Economics Weekly Quiz - 20 April 2018
Here's this week's economics news quiz. Good luck!
Globalisation and the spread of knowledge
There is a fantastic piece for Economics students by Martin Wolf in today's FT - if you haven't already registered for FT for Schools, it is worth doing so now (you can find the link here).
Innovation can challenge the digital monopolies
The hostility towards the virtual monopolies enjoyed by tech giants such as Google and Facebook reveals some strange bedfellows.
Watch out! Robo-Farmers are Coming!
Automation is coming, and this BBC video and supporting article investigates the extent to which they can even be applied to agriculture. In this case, an asparagus-picking robot has been developed...
UK proposes plastic straw ban
A brief FT clip here looking at the proposal to ban plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds, as part of a wider commitment to outlawing avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Quite how that is...
Economics Weekly Quiz - 20 April 2018
Here's this week's economics news quiz. Good luck!
Three billion people remain reliant on traditional stoves
How many people are still reliant on traditional methods of cooking? 3 billion. Yes. Half of the world's population. And one of the simplest ways of improving cooking efficiency and reducing indoor...
UK power generation shifting away from coal
Many thanks to my student Ollie for spotting the news that the UK has just managed 55 hours without using coal for power generation, for the first time ever. Bloomberg reported on data compiled by...
Angus Deaton Profile
Here is a new profile of the economic historian and Nobel winner Angus Deaton. Well worth reading to capture the essence of what such a rich academic career can involve.
Esther Duflo: Poverty Not Only Lack of Money
Esther Duflo is interviewed here for the IMF Finance and Development magazine and argues that all economic and social dimensions of poverty must be considered when implementing policies designed to...
Marx as an Economist - a Curate's Egg!
Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, hit the headlines at the weekend, claiming that Marxism could once again become a prominent political force in the West.
Evaluating government intervention
Listening to Radio 4's 'Yesterday in Parliament' this morning, I heard a 4-minute report about a debate around what can be done to cure the issue of fly tipping in rural and urban England. This...
Inside an ultra-efficient BMW factory
A sensational short video from Business Insider which visits a BMW plant in the USA that makes 1,400 vehicles a day. Over 500 robots and 450 employees work together to produce one SUV. A great...
Should the Super-Rich Pay for a Universal Basic Income?
The new book from Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is a terrific short read and one that I highly recommend for sixth form economists interested in the growing debate over inequality and trialling...
A short FT video here on how decarbonisation will affect demand for and prices of oil, cobalt, nickel and copper among others. The growth of e-vehicles will lead to a fast growth of demand in the...
Get Ready to Smash the A Level Economics Exams this Term
Here we go! The last few crucial weeks as we all prepare for the three A Level Economics papers in June. Here's a quick reminder of some resources and other revision support from tutor2u Economics.
Has The Euro Failed As A Currency?
Dharshini David, author of "The Almighty Dollar" discusses why the Euro has yet to become a dominant currency. The Euro is of course a long away from being an optimal currency union.
Tesco Turnaround Gathers Momentum
Having experienced a turbulent few years with profits falling and the fallout from an accounting scandal, there are signs that Tesco plc is returning to financial health with with a 28 percent...
How monopsony employers keep wages down
This great pieceexplains why employers have monopsony power over employees and how the institutional features of many US labour markets have emerged to support this position.
Electrifying roads to charge vehicles!
One of the worries about electric cars is the absence of the relevant infrastructure, but this Guardian article shows how Sweden is getting around this problem. Build the infrastructure in the...