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The National Health Service (NHS) Explained
I am teaching fiscal policy at the start of this term and when I get onto government spending and debates about the size, scope an financing of state-provided goods and services, this Guardian...
Nigeria country profile - Growth and Development
Nigeria is Africa’s second largest economy and has the highest production of oil and gas in Africa. More than 62% of Nigeria’s population are under 25 and it’s growing middle class makes up 23% of...
What is the role of central banks today?
As part of the Bank of England's Open Forum this short introductory video asks people what is the role of a central bank? Might be useful as a starting point for a lesson on the key functions of a...
2015 Human Development Report focuses on the changing nature of Work
Sustainable inclusive growth requires equitable and decent work for all as explained in this very accessible introduction to the 2015 Human Development Report published in December 2015. The HDI...
The importance of Central Bank credibility
A recent Gallup Poll shows that only one third of Americans think that the Federal Reserve (the US Central Bank) is doing a good job, and this isn't helped by politicians in the extreme right of...
Do preferential trade agreements harm excluded countries?
Agreements to liberalise trade between groups of countries will boost wages in the partner countries but harm third countries excluded from the agreement. That is the central finding of research by...
Demographic transition? Rising wealth can cause population to grow
Higher national income growth leads to increases in countries’ population growth. That is the central message of research by Professors Markus Brückner and Hannes Schwandt, published in the...
Can migrant workers help overcome Dutch Disease?
The negative effects of a regional resource boom on the local manufacturing sector – a phenomenon that economists call ‘Dutch disease’ – can be partly mitigated by the arrival of temporary foreign...
Two Sides of Inequality in Fast Growing Indonesia
Two residents of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta live almost side by side, yet they are separated by income inequality. Both explain that not everyone has benefited from Indonesia’s economic growth....
Extreme poverty: Transforming the lives of the ultra-poor
The ultra-poor is a term linked to extreme poverty rates in some of the world's least developed countries. It was first coined in 1986 by Michael Lipton of the University of Sussex and is defined...
Should we drop money from helicopters?
The economist Milton Friedman was well known (amongst MANY other reasons) for his analogy of "dropping money out of helicopters" for providing a monetary-based economic boost. Last year, The...
Amartya Sen: Development Economics in the Next 30 Years
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen talks about key issues in development research over the last 30 years. In a world of one priority you miss out a lot of things – we need to take again a WIDER view on a...
Joseph Stiglitz: The State of the Market Explained
In this video Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz discusses the importance of finding the right balance between the state and the market, the discussion on governance as well as the role of economists...
Human Development: The Last 30 Years and the Next 30
In this short and accessible interview Frances Stewart, University of Oxford, discusses the past, present and future of human development through her research on the subject.
Climate Change: The Last 30 Years and the Next 30
In this interview Channing Arndt explores how developing countries will undergo the development process amid the threat of climate change. Furthermore he discusses the potentials for the creation...
Sustainable Development Goals
There are some great "off-the-shelf" resources available online that can really help students gain a deeper understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The UK Productivity Issue
The British economy has suffered for many years from a persistent productivity gap. Output per person employed has remained well below the level of many of the UK's major competitor nations. Why is...
Investment Ratios for Selected Countries
As part of A2 macroeconomics we have been looking at capital investment ratios for a number of countries. Investment has important demand and supply-side effects. The UK has a relatively low rate...
African Population Growth - Dividend or Disaster
Can Africa's booming population be harnessed for economic growth? This new book - available for free download from the World Bank - explores many of the issues. Click here for the resource
Searching for an Environmental Kuznets Curve
As countries become richer, is there a turning point beyond which they successfully start to reduce their CO2 emissions per capita? The charted animation below takes a selection of countries and...