Chronicle

The PASCAL ChronicleECONOMICSFurthermore, the low economic growth throughout the developed countries and the slowdown of growth rates in developingcountries has led to an increase in the prices of goods and services since the supply of goods has fallen. Serious problems ofinflation in the UK have occurred and many countries implemented policies to solve this problem as it was regarded as a priority.The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures inflation and has shown that in Britain from 4% in 2007, inflation has reached 6% in2008. As a result international competitiveness has decreased leading of course to high amounts of debts worsening the Balanceof Payments position in several countries an example being Britain. The government cut the expenditure in an attempt to pay itsloans. Large current account deficits can lead to a further increase in unemployment within economies worsening the situationmaking it more difficult to survive the crisis.More statistical data used by economists involves analysis of GDP figures, Inflation and Unemployment rates. For instance in2008, UK GDP growth started in the first quarter of 2008 as just above 0.5% and ended in the last quarter of 2009 as just 0.1%.However, in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2008 GDP growth started with a percentage being just below 6% and has fallen to 5%. In2008 unemployment in the UK was 6% and reached 7.5% in 2010 whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2008 unemployment ratewas 5.7% and it was expected to rise to 6.1%.Such economic data and analysis are essential for the economists of all countries to make comparisons, and for the governmentto know how to deal with such problems in the best possible way.Lastly, with the use of economics important economic issues can be understood and possible solutions can be found. This globalproblem with the recession has affected mostly poor countries in comparison with the developed countries that suffered less.Poor countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and so on suffered more in the sense that death rates have increased dramatically whereas inrich countries like Britain the standard of living fell. Economics helps in seeing various aspects of the crisis throughout the world,enables comparisons between countries, and awareness of the economic problems that affect all of us and to know what the governments’next actions will be.Students:Demetra Kokkinou 6C, Olivia Barnett 6A, Andreas Varkaris 6D, Georgia Zorpa 6D,Panayiotis Hatzidemetriou 6B, Panayiotis Panteli 6C, Louis Koukos 6C, Constantinos Neophytou 6CSources:http://www.investopedia,com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp The International Monetary Fund, 2009 The Times Online, 2010 The Guardian Online, 2010http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGEP2010/Resources/GEP2010-Full-Report.pdf Anderton, A. 2008. Economics54