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Riding the Renewable Wave: The Economics of Solar and Wind Power
The greatest barrier to the global energy transition is cost. Despite international consensus on the need to reduce carbon emissions, fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas continue to dominate,...
The recent decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England to reduce the Bank Rate from 5.25% to 5% is a clear indication of the delicate balancing act central banks perform....
Becoming a high-income country is the dream of many nations, but for over 100 countries, this dream faces significant hurdles. According to the World Bank's World Development Report 2024, many...
As the world pivots towards a more sustainable future, Africa stands on the brink of an economic transformation driven by the green economy. A recent report by FSD Africa in collaboration with the...
The concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) has captivated thinkers across the political spectrum. It promises a radical shift in the way we think about income distribution, work, and social...
Green Zambia: Financing a liveable future
An excellent article here from the World Bank's blog on financing green investment in copper-rich Zambia.
VoxDev has published new research showing the impact of minimum wages on consumption in the Chinese economy. It is a very useful example of the importance of the marginal propensity to consume when...
How can countries cope with falling birth rates?
This BBC article looks at the implications of a falling birth rate for a developed economy, noting that there are only really two viable solutions. Either ensure that your population remains...
Assessing the Impact of the Pandemic on Well-Being
This Larry Elliott article highlights the external costs of the pandemic, arguing that these weren't factored in to assessments of the costs of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. He focuses in...
How Singapore Got So Crazy Rich
The Singapore story: how has Singapore grown so rapidly, overtaking the UK and the US in terms of per capita GDP? This Bloomberg clip highlights how its location, and the classic approach of moving...
The opportunity cost of closing police stations
Torsten Bell with his weekly nugget in the Observer, and a lovely example of the concept of opportunity cost, as revealed by analysis of public spending on police stations. Apparently, for every...
Contestable Markets - The Rise of Shoe Brand Hoka
This Business Insider video looks at the rise of the latest on-trend shoe brand, Hoka, the producer of an increasingly prominent sports shoe. Within just over a decade of its creation, the brand...
Can kinder capitalism compete in ruthless retail?
This lengthy FT video clip looks at whether an employee-owned retail business, like John Lewis, can continue to thrive in an increasingly competitive retail market. But not only is the external...
The Fiscal Cost of High Interest Rates
Kenneth Rogoff writes an interesting piece here about the diminishing ability of government debt to help offer macroeconomic stability at a time of higher interest rates.
Is China leading the electric vehicle race?
This BBC news clip looks at competition in the electric car market, with China leading the way, arguably because of high levels of government support. This clip looks at the concerns of the US and...
Food versus Land - the debate about Solar
The centrality of the fundamental economic problem - scarcity - is illustrated by this Reuters clip looking at increased competition for land in the American mid-West. Increasingly, high quality...
Britain's Post-Brexit Trade Shifts Further Towards Services
Is Brexit accelerating the shift in UK trade towards services rather than goods? New data published by the ONS on UK trade shows that UK export growth has become increasingly dominated by services...
Criticism of the forecasting techniques of the Bank of England has come in an independent report into its operation, courtesy of the former Chair of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. Not only has...
Poverty Deepening in Modern Britain
Next month sees the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, although it's now called the National Living Wage, and this article looks at what it's achieved.
2024 Human Development Report Published
This video looks at the latest rankings published in the 2024 Human Development Report. You can also download the accompanying powerpoint.