Assignment on the Circular Flow
Here is an assignment I am setting for my new macroeconomics students. Using the language of and components of the circular flow of income and spending model explain and evaluate some of the likely...
Essay assignment on the Chinese economy
Details below of an essay assignment for my Year 13 economists. One of the key aims of this assignment is to become more confident in disaggregating the essay, to dig deeper beyond a general...
Beyond the Bike - lesson resources on Uganda
This week we have designed two resources to accompany the Ugandan leg of the Beyond the Bike trip.
Beyond the Bike - photos of the week
Stuart and Claire have sent through two super, and very different, photos this week - you can see them below, along with some suggested questions for discussion.
Exposure to the Chinese Slowdown
This FT video looks at the three important ways that nations are exposed to a Chinese slowdown - the banking, investment and trade ties that bind.
UK Steelmakers seek government help
The Guardian on the steelmakers plea for government support: I bring you the final sentence: "Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel, said: 'If the sector is to continue its vital role supplying the...
How do you deal with someone who thinks the Earth is flat?
Imagine you are relaxing at a bar enjoying a drink after a hard day’s work. The person next to you strikes up a conversation. Initially he seems reasonable. But soon he begins to go on at length...
Don't panic - how to end poverty!
Tune into BBC 2 this evening at 8pm to catch the superb Hans Rosling present "Don't panic - how to end poverty". If you haven't seen his programme from 2013 entitled "Don't panic - the truth about...
National Go Home on Time day
Apparently September 23rd is National Go Home on Time day, part of National Work Life Week, according to the group Working Families.
How the sharing economy is sweeping the world
The phenomenon of 'collaborative consumption' - where you rent things for limited time periods - is becoming increasingly popular. This Telegraph article looks at the extent to which it is...
Price Discrimination by WH Smith
The Dewsbury Reporter doesn't often make it into the Economics Blog, but a hat-tip to Matt Smith for spotting this excellent example of price discrimination (or price gouging) by WH Smith in...
The Volkswagen Scandal
This excellent Channel 4 clip looks at the breaking scandal surrounding Volkswagen - and considers how the brand has been tarnished by it faking emissions testing results in the US. Amusingly,...
The trolley problem and ethics of driverless cars
A superb five minute video from David Grossman that aired on BBC Newsnight about some of the ethical issues connected to the rise of autonomous vehicles (or driverless cars). He recreates the...
How discounters are beating the supermarkets
Just a classic market to study - grocery retailing - and in this instance it's the discounters who are winning. You might think that this is surprising given that all the data suggests that the...
Teaching PowerPoints for A Level Economics
Our collections of brand new teaching PowerPoints for the new AQA, Edexcel and OCR Year 1 (AS) teaching content are now all complete and ready to use.
Investing In Britain: What Does China Own?
This is an excellent background piece from Sky News on the scale and scope of Chinese foreign direct investment in the British economy - from ports to airports to water companies and nowthe...
The Irish potato famine - classic demand and supply
I found this iWonder piece on the Irish famine from the BBC both fascinating and thought-provoking.
State of Play in the UK Jobs Market
This is an interesting magazine-style look at the current state of play in the UK labour market written by Chris Lawton of Nottingham Business School. In it, he drills down into the data, to look...
Mergers and Acquisitions in the UK Gambling Industry
This article summarises the frenzy of mergers in the UK gambling sector - Ladbrokes and Gala Coral, Betfair and Paddy Power and GVC and Bwin.party.
More on the UK Productivity Puzzle
Persistently slow growth of productivity in the UK economy in the last few years has major implications for competitiveness and ultimately for living standards and jobs. This FT discussion looks at...