Category
In the News
Evidence of rising costs? Or exploitation of a monopsony position? A great example to ignite classroom discussion!
Economics Weekly Quiz | 10 March 2023
Here's our weekly economics news quiz.
UK Economy: are we still facing a recession?
Here is a neat primer on the UK economy from Channel 4 news - a 23 minute interview and discussion which could easily to be watched in a revision lesson and used as a prompt for class analysis and...
An interesting story about offshoring and the implications of this for the Toblerone brand, as they are no longer able to use the Matterhorn image on its packaging. Mondelez are going to start...
A nice bit of applied microeconomics for you; why have Tesla dropped the price of their cars again? Is it to offset the effects of the cost of living crisis, and attract buyers at a time when...
Market Failure and Government Intervention - The row over London’s ultra-low emission zone
London's Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) is in the spotlight again, with the undoubted benefits of cleaner air, and a reduction in the negative externalities associated with air pollution being set...
Rising Costs May Delay HS2 Again
The beleaguered HS2 railway is again in the spotlight with the current inflationary environment having pushed up costs and the CEO of the project admitting that aspects of it might be delayed as a...
European Central Bank investigates "greedflation"
The ECB has announced that it will be look out for instances of price gouging and the possibility of EU firms using the current inflationary environment to increase their profit margins, exploiting...
Rail fares in England and Wales rise by 5.9%
The annual increase in regulated rail fares has been announced as 5.9%, and it is always greeted with controversy - but more so this year because services on some parts of the rail network have...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 03 March 2023
Here's our weekly economics news quiz.
New research from the Living Wage Foundation finds that millions of women in the UK – often cleaners, catering staff and care workers – are likely to be trapped in low-paying, insecure and...
Caledonian Sleeper rail service to be nationalised
An important and useful applied example of nationalisation here. The Scottish Government has decided to end the contract that Serco has to run the iconic albeit loss-making Caledonian Sleeper...
Monopoly - Eli Lilly cuts prices of insulin by up to 70%
Eli Lilly has announced a series of price cuts that would lower the price of the most commonly used forms of its insulin by 70% in the United States. This is for a product whose marginal cost is...
Should Sri Lanka change their development model?
The economic and financial crisis that has engulfed Sri Lanka has had immediate and very damaging effects on poverty and living standards. According to the World Bank, extreme poverty nearly...
From Pasta to Turnips - the UK Food System Under Pressure
The BBC news video looks at the cost of living crisis, via food price inflation, highlighting how much food prices have risen in the recent past, and attributing this to the nature of the supply...
Are UK managers paid too much?
Phillip Inman's piece for the Observer looks at one of my favourite topics, executive pay.
Economics Weekly Quiz | 24 February 2023
Here's our weekly economics news quiz.
Calls for UK phone repair apprenticeship scheme
Here is a neat applied example of the importance of human capital in improving occupational mobility of Labour. Zoe Kleinman, the BBC's Tech editor visits a business set up to repair some of the 72...
Will the British Industry Supercharger scheme work in protecting jobs?
The government has moved to support energy intensive industries - steel, metals, chemicals and paper manufacturing - to ensure that they face a level playing field with their European competitors.
Should the Drax Power Station subsidy be cut
It's remarkable that Drax power station, which has seen its profits double, to £731m in 2022 from £398m the previous year, is still in receipt of huge government subsidies.