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In the News
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.
Could UK inflation fall below 2% in 2023?
It seems inevitable that inflation is going to fall rapidly in 2023, but how far will it fall?
Government Failure - Trains in Spain
One for your government failure revision notes! Spain’s secretary of state for transport and the head of the state rail company have stepped down due to growing public and political backlash over...
Marginal Cost - Pret Ditches the Smoothie!
Can you hear Pret customers tearing up their monthly subscriptions? Pret-a-Manger is to stop selling shakes and smoothies because they can't afford it and instead will offer iced-drinks.
Does a Four-Day Week Lift Productivity?
A trial involving 61 firms and over 3,000 workers has seemed to validate the notion that a four-day working week has helped boost productivity at the margin.
Supply and demand in action - why the price of milk has soared in the UK
Why did milk prices reach an all-time wholesale price record in December?
One Year Universal Free School Meals Programme for London
What a story to start a new week. The Mayor of London is drawing on higher than expected tax revenues from business rates to fund a one-year universal programme offering free meals to all primary...
Leprechaun Economics - How real is Ireland's super-fast economic growth?
A debate is raging about whether we can truly believe the super-charged economic growth that is taking place in the Irish economy. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has labelled the rapid...
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