4.英国经济

LOGOEconomyoftheUKFallingbutstillstrongContentsGeneralIntroduction1RecentHistoryofBritishEconomy2CurrentBritishEconomy3GeneralIntroduction1Britainwasthefirstcountrytostarttheindustrialrevolutioninthe18thcentury.Britainisacapitalismcountry.Whatisthemaincharacteristicofcapitalism？Thecharacteristicoftheeconomicsystemofcapitalismisthatitprotectsprivateenterprises.HowlongisthemarketeconomyintheUK?Britainbeganitsmarketeconomyabout300yearsago.UKeconomy:Anintroduction(1)Britainisatradingnation.(Why?)InBritain,thedomesticmarketislimited.So,ithastofindmoremarketsoutsidethecountry.Ithastofindmoremarketsintheworld.Eg.EachyearBritainexportssomeone-thirdofitsgrossdomesticproduct.Itisthefourthlargestexporterintheworld.Itsexportsaccountforabout5%oftheworld’stotaltradevolume.UKeconomy:Anintroduction(1)Britainisalsooneoftheworld’slargestimporters.(Why?)BecauseBritainlacksrawmaterials.Itshomesupplyofrawmaterialsisinadequate,Britainhastobuyupalargeproportionoftherawmaterialssoldintheworldmarket.Britain’smajortradingpartnersareindustrializedcountries.UKeconomy:Anintroduction(1)2020/11/217UKeconomy:Anintroduction(2)TheUnitedKingdomisoneoftheworld'smostglobalisedcountries,rankingfourthinonerecentsurvey.Thecapital,London,isoneofthethreemajorfinancialcentersoftheworld.Whataretheothertwomajorfinancialcentersoftheworld?TheyareNewYorkCityandTokyo.TheBritisheconomyisoftendescribedasan'Anglo-Saxoneconomy'.ItismadeupoftheeconomiesofEngland,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIreland.TheUKhasbeenamemberstateoftheEuropeanUnion(EU)since1973.2020/11/219UKeconomy:Anintroduction(2)TheBritisheconomyhasinrecentyearsseenthelongestperiodofsustainedeconomicgrowthineveryquartersince1992.ItisoneofthestrongestEUeconomiesintermsofinflation,interestratesandunemployment,allofwhichremainrelativelylow.IthasthesecondlargesteconomyinEurope(afterGermany).theUK‘s“labourproductivityperpersonemployed”(人均劳动生产率)lagsaround20%behindFrance'slevel.RecentHistoryofBritishEconomy2absoluteandrelativedeclineoftheBritishEconomyWhatisabsolutedecline?Whatisrelativedecline?DoesBritisheconomybelongtotheformeroneorthelatterone?UKeconomy:RecentHistoryabsolutedeclineBythe1880stheBritisheconomywasdominantintheworld,producingonethirdoftheworld’smanufacturedgoods,halfitscoalandiron,halfitscotton.TheamountofBritishshippingwasgreaterthanthatintherestoftheworldputtogether.Butby1900,itwasovertakenbyboththeU.SandGermany.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryrelativedeclineFrom1945(theyearwhenWWIIended)untilpresent,UKeconomyisthoughtofasrelativedeclinebecauseofsteadyeconomicgrowthandrapidlyincreasinglivingstandardsandstillremainingoneoftheGroupofSevenIndustrialEconomies(七大工业国)WhichcountriesareconsideredastheGroupofSevenIndustrialEconomies?US,UK.Germany,France,Japan,ItalyandCanadaUKeconomy:RecentHistorybutothercountriesdevelopedmorerapidly,soitslipfrombeingthe2ndlargesteconomytobeingthe6th.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryWhatarethecausesoftherelativedecline?Britainhasgoneintoheavydebttofinancethewar(sellingmanyaccumulatedoverseasassets,borrowinglargeamountsfromtheUSandCanada)Britishcolonieswhichusedtoproviderawmaterialsandbigmarketsgainedindependence—theendoftheeraofempire.Britainwasheavilyburdenedwiththehugemilitaryexpenditureduringtheprocessofdecolonization.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryBritainlackedtheinvestmentinmodernequipmentandnewproducts.ACharacteristicoftheUKeconomy----Alowrateofdomesticindustrialinvestmentcoupledwithaveryhighrateofoverseasinvestment.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryPrivatizationinthe1980s(私有化)Whoisthepolitical-decisionmaker?Britain’sslowgrowthofproductivity,soaringinflation,andlargeunemploymentgavebirthtothemockingterm“BritishDisease”.In1979,MargaretThatcherbecameBritain’sfirst-everwomanPrimeMinister.Shecarriedoutanextensiveprogramofprivatization.Thenewdoctrineadvocatedreductionoftaxessoastostimulateinvestmentandconsumption.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryPrivatizationofstate-ownedenterprisesundertheGovernmentofMargaretThatcherinthe1980s.Nostate-ownedenterprisesexceptRoyalMail.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryThatcher’spolicywaslikeacoinwithtwosides(Why?):1)HighUnemployment;2)Widenedgapbetweenthepoorandtherich;3)Highcrimerates;4)Unsatisfactorysocialservices.UKeconomy:RecentHistoryCurrentUKEconomy3What’sthecurrencyoftheUK?TheBritishcurrencyisthepoundsterling.Thesignforthepoundis£.BritishpeopledonotusetheEuro.AlthoughafewofthebigshopswillacceptEuro,itisrarelyusedacrossBritain.OnePoundSterling(£)=100pence(p)Thesingularofpenceispenny.Thesymbolforthepennyisp;henceanamountsuchas50pisoftenpronouncedfiftypeeratherthanfiftypence.Currentcoinsare:1penny,2pence,5pence,10pence,20pence,50pence,1pound,and2pounds.Currentbanknotesare:The5poundnote,the10poundnote,the20poundnoteandthe50poundnote.PoundTheBankofEnglandisthecentralbank,responsibleforissuingcurrency.Poundsterlingisalsousedasareservecurrencybyothergovernmentsandinstitutions,andisthethird-largestaftertheU.S.dollarandtheeuro.Exchangerates最新汇率:2013.12.10：1英镑GBP=9.9837人民币CNY1英镑GBP=12.7394港币HKD1英镑GBP=1.195欧元EUR1英镑GBP=1.6431美元USD1英镑GBP=169.4447日元JPY1英镑GB