This week’s topics
The global economy and the global business environment
- Starting point: measuring an economy (GDP, inflation and unemployment)
- Economic interdependence
- Aggregate economic outputs
- Global PESTEL
- National, regional and international dimensions
What you will be able to do
- 2.1 Explain what is meant by the term ‘global economy.’
- 2.2 Explain what is meant by the term ‘global business environment.’
Activity
Start with this week’s 4 videos, then discuss how they apply to this week’s topic and note one example from a real business.
Study materials
Videos
- Is UK Government action led by the economy? · Oak National Academy, Key Stage 4 (GCSE level) · for registered students
- What is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? · YouTube · Marginal Revolution University · 5 min · for registered students
- How Money Supply Drives Inflation (With Graphs and Examples) · YouTube · Marginal Revolution University · 7 min · for registered students
- Cyclical Unemployment · YouTube · Marginal Revolution University · 8 min · for registered students
Further resources
- Principles of Economics 3e, ch. 19.1: Measuring the economy – GDP · PDF · OpenStax (2022), section 19.1 on what GDP measures and how it is calculated; pp. 449–457 · for registered students
- Principles of Economics 3e, ch. 21.1: Defining and computing the unemployment rate · PDF · OpenStax (2022), section 21.1 on how unemployment is measured; US data; pp. 502–505 · for registered students
- Price stability: why is it important for you?, ch. 3: The importance of price stability · PDF · ECB booklet, ch. 3 on what inflation is, how the euro area measures it (HICP) and why stable prices matter; pp. 23–34 · for registered students
- Key figures on Europe – 2025 edition, Economy and finance: GDP, growth, inflation · PDF · Eurostat (2025), one-page charts of GDP, growth and inflation for EU countries, including Belgium – good for reading real indicators; pp. 36–41 · for registered students
- Underestimating the Real Growth of GDP, Personal Income, and Productivity · Open-access article · Feldstein (2017), Journal of Economic Perspectives. Readable account of how GDP and real growth are measured, and what the figures miss. · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
