Increasing Economic Growth Benefits and Costs
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In the UK the average growth rate has been about 2.5% since 1945. Governments
often try to increase the growth rate because it will have various advantages.
Benefits of Economic Growth
1. Firstly higher GDP implies the economy is producing more goods and
services and therefore consumers can consume more, If human welfare is linked to
consumption then growth will benefit society.
2 With higher GDP the govt will collect more taxes, this is because people
will pay more income tax and VAT. This is beneficial because the govt can use
this increased revenues to reduce the level of government borrowing and/or spend
more on public services and investment in the country infrastructure.
3. Higher economic growth will lead to an increase in demand for labour as
firms will be producing more. Therefore unemployment will fall, this has various
advantages such as lower govt spending on benefits and less social problems.
However economic growth has various costs.
1. If economic growth is unsustainable and is higher than the long run trend
rate inflation is likely to occur.
2. Furthermore this temporary boom in output is unlikely to continue and may
be followed by an economic downturn or recession. Thus it can be very damaging
to increase the rate of economic growth above the sustainable rate. This boom
and bust cycle happened in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
3. Also an increase in economic growth could lead to a balance of payments
problem. If the growth is caused by increased consumer spending like in the UK
then there will be an increase in imports. If this rises faster than exports
there will be a deficit. However growth could be export led e.g. Japan’s growth
in the 1960s and 70s
4. Environmental Costs. Higher economic growth is contributing to global
warming. The Stern report makes clear there is a very significant economic cost
associated with Global Warming.
However if growth is increased through increasing the productive capacity and
increasing the long run trend rate then inflation will not occur and the growth
will be sustainable. Also it is possible to increase economic growth without
causing severe environmental damage.
About the Author
Richard Pettinger studied Politics and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall,
Oxford University. He now works as an economics teacher in Oxford. He enjoys
writing essays on Economic and he edits an Economics Blog focused on UK and US
economies:
http://www.economicshelp.org/econ.html
Follow us @Scopulus_News
Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2007-03-25 19:57:03 in Economic Articles
