Economy

The United Kingdom has one of the largest economies in the world，and is a member of the Group of Eight leading industrialized countries.However，the British share of global economic output has declined considerably over the past century.Combined with the dissolution of the British Empire following World WarⅡ，this has led to a decline in the United Kingdom’s influence in the world.

Great Britain’s favorable climatic conditions have helped to create a well⁃developed agricultural sector;the country’s industry plays a very important role in the world economy;and its highly⁃sophisticated banking sector makes it one of the leading global financial centers.Foreign trade has long been essential to the British economy because of the country’s need to export surplus products due to its limited domestic market and the necessity of importing raw materials for its industry.

In recent years，the British economy has evolved to become much more service⁃oriented.Service industries，also known as the tertiary sector，have been growing at a rapid pace and creating far more output and job opportunities than industrial manufacturing（the secondary sector）and agriculture（the primary sector）.

The British government plays an important role in the economy.After World WarⅡ，the British government nationalized many industries such as steel production industry，transportation and communication，mining，shipbuilding，and transportation and communication.However，the economy experienced severe problems in the 1970s.In response，successive Conservative Party governments privatized most government⁃owned industries between 1979 and 1996 for the purpose of stimulating free⁃market competition.The government continues to regulate privatized industries.The economy has achieved some success over the past few decades and the share of the population below the poverty line is at around 17％ as of 2014.The government also influences the pace of British economic activity by two methods，one is for the government to adjust its own rates of spending and taxation，which is called fiscal policy;and the other is to manage the money supply and control the use of credit by issuing currency and raising or lowering interest rates，which is known as monetary policy.