Inside Silicon Valley - Dot Conned?
This is a superb talk given recently at the RSA by the author Dan Lyons. Lyons reveals the dysfunctional culture that prevails in a world flush with money and devoid of experience. He provides a...
A Short Video History of the iPhone Reveal
A great video to use when studying / teaching product iteration and dynamic efficiency. This clip from CNN brings together the key moments from the iPhone reveals since launch including the new...
Economics News Quiz for a New Term
I'm giving my students a general knowledge / business / economics news quiz to kick off the year and see who has been reading and keeping up to date over the summer! Here are the questions (and...
Martin Wolf on threats to globalisation
Martin Wolf talks here about some of the themes in a major article he has written for the Financial Times on de-globalisation.
The economics super tutor who makes $1 million a year
A short clip that might be used when teaching aspects of labour market economics!
China and Africa: Partnering for Growth
This World Bank looks at the vexed relationship between China and Africa highlighting the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship, both in China and Ethiopia.
Beyond GDP? Welfare across Countries and Time
Two economists at Stanford University in the USA have published a new paper in the American Economic Review surveying an alternative to GDP per capita as a benchmark for economic welfare.
Import Substitution - The Fish Farmers of the Gaza Strip
The fish farmers of Gaza are a resilient group - hamstrung by intermittent electricity supplies and heavily dependent (for the moment) on imports of fish food and eggs from Israel.
China's economic re-balancing explored in 6 key charts
The IMF blog focuses here on the evidence that China is already well down the pathway towards a re-balancing of their economy in order to improve the quality of their growth and make their...
China's export machine increases their global market share
This article is a reminder of the dynamic nature of comparative advantage and the signs already becoming apparent of the subtle but important shift in emphasis in Chinese trade policy away from...
Will there be a 'watering down' of the National Living Wage?
This year's Year 2 students looking at wage determination as part of their Labour Economics sessions are well to be reminded that the UK uses a 'National Living Wage' title rather than 'Minimum...
Why the IMF makes England football managers look like world-beaters
Sports fans will all be familiar with the commentator who almost always gets things wrong. “Arsenal are very much on top here” he – it is invariably a ‘he’ – will pronounce, or “Root is looking...
Is Morrisons positioning itself as a deep discounter?
Morrisons have promised to slash food prices over over 150 items - reported here in the Guardian. This isn't what traditional oligopoly theory would suggest is likely to happen but then again the...
Bayer bids $65bn to win control of Monsanto
One of the summer's biggest merger stories: Bayer's offer for Monsanto. The former has raised its offer in the hope of completing a merger to create a giant global agribusiness. What type of merger...
Working Poverty - 3 Jobs and still Poor
An interesting look here at poverty in Port Talbot - in the context of Brexit. It stands as a example of highly localised poverty and its causes, examined by a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report.
The Prisoner's Dilemma Explained in One Minute
If you've never heard about game theory before or have but are not all that confident you've fully understood the concept, this prisoner's dilemma video is worth watching.
The Psychology of Money
In this video of a talk given recently at the RSA in London, the BBC Radio 4 broadcaster Claudia Hammond explores the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, biology and behavioral economics
Working Poverty and Youth Unemployment
Over 150 million younger workers in emerging and developing countries are suffering from working poverty - in other words they have work but it does not pay enough to lift them out of poverty -...
Here's a quick, 6 question multi-choice quiz about UK economic events over the summer as a fun introduction to your new-term classes. The questions are on a Powerpoint file and meant to be screened...
BBC Newsnight interview with Joseph Stiglitz - a Year 2 homework exercise
Our Year 2 students are returning this week and, after a few weeks of (some) sun and relaxation, they are no doubt chomping at the bit to get ready for the challenges ahead this academic year. The...