What’s behind the recent steep fall of £ Sterling?
According to The Economist, Sterling has had a very choppy history, marked by crises such as 1967, 1976 and 1992. And it is having another rocky period. Thanks to Guy Tennant at Norwich School...
Mock Exam Data Question on Ethiopia
I have put together an A2 macro data response question on the Ethiopian economy. The main focus is the balance of payments. exposure to external shocks, aid & debt relief, the economics of a...
World Bank Video on the Internet Economy
The 2016 World Development Report focuses on the digital dividends from the rapid expansion of the web and associated technologies. This 3 minute video outlines some of the benefits of the internet...
Digitisation and the Future of Work
In this video clip, economists from the OECD look at the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how the digitisation of work will affect labour markets. It is a fantastic clip that looks both backwards...
2016 - Are we heading for another Global Crash?
The Big Short is currently pulling in lots of economics students and their teachers to local cinemas and many may have emerged into the daylight wondering if it could all happen again!
Tesco scales back 24 hour opening in over 70 stores
Some interesting supermarket news here that reflects the changing nature of the sector - the shift towards online retailing has seen Tesco decide to reduce the number of 24-hour stores in a bid to...
Engaging Lesson Starter - Conveyor Belt Memory Game
Here's a fun and engaging lesson starter for your next Economics lesson called 'Conveyor Belt Memory Game' (hat tip to Paul Hoang from Sha Tin College in Hong Kong for the concept).
Run the...
Bank of Japan moves to set Negative Interest Rates
The Bank of Japan has made an unexpected move to cut their main interest rate into negative territory in a bid to bring the exchange rate down and help avoid price deflation in the beleaguered...
Customer satisfaction surveys used to combat possible market failure on the trains
I blogged yesterday about the teenage money-saver who took a flight home via Berlin as it was cheaper than using a train. So, keeping with my theme for the week, here's the next bit of evidence...
Nigeria: Primary Product dependency and currency depreciation
Hat tip to Tim Koch, a student economist from Norwich with a real skill in applying classroom activities to economics in the news. He has spotted a great article linking a number of topics that...
Countries most dependent on oil in 2018
Which countries rely most upon exporting crude oil? A fresh study by Bloomberg estimated that in 2018 the most reliant country will be Brunei, with oil exports projected to make up over 60 percent...
This week the Beyond the Bike adventurers found themselves in Singapore, and spoke at a number of schools. To complement their trip, we have designed a lesson resource examining factors that might...
The importance of remittances - and trouble ahead
A remittance is money sent home by migrant workers. In 2014, migrant workers sent home a whopping $580bn. Why are remittances so important, especially in LEDCs, and why are remittance flows in...
Globalisation and the Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 is a triumph of global engineering, using skills, expertise and materials from around the world. But when you look more closely at the complexity of its global supply chain, it's...
Is there any such thing as a national car brand?
Yesterday,the BBC posed the question "What makes a car German, American or Japanese? Is it where it is designed, where the parts are manufactured, or where those parts are assembled? Or is it where...
Flying to Berlin cheaper than a return train journey to London - market failure or market success?
You may have seen this story doing the rounds yesterday - a money saving blogger discovered that a flight from East Midlands airport to Stanstead via Berlin was cheaper (by about £7) than an...
Possible Regulatory Capture? OFGEM and Keeping Secrets
The concept of regulatory capture is a type of government failure where a regulator fails to protect the interests of the consumer and instead supports behaviour by the firms it regulates.
Uber's surge pricing and economic models
There have been a number of recent blog posts on the rise of Uber and whether its surge pricing benefits society. There are arguments for and against but an approach that uses the basic supply and...
Vietnam's Economic Reform Challenge
This BBC clip is interesting in looking at the different way of doing business in Vietnam - and the fact that much of Vietnam's corporate sector is still under state control. Vietnam is reforming...
Paul Ormerod: Are the Markets Telling the Truth?
The opening month of 2016 has been marked by sharp falls in asset prices, not just in financial markets but in commodities such as oil. The conventional wisdom is that the markets form a rational...