Economics for Tertiary Sector

892 Words2 Pages

The tertiary sector gives an incentive of a higher profit margin as compared to the rest of the two sectors. A firm needs to achieve productive and allocative efficiency in the case of primary sector; as profit margins are slightly low in this area. In the same way, transformation of raw materials into goods has been the task for the secondary sectors. E.g. manufacturing and assembling steel into car.

‘Slower labor productivity growth in Europe than in the United States since 1995 reverses a long-term pattern of convergence. This has a negative impact on the turnover as it leads to lower growth contributions from investment in information and communication technology.’ (Bark, O’Mahony and Timmer, 2008)

On the other hand, the retail industry is central to the UK’s economy: it employs in the region of 2.9 million people – 11% of the total UK workforce – and in 2010 UK retail sales stood at over £293 billion. Yet it is clearly facing severe challenges at the moment. (Barry Knight). The high street retail market has been experiencing a downfall over the last couple of years. The most important factor is the rate of inflation, particularly in relation to commodity prices. The rising Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Insurance have drastically affected the consumer spending. This decreases the disposable income of the consumers with retailers suffering as a result. As stated by Knight that the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium, UK retail sales values for May 2011 were 2.1% down on a like-for-like basis compared with the same month a year earlier. Furthermore, it looks unlikely that conditions will ameliorate quickly as the perpetuating low interest rates and relative support from the banking sector are still maskin...

... middle of paper ...

...ks Cited

Bart van Ark, Mary O’Mahony, and Marcel P. Timmer. (2008). The Productivity Gap between Europe and the United States: Trends and Causes. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 22, 25-44.

Barry Knight, (2011) grant-thornton, http:// http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/pdf/Retail_The_finance_flow.pdf, 18/03/2012

DAVID FELDMAN, (11/2008) reversemergerblog, http://www.reversemergerblog.com/2008/11/17/how-will-the-economy-affect-retail-sales-this-holiday-season/, 18/03/2012

Skillsmart Retail Limited, (2009) skillsmartretail, http://www.skillsmartretail.com/Brokerage/CurrentRetailEnvironment/default.aspx, 18/03/2012

Latchezar Hristov and Dr. Jonathan Reynolds. (2007). The nature and contribution of retailing. Innovation in the UK Retail Sector [online]. 1, 9.Available From:http://www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/inno-in-services-retail-report.pdf.

More about Economics for Tertiary Sector

Open Document