UK Economy Drops into Recession
The UK is in recession after the economy shrank by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2023. Overall, real GDP grew by just 0.1% last year, lagging well behind a resurgent US economy.
In the News Teaching Activity – will the government’s latest dental policies get to the root of the NHS dentist shortage problem? (Feb 2024)
The UK’s dental health has been deteriorating as many people cannot find an NHS dentist nor afford to go private. With an election looming, the main political parties are competing to find the best...
Monopsony Power - Supermarket giants hit farmers who want early payment with hefty fees
It seems that Australian supermarket giants, Coles and Woolworths, are exploiting a monopsony position to levy rebate charges on farmers who want early payment for their produce, raising concerns...
In the News Teaching Activity – the UK’s unemployment rate may be lower than the statistics suggest (Feb 2024)
The Office of National Statistics has been concerned about how accurate its measurement of unemployment has been recently. Poor measurement has implications for economic policymaking.
Uber makes first annual operating profit
This is a seismic event: Uber has, at last turned a profit. Last year's $1.8 billion operating loss has become a $1.1 billion operating profit after 14 years in operation since it was founded in...
What has happened to the UK economy?
The Resolution Foundation has published new research assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the UK economy. This short YouTube clip provides a timely summary of their work.
Externalities - Dealing with the Mountain of Waste on Everest
This Business Insider clip looks at the negative externalities of waste on Mount Everest, where there's a massive issue, which is difficult to tackle at high altitudes. It looks at how one...
World's first year-long breach of key 1.5C warming limit
The EU's Climate Service has highlighted the fact that the 2015 pledge to limit long-term temperature increases to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is already under threat and that there's need for...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 09 February 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.
Sainsbury’s reveals plans to use more robots
The robots are coming! This article highlights how Sainsbury's are contemplating job cuts, and substituting capital in favour of labour, by increasing the number of automated tills, warehouse...
Edexcel A-Level Economics - Theme 3 Knowledge Organiser Pack
Here is our full knowledge organiser pack for Theme 3 for Edexcel A-Level Economics (A). It covers all of the business economics, labour market economics and government intervention topics in the...
In the News Teaching Activity – Paris votes to increase the parking fees for SUVs to reduce pollution (Feb 2024)
Following the banning e-scooters in Paris, the Mayor of Paris has led a successful vote to increase parking fees for SUVs in central Paris to reduce pollution in the centre of the city.
Proof here of the unequal distributional effects of the pandemic, with the NIESR reporting that the poorest won't see their living standards recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2027.
Ireland's Productivity Miracle - Real or Artificial?
This is a ToK-style article looking at the fact that Ireland is seemingly the most productive country in the world, and yet people wonder whether this is actually 'true' or not?
Is ill-health holding back the UK economy?
The 5th of February is apparently the day that's become known as "national sickie day" but the Guardia have used it to flag up the increased rate of long-term sickness that appears to be holding...
Scotland to raise the minimum alcohol price by 30%
Has Scotland's minimum alcohol pricing policy worked? The minimum price of alcohol in Scotland is set to rise by 30% to 65p per unit, making a bottle of whisky at least £18.20 in an attempt to...
Paris Votes to Triple Car Parking Charges for SUVs
An extra intervention to address the externalties from traffic congestion. Citizens in Paris have voted to triple car parking charges for SUVs and it will be interesting to see the impact on demand.
In the News Teaching Activity – the implementation of post-Brexit non-tariff barriers to trade to increase business costs (Jan 2024)
The government has implemented the much-delayed, new post-Brexit customs controls, such health checks for food and flowers for goods entering the UK from the EU at the end of January.
Economics News Shorts (28 January -2 February 2024)
Here are the links to our Economics in the News shorts for this week.
Economics Weekly Quiz | 02 February 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.