Norway

Hello everyone, here I am with my next and last blog. This week we arrived at our final destination Norway. I’m going to tell you something more about the Norwegian economy. First of all when you go to Norway do not forget that you need “Krones”, because in Norway you cannot pay with Euros.

Norway has found the perfect combination between free market activity and government intervention to build a solid and strong economy. An important sector is the natural resource sector. These products are exported: hydropower, forests, fish and minerals. The most important sector is the petroleum industry, the country depends on this sector. This sector accounts for nearly half of the export and more than 30% of Norway’s revenue.

Norway needed some strong recovery measures during the crisis. Because of these measures Norway did not have a lot of difficulties during the economic recess.

Norway depends on the petroleum industry. My opinion is that it’s very dangerous that a country’s economy depends on one sector. When the sector is in trouble, the whole country is in trouble and the economy will collapse.

An positive point of Norway is that they took recovery measures at the beginning of the economic crisis, so they didn’t experience a lot of trouble during this recess.

So , this was my final blog. I hope you enjoined every blog and you learned something more of the economies of the countries we visited. You should really go on a trip to all of the countries we visited because there are all very beautiful countries. Bye.

Kimberley Bracke

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/norway/

France

Hello everyone, her I am again. The newt country we visited is the lovely France. This country is a very popular touristic place. The most popular place in France for tourists is Paris. France is located between Belgium and Spain. France is a country that lays by the Mediterranean see. In France you find beaches, flat plains and mountains.

France is the largest state in Europe. This country has a well developed economy. France also has a high standard of living. Because this country has a very rich and diversified culture 82 million tourists visit France annually. So tourism is very important for the economy. Also the export and import of raw materials, automobiles and electric products are very important for the economy.

France is the fifth largest economy in the world and is the sixth largest importer of manufactured goods.  Because France has a large government sector, they handled the crisis very well. The very solid agriculture-, services and industry sectors helped the country as well to deal with the crisis.

My opinion is that France has a very solid economy and they handled with the recession very well. The basis of this strong economy are the high amount of tourists and the export and import of raw materials, automobiles and electric products are very important for the economy.

Another reason why France has a good economy is because of the solid agriculture-, services and industry sectors.

This was my blog for this week. I hope you learned something more about the economy of France. Next week we’re arriving at our final destination, Norway. See you then.

Kimberley Bracke

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/france/

Germany

Hello everyone, her I am with my forth blog. This week my blog is about Germany. Germany is located next to Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France and Netherland

Germany is the leader when we talk about the population. In January 2010 Germany counted 81.800 million inhabitants. Because of the good economic situation of Germany the country attracts a lot of immigrants from all around the world. Germany is well known for their high standard of living. This country also has a strong social security system. Germany is world’s second largest import and export country and it’s also an popular country for global scientific and technological developments.

From this summary of the article about the economy of Germany we can conclude that this country has a very good economy. I think it’s not very beneficial that Germany attracts a lot of immigrants but then there is a bigger chance that more Germans are unemployed and have a hard time to find a job because the immigrants are looking for a job as well.

Germany has a strong economy and security system so that is very good for the inhabitants. My opinion is that Germanys’ strong  economy is thanks to the high amount of import and export.

This was my blog for this week. I hope you learned something more about the economy of Germany. Next week we’re arriving at France. So, bye and until next week.

Kimberley Bracke

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/germany/

Italy

Hello everyone, her I am with my next blog. The next country I visited is Italy. Italy is a beautiful country in southern Europe. Italy has a Mediterranean climate. It’s located around the Mediterranean sea, in northeast of Tunisia. Italy is a country with a lot of historical background. In this blog I’m going to discuss an article about the economy of Italy.

Italy has a lot of natural resources that they can export abroad. Some of the resources are coal, zinc, marble, natural gas, fish and crude oil reserves. The Italian economy is one of the most developed economies of the world. Italy is a very popular country for tourist because of his wonderful historical buildings and architecture. Italy is the world’s fifth most visited country in the world.

