China bans its airlines from paying EU carbon tax
On 1st January this year, the EU introduced an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) which levies a charge on flights in EU airspace based on carbon emissions. They estimate that this will add between 2 and 12 euros to flight tickets. Airlines are required to purchase emissions permits, like utilities and heavy industry in the EU, and airlines that do not comply face fines of 100 euros for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted for which they have not surrendered allowances. In the case of persistent offenders, the EU has the right to ban airlines from its airports.
read more...»Russia’s monopoly power over gas supplies
It has been a bit chilly in the UK for the last few days, but nothing compared to the temperatures as low as -35 which have hit parts of central and eastern Europe. Of course, they are used to far colder winters than us, and have different ways of dealing with the weather, but reliance on gas supplies from Russia for the majority of their heating fuel leaves countries including Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia vulnerable to disruption in that supply.
read more...»Unit 4 Macro: Focus on India - World’s Cheapest Computer
A few weeks ago came the announcement that an Indian business is finally set to launch the World’s cheapest tablet computer. This laptop device will sell for around 18 times less than the price of an iPad in London! How can a laptop be manufactured for less than $US 40?
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Can China Stay Competitive
This new five minute video report from the Financial Times is excellent on the competitive pressures facing many manufacturing businesses located in southern China. Wages are rising quickly and some manufacturing businesses have already moved either to lower-cost locations within the Chinese economy or to other countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia.
But there are alternative approaches and this video emphasises the decision that some manufacturers have made to stay put but instead to move up the value chain and produce higher-end, higher-priced products for advanced western markets. Businesses are reluctant to move factories and sacrifice the human capital that has been accumulated over in some cases over thirty years.
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Can the UK Computer Games Industry Grow
Britain is one of the world’s biggest exporters of creative products - from live TV shows and music to books, arts, architecture and films the economy has built up an enviable global reputation for excellence and a growing trade surplus to aid our balance of payments.
Computer games falls squarely into this category but, according to TIGA - the trade association representing the UK’s games industry - unless there is renewed government support, the future of this sector is at risk. TIGA claims that the British games industry is suffering a significant ‘brain drain’ as talented programmers and artists leave the country to work abroad.
read more...»Unit 3 Micro: 3D Printing and a Manufacturing Revolution
Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is an emerging technology that takes product design data which provides a geometric representation of a product such as a pen and that data is then sent over to a machine that allows products to be manufactured ‘on the spot’ typically using additive materials in liquid or powder format.
This TED talk from Lisa Harouni (co-founder of Digital Forming) looks at examples of intricately designed products made using this new and increasingly affordable manufacturing technology. 3D machines can build structures, build replacement parts and parts within parts - the detailed resolution possible is incredible.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Exporting to the Booming Chinese Economy
Before you read this blog please have a look at another blog written by our good friend Mark Johnston from New Zealand. Students of China and the US economy will find it fascinating!
There are good grounds for no longer calling China an emerging economy - it has arrived! The multiple significance of the rapidly-growing Chinese economy is plain for all to see but for Britain, only a small percentage of our exports of goods and services go there and this must change if Britain is to fully engage with and benefit from the rising might of the Chinese consumer. This article from the Daily Mirror provides a non-technical but clear explanation of the growing purchasing power of newly wealth Chinese, thousands of whom are flocking to western shopping malls to buy premium brands. Chinese foreign exchange reserves are also being used to buy up real assets - last week we heard that a Chinese sovereign wealth fund is set to buy nearly 9% of Thames Water.
read more...»France and Flexible Employment
This article could be useful as an illustration of the EU context in relation to employment in general, and flexible employment in particular. Attracting inward FDI is arguably a significant benefit of UK membership of the EU, and one of the advantages which the UK can offer compared to, say, France is relatively flexible employment laws.
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Nano Technology and Energy Efficiency
Today’s research in the labs can be the harbinger of terrific innovations that change the landscape of consumer product markets in the years ahead. The iPod Nano is a brand but the research behind nano-technology itself might bring about eye-watering improvements in the energy efficiency of devices that are part and parcel of our daily lives.
