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Progress in reducing open defecation
Achieving universal access to basic sanitation is one of the critical Sustainable Development Goals. A new report from the UN finds that nearly 700 million people globally are denied toilet...
Demographics: Tracking declining working age populations
Working age populations are in decline among several member countries of the OECD. The infographic below highlights the steepness of the decline for Japan and Italy in particular.
Is it time to end our fixation with GDP and growth?
Richard Partington's briefing article on GDP and economic growth in the Guardian is a great read and terrific enrichment for students wanting to understand more about the debate over measuring...
Natural Capital: The Wealth of a Wetland
Here is a World Bank clip looking at the importance of wetlands to sustainable development in Uganda, and tangentially the issue of how we measure development itself. It is also clear that there...
Brexit and the Macro Exam – Making Connections
In this short video we look at some of the connections between Brexit and key topics on your macroeconomics specification. One of the major topics must be the debate about whether the UK should...
De-carbonisation - economic threat or opportunity?
Ben Chu reports on BBC Newsnight at the costs of decarbonising, and Lord Stern argues that the cost of adopting environmentally-friendly technologies is far lower than it was a dozen years ago....
Will AI kill developing world growth?
Ian Goldin's article here supports his recent analysis programme on BBC radio 4 and it is well worth a read.
London's new Ultra Low Emissions Zone
Recently we have seen the introduction of the new Ultra Low Emissions Zone in London, designed to charge the owners of the most polluting vehicles an extra £12.50 for entering the area, in addition...
Solving the plastic packaging paradox
An excellent piece here from Tim Harford - looking at the paradox of plastic packaging. Packaging is a complex issue, but this article deconstructs some of the paradoxes associated with the use of...
Thanks to the large cuts to working-age benefits and tax credits made as part of the UK government’s austerity programme, the tax and benefit system is now less effective at protecting households...
Community Grain Banks and Basic Development
One of the central tenets of economics is that uncertainty reduces efficiency. Nowhere is that more true than in development economics, where uncertainty about incomes, and meeting basic needs -...
Development Economics - Universal Health Care
A very powerful World Health Organisation clip looking at universal healthcare. The important take-away: one-half of the global population don't have access to the healthcare that they need. That...
The Triple-Power of Infrastructure Spending
A great reminder in these topical examples that targeted infrastructure spending is tripled powered - driving higher levels of AD, long run aggregate supply and competitiveness.
The Economics of Knife Crime
Economics does not pretend to provide all the answers. But, perhaps surprising to some, it has a lot of useful insights to offer on crime.
Women and Economic Growth
This IMF clip highlights the important linkages between gender equality and economic growth - with Era Dabla-Norris highlighting the fact that women are under-represented in the labour market in...
Netflix and the Future for Cinemas
This BBC Reality Check clip looks at the impact of Netflix on the cinema industry - and represents a way into a lot of issues. Innovation, theory of the firm, cross price elasticity of demand, and...
Could a cashless economy help central banks to use negative interest rates?
This IMF blog (published February 2019) argues that a dual currency system involving e-money and cash might give central banks for more freedom to cut interest rates below zero as a policy response...
Abenomics in Japan - Resource Update
Abenomics has been in place for over five years but to what extent is Abenomics helping to lift Japan out of a deflationary period and address the challenges of an ageing population?
Measuring inflation and the impact on our everyday lives
Inflation tells us how much the prices of goods and services are going up. The question is: which ones do we put into the basket when we are working this out?
Sneakernomics
This BBC News article offers copious business and economics gold dust! The global athletic footwear market size was valued at $64.30 billion in 2017 and the industry supplying shoes has...
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