The scale of global gambling losses
I once had two students in my class both called William Hill - I thought to myself "what's the odds on that?"
Working for the Economy - Trade Union Reform
Here is an excellent research document from the New Economics Foundation looking at the importance of trade unions in the modern economy and, perhaps, as a counterpoint to yesterday's Trade Union...
Use of Computers in Schools Does not Improve Results, says the OECD
Anyone who knows me will know that I like my technology. Anyone who's ever been in one of my lessons will know that I like to use technology in the classroom. So, you can imagine my trepidation...
Portion Sizes and Nudges to Combat Obesity
Hat tip to Roberta Keys - up with the lark - for another excellent spot on the BBC website. This is a 'nudge' in action - one of the best ways of tackling obesity is portion control, Cambridge...
Robot Revolution - The Jobs Most at Risk
Just as the financial crisis prompted a tsunami of books dissecting the causes of the Great Recession and the challenge to Economics as a discipline, in recent months we have also seen a flurry of...
Corbyn's Economic Plan
This Paul Mason piece from Channel 4 News looks at the remarkable change in Labour's economic policy since the election of Jeremy Corbyn - it gives an overview of the policy objectives and how they...
Lesson Starter - Name the Brand
There are twelve logos of well-known business brands shown on the sheet below. Only a part of each logo is shown - can your students name all of them correctly?
Brazil falls deeper into recession
Wow upon woe for the troubled Brazilian economy. There is an oft-repeated quote that "Brazil is the country of the future and always will be" and it seems that the huge losses sustained by the...
Swipe-it! Positive and Normative Statements
A couple of weeks into the first year of a new Economics course should just be about the right time for teachers to explore the concept of positive and normative economic statements. Here's a...
The Star Wars Multiplier Effect
Here is an example of a positive multiplier effect - this time from the filming of the new Star Wars movie. The multiplier is - to my mind - the single most important macroeconomic concept that you...
Zambia's River of Acid
A must post article to the Development Economics board because here we have a graphic illustration of the negative externalities created from intensive copper mining in Zambia. This country has one...
Taxis vrs Uber: Substitutes or complements?
I’ve taken the title of this blog from an Economist article. Uber arrived in New York City in 2011. Are they a substitute for the city’s famous yellow cabs, or do the two complement one another?
Meet the UK Interest Rate Setters!
I especially wanted to read this article because Martin Weale - who has been on the Monetary Policy Committee for nearly six years - was my Tutor at Cambridge and encouraged me to move into...
Can China be Rich and Green?
This is a light-hearted view of China's capacity to continue to grow given its environmental problems. But we should be careful when we apportion blame: we've gone through the same process during...
Nuclear energy can complement renewables
Lord Hutton writes here a persuasive articleLord Hutton writes here a persuasive article on the need for a nuclear core capacity at the heart of Britain's energy network as a way of providing...
How will a Population Boom Change Africa?
According to some forecasts, by the end of the century, 40% of people on our planet will be African. This article from the BBC news site is well worth reading for the four different perspectives on...
An update on Abenomics (September 2015)
Shinzo Abe came to power committed to rejuvenating economic growth in the Japanese economy. Two FT journalists from the Tokyo Bureau discuss whether Abe has made enough progress in stimulating the...
Is Carbon Capture a White Elephant?
This FT video highlights the need for scepticism regarding carbon capture and storage technology. It is typically FT: excellent, data rich and looks at the economics of this innovative, currently...
Your Full English Breakfast is Getting Cheaper!
Grain stocks are at a twenty-nine year high, world coffee prices have dropped by nearly 30% and global prices for pork, sugar and milk are also well down from where there were six years ago. Little...
IKEA's Staggering Revenue Growth Continues
IKEA is one of those go-businesses when you want to applied your understanding and analysis of economies of scale, fast organic growth (yes ... it can happen) and to find a poster-child of...