This brief news report from Al Jazeerah looks at innovation in nano technologies and what might be around the corner. Researchers at IBM have created the world’s smallest magnetic digital-storage device, using just 12 atoms to hold a single data bit of information.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Videos on Productivity
Here is a selection of short video clips that might be useful when teaching the economics of productivity as part of the AS macro course. I often start with the “Fast Hands” video clip (one minute only) because it raises all kinds of issues about division of labour and the quality of life of people who do these tasks. And the short 25 second clip on the world’s fastest hand is guaranteed to make a mark! If you have some other videos on productivity to share please leave a link in our comment slot at the bottom of the blog.
The Guardian business web site has this excellent photo stream on life inside the Nissan car factory. Follow them on Twitter
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Look Upwards to Find the next Downturn
Correlation does not necessarily imply causation but analysts at Barclays Capital are worried that a surge in skyscraper construction in China and India might be a forward indicator of another burst of financial and economic distress. This report in the Independent covers their findings:
“Clusters of building activity usually coincide with periods of easy credit, excessive optimism and rising land prices, which often occur before market corrections.”
* India is scheduled to complete 14 new skyscrapers taller than 240 meters (787 feet) over the next five years from the current two
* China will increase the number of skyscrapers to 141, from the current 75, by 2017
* London’s Shard is expected to be completed in 2012 – at 1,017ft, it will be the tallest building in Western Europe
News video from the BBC: Skyscrapers ‘linked with impending financial crashes’
Guardian news video: Huaxi: the village that towers above China
Economics at the Movies - Foods that Make Billions
Here is a link to a you tube video from the BBC looking at the modern food business and the huge profits to be made from the breakfast cereal industry. Part of the series The Foods that Make Billions (cereals, bottled water and yoghurt)
The Foods That Make Billions - Cereals
Unit 3 Micro: Samsung and LG fined for price fixing
As A2 microeconomists approach their Unit 3 exam, they need to make sure they have good examples to support their analytical theory and should therefore be interested in the news from South Korea where the antitrust regulator has fined Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics for conspiring to fix the prices of some appliances.
The regulator said the two firms held secret meetings in 2008 and 2009 to agree on prices for washing machines, flat-panel TVs and laptop computers and has fined Samsung 25.8bn won, while LG was fined 18.8bn won. A nice relevant example of collusion, price fixing and the government’s response to this anti-competitive behaviour
Newsnight on rebalancing the UK economy
Last night’s edition of Newsnight should be required viewing for all AS and A level economists - and it is a huge shame that it is only available on i-player for another 7 days. Introduced on the shock news that even Tesco is vulnerable to the downturn, it included reports from Andrew Verity looking at whether the British economy will ever wean itself off shopping and the City, and an excellent (and all-female!) discussion including Deborah Meaden and the FT’s Gillian Tett. Try challenging your students to watch and listen to this while noting down every aspect of the syllabus which is mentioned or referred to - that will keep them busy!
There was also a debate between Employment Minister Chris Grayling and disability campaigner Sue Marsh about the government’s welfare reforms, defeated in the House of Lords the night before, and finally Tokyo correspondent Roland Buerk looking at Japanese economic stagnation of the late 1980s and 90s, to consider whether it was a “lost decade” and what could be learnt from it.
Unit 4 Macro: Competitive Advantage in Trade (Some Videos)
Here is a selection of short video clips that I use when teaching competitive advantage in markets and when introducing the factors that determine the competitiveness of UK producers in global markets. The focus here is on the UK economy but I will add some more videos to the blog as I work my way through this teaching topic.
read more...»Unit 3 Micro: Is Facebook’s Social Network Dominance Eroding?
There is a wealth of interesting market share data available from the latest edition of Experian Hitwise, the regular analysis of changing activity across different social networks. The big winner in the latest figures appears to be You Tube - which according to Experian had its biggest ever month of traffic as 606 million UK Internet visits went to the website in December 2011. YouTube now accounts for 1 in every 4 visits to a social network in the UK and 1 in every 30 visits online.
