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The US budget had a deficit of $32.6 billion in January compared with a deficit of $13.3 billion in December and a surplus of $8.7 billion in January 2019. The yearly growth rate of government outlays rose by 22.2 percent in January from 7 percent in the month before and 6.7 percent in January of last year. The yearly growth rate of government

According to the Financial Times ‘s February 20 article “Why Sweden Ditched Its Negative Rate Experiment,” economists are pondering whether Sweden’s central bank experiment with negative interest rate was a success. Sweden’s Riksbank, the world’s oldest central bank, introduced negative interest rates in early 2015. The reason given by central

In the  Wall Street Journal article from February 21, 2020 “The Central Bank Advised to Use Tool Kits Aggressively during Trouble,” it is suggested that a group of top Wall Street economists recommend that central banks consider a more aggressive monetary stance to counter future economic slumps. Because of the very low level of interest rates in

Global policymakers moved to ease public anxiety over the coming economic hit from the coronavirus as analysts warned of a severe slowdown in growth and a possible recession if the virus continues to spread. The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Tuesday, March 3, in an emergency move designed to shield the world’s largest economy from the

Economic fluctuations, also known as business cycles, are seen as being driven by mysterious forces that are difficult to identify. Finn Kydland and Edward C. Prescott (KP), the 2004 Nobel laureates in economics, decided to attempt to find out what these forces were.  They hypothesized that technology shocks are a major factor behind economic

Most economists consider the use of sophisticated mathematical and statistical methods key to understanding the complexities of economics. By means of mathematical and statistical methods, an economist establishes relationships between variables. For example, personal consumer outlays are related to personal disposable income and interest rates.

Following the Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT), the boom-bust cycle emerges in response to a deviation in the market interest rate from the natural interest rate, or the equilibrium interest rate. As a rule it is held, the tampering with the market interest rates by the central bank sets the boom-bust cycle in motion. Would it be possible for

In response to a weakening in the yearly growth rate of key economic indicators such as industrial production and real gross domestic product (GDP) some commentators have raised the alarm of the possibility of a recession emerging. Some other commentators are dismissive of this arguing that the likelihood of a recession ahead is not very high

A slight strengthening in the momentum of consumer expenditure has prompted many commentators to suggest that as long as the US consumer continues to spend there is no risk of a recession ahead. The yearly growth rate of consumer expenditure at current prices stood at 4.1% in July against 4% in June. Notwithstanding still buoyant consumer

Whenever a central bank introduces easy monetary policy, as a rule this leads to an economic boom — or economic prosperity. At least this is what most commentators hold. If this is however the case then it means that an easy monetary policy can grow an economy. But loose monetary policies do not generate economic growth. These policies set in