PTE Read Aloud — Kinh tế

Inflation erodes the purchasing power of money over time, meaning consumers can buy fewer goods and services with the same amount of currency. Central banks typically respond by raising interest rates, which discourages borrowing and spending but may also slow economic growth and increase unemployment.

International trade allows countries to specialise in producing goods where they hold a comparative advantage, thereby increasing global efficiency. However, critics argue that unrestricted trade can harm domestic industries, displace workers, and widen income inequality if governments fail to provide adequate retraining programmes.

Gross domestic product measures the total market value of all finished goods and services produced within a country during a specific period. Although widely used as an indicator of economic health, it does not capture unpaid work, environmental degradation, or the distribution of wealth among citizens.

Markets are efficient at setting prices for goods that can be bought and sold, but they are poor at valuing things nobody owns. Clean air, quiet streets and stable fisheries carry no price tag, so they tend to be consumed until they are gone.

A minimum wage set slightly above the market rate does not automatically cost jobs. Employers absorb part of the increase through lower turnover and higher productivity, and the debate among economists is now less about direction than about the point at which those offsets stop working.