UK House Prices Fall 1.8% in 2023
House prices fell by nearly 2 per cent during 2023 according to the Nationwide leaving the average price at £257,000. Even with this drop in prices, the FT reports that a deposit paid by a typical...
Financial Times - Bank Failures in 2023
The Financial Times has this excellent in-depth video exploring some of the bank failures that happened in 2023 and casting a critical eye on the wider fragility of the banking system as we head...
Angola Leaves the OPEC Cartel
Angola is leaving the Opec oil cartel following an output quota row. Their crude oil production has been in long-term decline and they have opposed OPEC's attempts to cut their base-line quota.
Robert Solow: Ninety-Nine Years of Economic Wisdom
A towering giant of modern Economics, Professor Bob Solow, has passed away at the age of 99. I was taught the Solow Model as a student at Cambridge and I have continued to teach and refer to it...
Somalia to rejoin global financial system after securing debt-relief deal
This IMF video clip looks at how the IMF and World Bank have approved HIPC status for Somalia, eradicating 90% of the economy's external debt, or $4.5bn, allowing for greater government spending on...
Scottish Government Raises Taxes for Higher Earners
The Scottish government has increased marginal tax rates for higher-earners and frozen tax allowances creating some fiscal drag effects along the way. The government has announced a new marginal...
UK to introduce a Carbon Border Tax in 2027
A key environmental intervention is set to come into force in 2027, a year later than the planned EU carbon border tax which will start in 2026. The news is reported here in the Guardian.
In the News Teaching Activity – Is Christmas 2023 likely to be a merry one for retailers? A gloomy tale of consumer spending (Dec 2023)
The Economics Observatory have taken a closer look as the factors that have influenced consumer spending in recent years and considers how retailers are likely to be affected.
Externalities and Development: Mexico's Yucatán Railway Project
The BBC reports here on one of Mexico's biggest-ever infrastructure projects - the Yucatan railway mega-project which is designed to lift growth and development but is already three times over...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 15 December 2023
Here's our final weekly economics news quiz of 2023. Have a great christmas and new year!
Record Debt Puts Developing Countries in Crisis
The World Bank has warned that higher interest rates are going to imperil the developmental prospects of many low income countries, by increasing debt repayments and, ultimately, increasing debt...
2023 King’s Entrepreneurship Lab Essay Competition Winners Announced
We were delighted to support the inaugural King’s College Cambridge Entrepreneurship Lab Essay Competition so ably run by Rhys Williams. This weekend the winners journeyed to Cambridge for a...
In the News Teaching Activity – More cash transactions to help people manage their finances as the cost-of-living rise bites (Dec 2023)
Over the past decade, people have used fewer notes and coins for transactions, but now there is an increase in cash use again.
New Kahoot Quizzes on Market Failure
We are busy adding new Kahoot quizzes to the tutor2u channel. Three new quizzes have been created covering aspects of market failure.
Thames Water - Financial Crisis Deepens
This story speaks of the flawed nature of water privatisation, a scandalous lack of regulatory oversight, and the horrific misalignment of incentives.
De-Globalisation: World economy on brink of ‘cold war two'
The Deputy Director of the IMF, Gita Gopinath, has suggested that a move away from globalisation and an economic Cold War based on US and Chinese power blocs has the potential to wipe trillions of...
In the News Teaching Activity – Unprecedented net migration into the UK (Dec 2023)
Ed Conway, Economics correspondent at Sky News, does a deep dive into the recent data showing high net migration figures.
West African Generating Project Energises Growth
This World Bank clip looks at the development of a massive electricity generating project in West Africa, with the building of an advanced electricity network spanning the region, linking a power...
Inequality in the UK - most disadvantaged in Britain are no better off than 15 years ago
This BBC report highlights a Centre for Social Justice Report that finds that there's a danger of inequality becoming entrenched in the United Kingdom. The most deprived areas struggle to find...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 08 December 2023
Here's this week's economics news quiz.