Economic Growth
- Economic growth is a central macroeconomic aim of most governments
- Many developed nations (UK included) have an annual target rate of 2-3%
- This is considered to be sustainable growth
- Growth at this rate is less likely to cause excessive demand pull inflation
- Politicians often use it as a metric of the effectiveness of their policies and leadership
- Economic growth has positive impacts on confidence, consumption, investment, employment, incomes, living standards and government budgets
A diagram showing the economic growth rate of the UK since 1998
Source: Macrotrends
A Table Highlighting Some of the Economic Growth Trends in the UK Since 1998
1998-2007 |
2008-2015 |
2016-2019 |
2020 - |
Steady growth fluctuating between 2-4% |
Global financial crisis followed by rapid bounce back due to government intervention - and then steady growth |
Gradual disinflation possibly due to future expectations regarding the impact of the Brexit vote | Supply chain issues due to Brexit. Decreased consumption due to the impact of Covid 19. These created a deep recession (short-lived due to government intervention) |