British_economoy.pptVIP

* * Economy of the UK Falling but still strong * * UK economy: An introduction (1) The United Kingdom has the fifth largest?economy in the world in terms of market exchange rates and the sixth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has the second largest economy in Europe after Germany. The United Kingdom is one of the worlds most globalised countries, ranking fourth in one recent survey. The capital, London, is one of the three major financial centres of the world, along with New York City and Tokyo. The British economy is often described as an Anglo-Saxon economy. It is made up of the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK has been a member state of the European Union since 1973. * * UK economy: An introduction (2) Privatisation of state-owned enterprises under the Government of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. No state-owned enterprises except Royal Mail. The British economy has in recent years seen the longest period of sustained economic growth in every quarter since 1992. It is one of the strongest EU economies in terms of inflation, interest rates and unemployment, all of which remain relatively low. Although the UKs “labour productivity per person employed” has been progressing well over the last two decades and has overtaken productivity in Germany, it lags around 20% behind Frances level. The United Kingdom currently ranks 16th on the Human Development Index. * * Recent economic growth The most recent official figure, from the Office for National Statistics, for annual UK GDP growth is 3.1% (2007 compared to 2006). According to official Treasury estimates, British GDP grew by 2?% in 2006 and is expected to grow by 3% in 2007. Growth is expected to slow slightly in 2008 to between 2% and 2?%. The forecast for 2009 and 2010 is for the economy to return to trend growth of between 2?% and 3%. In October 2007, the International Monetary Fund forecast British GDP to grow by 3.1% in 2007 and 2.3% in 2008. * * Macroeconom