Abstract
Considering the debate related to the potential effects of Brexit on the UK economy, the aim of this paper is to assess the impact of Brexit on the monthly unemployment rate since the vote for the UK leave from the European Union. This is one of the most important indicators of sustainable development for the country. The novelty of this research is given by the use of microdata to reflect the political instability brought by Brexit, with Google Trends being the tool for collecting the data. Moreover, the data for the four countries that compose the UK are considered (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) in a panel data and multilevel framework. The results are consistent with the analysis of important macroeconomic indicators and indicate that Brexit concerns decreased the unemployment rate in the period June 2016-March 2019, with few arguments being provided for this. The state policies should encourage the investment in order to support the future economic growth and sustainable development of the UK.
Simionescu, M.; Streimikiene, D.; Strielkowski, W. 2020. What Does Google Trends Tell Us about the Impact of Brexit on the Unemployment Rate in the UK? Sustainability, Vol. 12, Issue 3, 1011, EISSN 2071-1050; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031011; [Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index].