Does debt relief help economies grow?
Many governments are hampered by huge fiscal deficits leading to the accumulation of large national debts. This can be a serious obstacle for growth and development, especially for several of the...
Rethinking Economics - Discussion with Daniel Kahneman
Some notes from an interview with Daniel Kahneman at the 2015 Rethinking Economics Conference
Full Fact - A Goldmine of Data
A summer hat tip to Ben Christopher from Dubai College who flags up Full Fact as a great source of economic data across many topics. Here is the link to use: https://fullfact.org/economy/
Three women scholars you should know
Cesar Higaldo lauds three women scholars who are not just remarkable in their academic accomplishments, but also, represent three great examples of people that fought incumbent paradigms after...
Joseph Stiglitz on Inequality (June 2015)
This is an 18 minute interview from the Institute for New Economic Thinking with the leading US economist and Nobel winner Professor Joe Stiglitz.
Economics - Science or Art?
What exactly is economics? Science or art? An explanation of our society based on observable, demonstrable law or is it an attempt to systematise the unknowable - the mysteries of the human mind?
Tesco shareholders attack executive pay deals
The Guardian reports that 18% of Tesco shareholders failed to back the executive pay agreements put before the annual general meeting of Britain's biggest food retailer. Tesco has been under huge...
Making the invisibles in the economy visible
This is a really excellent article from Linda Yueh on the importance of services to the British economy. It features the work of Professor Jonathan Haskell from UCL who has done some important work...
Battling deforestation in Indonesia
The delicate balance between economic growth and conservation is explored in this short new video from the BBC. Protecting property rights and creating the right incentives are part of the battle...
Child Poverty Levels On The Rise in the UK in 2015
New figures find a rise in child poverty. Hundreds of thousands more children are now living in poverty in the UK. A report's found there are nearly four million youngsters struggling to make ends...
Bill Gates Interview: Tax, Climate and Microsoft
This is an eight minute interview with Bill Gates, the Founder of Microsoft who has developed a new role in driving innovation in poorer countries since he dropped the CEO role in 2000.
Collier and Rodrik on Understanding Development
Here is a podcast of a discussion between two eminent professors of economic development - Paul Collier and Dani Rodrik.
Network Rail and Diseconomies of Scale
Is Network Rail too big? Virgin Rail boss Richard Branson clearly thinks so according to this BBC news report. He is quoted as saying that "Network Rail is far too big a company. I think that...
Game Theory and the Greek Economic Crisis
Game theory can be described as the mathematical study of decision-making, of conflict and strategy in social situations. It helps explain how we interact in key decision-making processes. In this...
International Trade Agreements
Some useful trade data is available on the Economist website. There’s a handy breakdown of the world’s biggest importers and exporters – data which also reveals where the biggest current account...
Information Failure - Sunscreen Labelling
A new report has found that there is deeply embedded information failure affecting consumers of sunscreen lotions, In a survey of 2,000 UK adults, one in five was unaware that the SPF rating does...
Who plays better poker? Cameron, Sturgeon or Varoufakis?
The gracious Palladian architecture of Edinburgh has often led the city to be described as the Athens of the North. If the referendum result had gone the other way, much closer parallels would have...
Could Djibouti be the next Dubai?
This little story on today's BBC Business News combines many of the elements of constraints on development and policies to help promote growth and development which we teach at A2.
Tax credits explained
In the last couple of weeks we have seen the PM pledging changes to the tax credits system, the Chancellor looking for £12bn of welfare cuts, and suggestions that it would help to avoid 'in-work...
Economics Teacher Conference Download
It was fantastic to see so many of you at today's Teachers National Conference at the Wellcome Collection conference centre in London. I'm sure, like me, you really enjoyed soaking up the wit and...