The world if robots take our jobs
A canny conversation here between academics on the challenges and opportunities of the rapid adoption of robotic technologies and AI. Would make for a good bridging video clip in a lesson on the...
Dyson launches skills centre in Singapore
James Dyson has announced that he's opening a $400m research centre in Singapore, in part because of a lack of UK-based engineers. If he's correct, this has worrying implications for our...
EU approves overhaul of emissions trading
The EU's cap and trade scheme has been widely criticised as being ineffective in creating sustainable incentives for industries to invest in low carbon technologies. The EU Parliament has narrowly...
Greater Germany Outpaces Club Med in a Divided Europe
At the end of last week Federica Mogherini met leading members of the Trump administration. Mogherini, yet another Italian politician turned Euro-bureaucrat, is in fact the foreign policy chief of...
Tim Harford on the M-Pesa Revolution
Tim Harford's series on '50 Things That Made the Modern Economy' this week looks at the impact of the M-PESA innovation which is having a significant impact on millions of entrepreneurs, farmers...
Favourite Behavioural Economics Valentines
Here is a selection of some of the many behavioural valentines posted on Twitter on the 14th February 2017. Spot the psychological biases in some of these!
Meet the CPI Foot Soldiers
With CPI inflation climbing to 1.8% in January, the highest since June 2014, this is a timely and excellent Katie Allen piece looking at the simple mechanics behind inflation figures, highlighting...
Demand for cosmetic treatments falls 40% in 2016
Pin back your ears for this breaking news, but don't pay for the privilege. The number of people opting for cometic enhancements has dropped by 40% over the last year.
Airports double car parking fees during school holidays
A clear example here of seasonal price discrimination by many of Britain's biggest airports.
Department for International Development (DfID) releases a new economic development strategy
The international development secretary has released what is billed as DfID’s first ever economic development strategy.
Lucrative rubies might bring a resource curse
Another development story, this time its rubies in Mozambique, with a recent discovery in the country accounting for nearly 50% of the world's rubies.
Zambia not gaining from copper prices
A rather sad, but typical, development story from Zambia, where the BBC's Kennedy Gondwe highlights the fact that, despite the recent rise on the global price of copper, this hasn't served to boost...
Economics news quiz - w/e 10 Feb 2017
Here's this week's 6-question multi-choice news quiz from the world of economics!
Taiwanese farmers switch to generating clean energy
An interesting clip that touches upon at least two negative externalities.
German trade surplus hits record high
For those of you who know your Keynesian economics, this might set alarm bells ringing. Keynes was a believer that trade imbalances were problematic but that rather than deficit coutnies being...
Why the US cannot bully China on Trade
Kenneth Rogoff spells out one of the reasons why the President can't expect to bully China on trade: the extent to which China holds US debt, and the implications of this, and the prospect of price...
Bank warns of market failure from a return to lax financial rules
Many students will be exploring aspects of financial market failure as part of their A level economics course. This article from Kamal Ahmed is a useful primer on the importance of credible...
The Importance of Trade in Raw Materials
This excellent OECD clip looks at the importance of raw materials, such as rare earth metals, in global trade. It may tell you some things that you don't know and if you're inclined, I'd recommend...
UK tax burden set to be the highest in 30 years
There is a wealth of background information on the UK economy in general and the government's fiscal challenges in particular from the IFS web site.
Update on the Greek Economic Crisis
Dear, oh dear. It seems that Greece is the issue that won't go away, unsurprisingly, since it was never really resolved in the first place. Greek bond yields are up, and there are fears about its...