Economics of Falling Milk Prices
You wouldn't normally expect to find cattle wandering the down the aisles of your local supermarket. But an Asda store in Stafford was the chosen location for cows to 'take action' against the...
Economic theory and the death of a lion
Alas, poor Cecil! Close personal friend of mine, sadly dead now. The catch phrases of the Scottish comedian Bob Doolally capture the outpourings of grief amongst the Twitterati at the death of the...
Wage Discrimination – Transgender and Caste Discrimination
I’m currently researching and writing up a selection of short case studies on workplace discrimination for our new CPD event on the Labour Market. I’m conscious that this is a topic that requires...
What Motivated Rogue Trader Tom Hayes?
If you ask a group of Economics students what career they are hoping to pursue many will talk about banking or trading. When you ask them why they are interested in such a job they will usually...
New GCSE Economics - Teaching Content from September 2017
The DfE has published the draft proposed subject content for the new GCSE Economics for first teaching from September 2017.The draft teaching content is now open to consultation and responses are...
Visualising 25 Years of Human Development
2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the first Human Development Report. This new website from the UNDP showcases examples of how human development has inspired development, advocacy and policies...
Cooperation in Action - How Ants move Massive Meals
To me to you , to me to you.... the Chuckle Brothers have nothing on these ants who show how cooperation and the optimum balance between conformism and non-conformism can help ants move food many...
Neuroscience, game theory, monkeys
I heard Professor Colin Camerer speak at Nudgestock in Folkestone in June 2015. He is a leading expert in neuroscience and applications to behavioural economics. In this TED talk from 2013, When...
Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice
In this classic TED talk from 2007, psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more...
Creative Destruction of Medicine
Joseph Schumpeter's idea of creative destruction is at work in the health care industry. This short interview looks at examples of how digital technologies might be transforming knowledge about...
Division of Labour and Specialisation in the Pit Stop
This video on Formula One pit stops is a perfect example of the division of labour and specialisation at work!
Land grabs and deforestation in Cambodia
This BBC article, Alarm over 'timber grab' from Cambodia's protected forests, highlights a worrying report by campaign group Forest Trends about the scale of forests being cleared for timber in the...
The renminbi - the growth of a global currency
This short video from the Financial Times focuses on the rise of the renminbi as a global currency: it is now the fifth most traded currency in the world but still only accounts for 2% of the...
Streaming and the Music Industry
This excellent FT video looks at how businesses like Spotify, YouTube and Apple are revolutionising the way we consume music.
FT's new UK Economic Dashboard
The Financial Times has just launched a new Economic Dashboard for the UK economy and quite simply it is a stunning tour de force.
Disneyland Paris accused of price discrimination
Disneyland Paris has been accused of engaging in location-base price discrimination by charging consumers from EU countries different prices for vacation packages at the resort.
Royal Mail in the dock over delivery charges
The recently privatised Royal Mail has breached competition law according to industry regulator Ofcom through discriminatory delivery charges imposed on rival business Whistl (formerly known as TNT...
Revenue growth as an objective for Twitter
Twitter has a mission statement to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers but their Founder and interim CEO Jack Dorsey has been remarkably...
Banks and the Principal Agent Problem
The activities of the House of Lords are very much in the news at the moment. But the members do carry out serious work, not least on the economic affairs committee. Last week, Lord Green, former...
Summer 2015 Oxbridge Economics Reading and Videos
In this blog I am curating a selection of articles recommended for Oxbridge economics - feel free to contact me with other suggestions and I will add them to the listing!