October Edition of EconoMax

The October edition of our digital magazine for AS and A2 Economics - EconoMax has now been uploaded onto the web site for subscribers. Details of this months articles are below.

The 21st Century Poor (Tom White)
A common macroeconomic policy objective is tackling poverty. To fight it properly you need good figures and you cannot solve a problem until you can measure it. That means poverty has to be defined. This can prove to be a tricky subject.

The changing face of Britain-fewer post offices, petrol stations and pubs (Robert Nutter)
In recent years much of what we have taken for granted as part of the landscape of Britain has changed – probably forever. There are now for example far fewer post offices, petrol stations, pubs, phone boxes and butchers than 20, even 10, years ago.

China’s Gini (Mark Johnston)
Over the last decade the inequality evident in Chinese society can be seen in official statistics, such as the fact that the poorest 10% of China’s population control a meager 1.4% of total income, while the top 10% own 45% of total assets.

Mr Keynes makes a welcome return (Geoff Riley)
In a credit crunch when the confidence of lenders and borrowers is shot to pieces, cuts in interest rates might have little or no effect on the components of aggregate demand. Indeed the modest reductions in the cost of borrowing that the Bank of England seems prepared to tolerate are unlikely to provide much solace or relief in the weeks and months ahead.

The Marginal Cost of Oil (Geoff Riley)
Knowing just where global crude oil prices will be in the days and weeks to come is almost impossible! Having peaked at over $147 a barrel in July and with some analysts predicting a super-spike to over $200, the market price of oil has plummeted – collapsing to below $70 in trading in the middle of October.

A Black Swan (Mark Johnston)
The credit crisis that has hit the world economy is a direct result of the huge amount of credit that has been evident over the last 30 years. The current US debt is reminiscent of the 1920’s when there was incredible prosperity and confidence amongst the population…

The State of the UK Economy (Andy Reeve)
We are living through interesting times. The text books are being rewritten and students of the future will study the events which are unfolding daily in their history books.

Women and the Global Economy (Tom White)
Some economists argue that women are now the most powerful engine of global growth. In rich countries, girls now do better at school than boys, more women are getting university degrees than men and females are filling most new jobs

Saving – Risk, Reward and Recession (Geoff Riley)
This article looks at the steep decline in the personal sector savings ratio and why a return to saving may make the recession worse in the short run.