Economic Indicators and Sustainability

• An economic indiacator is a statistic that is used to analyse how well a particular area of the economy is performing
• Inflation is an increase in the general level of prices of goods and services from one year to the next.
• Inflation= (cost of living year 2 - cost of living year 1) divided by cost of living year one.
• The Consumer Price Index measures the change over time in prices of products and services the people typically buy. It's a tool to calculate inflation.
• Employment rates refer to the percentage of the labour force employed or self-employed
• Full employment is when you have jobs for all those willing to work with existing wages
• The labour force is defined as all the people of working age who are available and willing to work
• A full rate of employment is generally considered to exist when unemployment is approximately 4%
• Interest rate is the cost of borrowing and the reward for saving.
• Annual Percetage Rate (APR) known as the true rate of interest must be quoted when borrowing money
• Exchange rates are the price of one currency in terms of another. It indicates how much foreign currency you would recieve for a euro
• The national income refers to the total income earned by residents of a country during a given period. It includes the production of goods and services
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the value of all final goods and services produced within an economy over a specific time period, usually a year
• The national debt is the total amount of money a country owes domestically and internationally
• Economic Growth is a increase in the quantity of goods and services produced in an economy from one year to the the next
• Gross National Product (GNP) includes all goods and services produced, includin those from Irish Companies overseas. GNP is the best indication of economic health
• Sustainability is the ability to meet the need of the present by not the future generation's ability to meet the same needs
• Sustainable development is all about individuals, organisations and governments meeting the needs of the present without risking the ability of future generations to meet their needs.