Many Italian brands are know all over the world. An example of an Italian brand is Ferrari. So Italy wants to obtain its global standard of well known brands.

I think that the Italian economy is a very strong and solid economy. Also during the recess and crisis Italy finds a way to keep its place as one of the most developed countries all over the world.

A very important revenue for Italy are the tourist. Because of its huge historical background and well known buildings and attractions Italy is one of the most popular holiday destinations for tourists all over the world.

Another strong point is the amount of natural resources that they can use themselves in business or that they can sell to other countries and the brands that are well know all over the world.

So my opinion is that Italy has a very solid economy and that they still have a strong economy after the economic crisis.

This was my third blog, I hope you learned something more about the economy of Italy. Next week I’m going to visit France.

Kimberley Bracke

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/italy/

Blog 6 - Norway

Hey!

This week we are in the last country of our trip, Norway. I didn’t know a lot about this country before I came here, so I hoped to learn some things during my stay.

Norway is mostly known for its forests and great fishing opportinuties. Export to foreign countries is very important for the Norwegian economy. Over 40% of the GDP is brought in by exports. Norway’s exports consist for the majority of petroleum and natural gas. The government is also very important in Norway. Over 50% of domestic bussines is owned by the government and the country has an expensive social wellfare system.

I didn’t know Norway is such an important exporter of petroleum. When I think of Norway, I think of wood and forests, maybe of fishing, but certainly not of petroleum. The fact that they are such important producers of petroleum means that they are very important for other countries. Everyone needs oil, so they will always have a demand. The fact that the oil prices are very high at the moment will definitely influence their export.

Another point that surprised me, is the fact that they aren’t a member of the European Union. Norwegian voters rejected the European Union membership. I think being a member would be good for this country. Being a part of such a group brings a lot of opportunities for your country. However, they are a member of the European Economic Area, which gives Norway most of the rights and obligations of the EU market. But they don’t have a lot of influence on EU decisions. So I think it would be best for this country to join the EU as soon as possible!          

If you want to know more about Norway and its economy, go to: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Norway-ECONOMY.html

I’ve really enjoyed visiting this country, but I’m sad it is the last one of our trip. This was a great experience and I have learned so much about all the countries we passed through. I would recommand all my friends to do the same. When you make a trip around the world, you see, feel and experience things you’ve never seen before.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog and that you also learned something new about all these countries.

Elisa Debleu

Norway

Hey everybody,

The last country that I’ve visited is Norway, this is also my last blog that you get to see. I think it’s interesting to learn you something more about the economy in Norway, the economy in this country is completely different evolved.
When  the other countries were in the economic crisis, Norway notices almost nothing. When other countries spent a lot of money, Norway saved their money. When other countries wanted a limited role of the government, Norway blossomed in a welfare state.
Norway is a relatively small country with a largely homogeneous population and the country has the advantage to be a major oil exporter, as a result, they had a lot of revenue during the economic crisis.
Opposite the other countries, Norway spends its revenue wise, they put a lot of money in the sovereign wealth fund and the state money intended for investments around the world.
Norway is also frugal with its revenue, they try to limit public expenditure and they try to spend well the oil revenues.
Norway also think about the future of its inhabitants, they take into account the future generations by saving money. For example: the banks in Norway remain largely healthy, but they remain cautious with their credits.

It surprises me that there is still a country who is spared from the economic crisis, I believe that’s the own fault of some countries that they had problems in the years of the economic crisis, but as we see in this article, a country can try to save money if there would be something wrong.
I would certainly not have thought that Norway’s economy is so good and that they are a major oil-exporter because the country is actually not much in the media. My opinion is that they have to mention Norway more in the media and show the other countries what they have done to handle the economic crisis, the other countries could learn a lot from Norway.

So this was my last blog, I hope you enjoyed the different blogs and countries and maybe I will see you later!

Charlotte De Hainaut

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/business/global/14frugal.html?ref=norway