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The world is reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Its devastating damage to humans, its influence over our daily interactions, and its economic consequences are all too clear. Financial and medical crises could go hand in hand as a rise in unemployment and reduced access to healthcare could lead to adverse health outcomes.…
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There’s been a paradigm shift in the global world economic order. The third wave of globalization that began in the 1970s is slowly winding down, and the coronavirus pandemic could just be the final nail on the coffin. Severe pandemics can have extremely important and potentially long-lasting lopsided economic consequences. As the world emerges from…
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The same way COVID-19 symptoms are more severe in people with pre-existing health conditions, the resulting economic crisis is equally exposing and worsening financial vulnerabilities that have built up during a decade of extremely low rates and volatility. As such, cushioning the adverse economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been a front burner in…
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The reality of the coronavirus pandemic is upon us and the outbreak is on course to upend business operations, profitability and continuity, inducing a steep recession. There is hardly any business line that will escape the pandemic’s one-two punch (i.e. social disruption with economic consequences), and how they respond will have far-reaching implications for their…
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Africa is an exceptional region with uneven patterns in economic growth, development, population distribution, and stability among member countries. The region is resource-rich, but its resource wealth is one of the lowest among the world’s developing regions. Africa is blessed with a vast amount of human capital, a burgeoning middle-class, and remains the fastest-growing continent.…
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After months of skirmishes and failed negotiations, the United States and China officially effected the implementation of steep tariffs on exports from each other. More than 800 Chinese goods worth a total of US$34bn/annum will attract a 25% import tariff in the US. In retaliation, China has imposed import tariffs of the same measure on…
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Debates on trade protectionism and de-globalization have been on since the global economic meltdown in 2007. At a time when China, who operated a relatively closed economy for decades, is tending towards being pro-globalization the United States that has previously been a major proponent of free trade is tending towards implementing “fair” trade policies which…
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