The Contestable Gym Market
Many A-Level Business students are looking in depth this year at the UK gym market as part of their exam preparations. Some of Jim's tweeted charts are superb context for understanding the...
Is Free Trade Good or Bad?
We rather take for granted the maxim that free trade is a good thing. This article from the BBC's Andrew Walker might just, at the margin make you think again. It makes it clear that economic...
Amartya Sen on Trump, Protectionism and Brexit
Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen is interviewed by Ian King on Sky Business News
Is China now leading the free world?
"Pursuing protectionism is just like locking oneself in a dark room. While wind and rain may be kept outside, so are light and air. No-one will emerge as a winner in a trade war". President Xi...
Why Economists should learn to tell more jokes
Rory Sutherland is on fine form here as he draws on his experiences at the Kilkenny Festival of economics and comedy. Story-telling is an insanely important part of the context in which we take...
Mega Merger in the Cigarette Industry
The era of the mega-merger is well and truly here: BAT and Reynolds, tobacco giants, have agreed to merge with the former subsuming the latter.
Pablo the Dancing Flamingo and Behavioural Priming
Charlie Lewis, Digital Strategist at Winston-Wolf writes here about how an encounter with Pablo the dancing flamingo taught him all he needs to know about behavioural priming!
Development: the problem of 'failing states'
According to The Economist, few things matter more than fixing failed states. Broadly defined, state failure provides “a general explanation for why poor countries are poor”.
Economics of leaving a Customs Union
With a hard Brexit strategy becoming more likely by the day, this is a rather good summary of the likely effects of leaving the EU customs union from the economics reporters at the Independent.
8 billionaires own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world's population - does it matter?
Oxfam have updated their list and comparison of the world's super-rich showing that the top 8 wealthiest people own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world's population. You can see their...
Zombie firms and weak productivity growth
Are zombie firms crowding out investment and holding back productivity growth? This article from the Economist draws on a new research report from the OECD.
The Debt Deficit Distinction
KAL from the Economist provides the artistic genius behind this short video from the Economist.
Government debt and the interest burden
There has been a significant increase in the size of public sector debt in many advanced countries since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) engulfed nations in the autumn of 2007. But what has...
Global Economy 2016 in 12 Charts (and a video)
A terrific source of information curated here by the World Bank. Here are 12 charts that help tell the stories of the year.
Water deregulation - good news for customers?
Deregulation is on the way in the water sector, with the market seemingly moving towards an electricity-style market where consumer are no longer bound by geographic considerations.
Inward and Outward Thinking in 2017
Perhaps this will be the defining difference in 2017 and beyond - it will certainly accelerate changes in the global centre of gravity!
Thames Barrier - A Pure Public Good in Action!
Here is a terrific photo to use when teaching the non-excludable and non-rival aspects of flood protection from the Thames Barrier. The tidal surge down the east coast was a big threat last week.
Social Norms - A Crazy Junction!
This is a stunning video of the Meskel Square Intersection in Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia, caught on camera without traffic lights. Concentration advised, one for experienced locals only...
In Praise of Thomas Schelling
Last year was a year of celebrity deaths. But perhaps the most significant of all received very little coverage. Just before Christmas, Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate in economics, died aged 95.
This week's Economics News quiz with special 'Penalty Shootout' version
Here's this week's (w/e 13 Jan 17) 6-question Economics news quiz with multi-choice answers. Along with the usual Powerpoint and paper-based version of the activity, this week we've included a...