Category
In the News
Energy Economics - UK Electricity Use Falls
Some comparative analysis of European energy use, with the UK seeing a 9% reduction in use over the last seven years, as the rest of the EU is still seeing rises. There were a number of reasons...
Battling to save the world's bananas
The story of the banana is a remarkable one: the whole commercial global banana crop can be traced back to a particular Cavendish banana tree that originate at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, and...
The Universal Stylus Initiative - markets and complementary products
This week, Google have added their name and support to the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) - a group of major tech companies attempting to get everyone to adopt a universal set of protocols when...
A group of independent bookshops are considering joining forces in an attempt to be more competitive. The plan, led by the Big Green Bookshop based in London, is to create a purchasing union that...
China's smartphone market in decline
A rather remarkable bit of data from China - smartphone sales are down in the world's largest smartphone market. Has the market reached saturation point? And if so, does this mean that consumers...
Dr Pepper Snapple merges with Keurig Green Mountain
Horizontal integration in the US beverage market with Keurig Dr Pepper hoping to have access to "unrivalled distribution capability to reach virtually every point-of-sale in North America".
Contestable Markets: Is AirBNB cheaper than a hotel?
The platform economy business AirBNB has had a major effect on the hospitality sector of numerous cities around the world. The widespread assumption is that AirBNB offers cheaper accommodation than...
IMF predicts Economic Growth rates for 2018 - 'Dial Up' activity
The IMF have released their latest figures predicting economic growth rates around the world (as well as predicting a change in overall World output) for 2018. You can see the latest figures...
Economics Weekly News Quiz - 26 January 2018
Here's this week's news quiz for Economics. Good luck.
Free lunch? What if electricity was free?
Is there anything like a free lunch when it comes to supplying electricity to homes, businesses and communities? Perhaps we are moving towards something close to a zero marginal cost of generating...
Sky abandoning the satellite dish - market contestability
Sky have announced that they are abandoning the use of satellite dishes and will move across to a system where all content is streamed through the internet. The switch will occur in the UK at some...
Privatisation and Regulation - FT series of articles
One of many issues that is highlighted by the failure of Carillion is Privatisation - a topic that sits clearly in the Economics A level syllabus. As many of us reach the part of our scheme of work...
Protectionism: Import Tariffs in the News
The United States and India have both announced severe import tariffs on solar panels sourced from China. Two good topical examples to add to your A-level Economics notes on trade and protectionism.
Sky/Fox merger and public interest
It seems like the proposed merger between Sky and Fox has been on the cards for ages and plenty has been written about the subject, including on this website.
Rail Economics: Explaining the increase in UK Rail Fares
The FT looks at the recent 3.4% increase in season ticket and off-peak rail fares, and drills down into the price increase, arguing that the train operating companies (TOCs) only earn a small...
Economics Weekly Quiz - January 19 2018
Here's this week's economics news quiz. Good luck!
Credit card surcharge bans and government failure
The urge to meddle unthinkingly in micro detail, without grasping that this will change behaviour, is a besetting sin of modern politicians.
Ford ramps up investment in electric cars
As I've always said, electric cars are coming. Ford are the latest manufacturer to announce that they are ramping up investment in the sector, with an eye on expanding the range of non-fossil fuel...
Will Cape Town run out of water?
The central economic problem writ large: scarcity and choice. In this case, it's the iconic city of Cape Town, a remarkable place, which is facing an extreme water shortage.