Facebook’s share of visits to social networks has declined from 58% in December 2010 to 51% in December 2011. Does this tally with your own experience? Twitter’s share remains below 3% and Google + doesnt even make the top ten of social networks at the moment. More here from the Daily Telegraph. Facebook’s share of UK social networking declines
Unit 1 Micro: Capital used to Build Cross Rail
The tunnelling equipment involved in CrossRail - Europe’s biggest civil construction project - is immense in every way! This BBC news video of the earth cutting machinery is a brilliant visual to use when teaching economies of scale or introducing the concept of physical capital! The machinery is made in Germany naturally!
Unit 4 Macro: Does Manufacturing Matter?
Vicky Pryce FRSA has a new article on the economic significance of manufacturing industry for UK economic renewal. It is available here from the January 2012 edition of the RSA Journal. In a related article Sir Christopher Frayling FRSA discusses the rise of the Maker Movement.
Back in November 2011 Channel 4 news ran a special on the future for UK manufacturing here is a link to a related video
Unit 2 Macro: Factors Driving Business Investment
Profit-seeking businesses will go ahead with an investment if they believe that it will - over its projected lifetime - yield a real rate of return greater than if the money had been invested in the next best alternative way. Opportunity cost is a useful idea to use here. Private sector businesses usually focus on these objectives when investing in new capital inputs:
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Low Cost Airlines Beat the Recession
The global financial and economic crisis has created many problems for airlines - falling business and 1st class passenger revenues, increased insurance costs, problems in getting loan finance, volatile exchange rate and the challenges of steep increases in aviation fuel prices to name just a few. We could also add the shockwaves from the spring 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Arab Spring and a decline in tourism, and the steadily deteriorating global economic outlook - with the Euro Zone crisis threatening a second recession for Western Europe.
But discount airlines - carriers that offer no-frills and charge plenty for extras on top of low basic fares - seem to have fared pretty well despite the turbulent conditions. Many passengers now appear willing to sacrifice luxury for cheaper flights and there are plenty of news stories of low-cost airlines in Europe, Asia and Africa who are announcing expanded route maps for 2012 and beyond.
What economic factors help explain the continued expansion of low-cost airline carriers?
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Malfunction in In-Race Betting Market
Bet Fair has built up an enviable reputation for running an efficient platform for in-race betting online. The platform gives punters the chance both to lay odds on a race and also to take a standard gamble on the result and the technology allows betting before and during the race. But events last week in Ireland have dealt a blow to the standing and reputation of the business as this Channel 4 news video amply demonstrates.
read more...»Business People in the News Quiz - 2011 Edition
Here is a ten question picture quiz on some of the personalities who have made the business news headline during 2011. How many can you get first time? When you get the questions right - how fast can you speed down the powerboat river?
read more...»2012 - Carnage on the High Street
There are many retail industry experts forecasting that the early months of 2012 might be tough for some struggling retailers. We will keep this blog post updated on a regular basis as news of some high profile retail failures comes through. And we will link to media coverage of some of the attempts to restructure retailers under the threat of closure.
read more...»Regulatory Capture at HMRC?
Is the story of HMRCs failure to collect the right amount of tax from some big businesses an example of regulatory capture? In the current example, the Public Accounts Committee has said that HM Revenue and Customs enjoyed an “unduly cosy” relationship with major companies, and their procedures have allowed rules to be ‘bent’ so that up to £25bn tax has been underpaid. Regulatory capture (an example of government failure) is what happens when regulated industries are able to gain influence over their regulator, so that instead of serving the public interest, the regulator actually supports the interest of the industry concerned. In this case, there does not seem to be one specific industry concerned (although Goldman Sachs’s underpayment of something between £8mn and £20mn comes in for particular criticism); however the situation does seem to meet the requirements defined by the Economist as “Gamekeeper turns poacher or, at least, helps poacher”.
More on the story here:
Taxman slammed over ‘cosy’ business relations
Goldman Sachs tax deal faces UK legal challenge
Unit 3 Micro: Oligopoly and Duopoly in Bus Markets
The UK Competition Commission has published an important report into the market structure of local and regional bus services in the UK, twenty five years after the industry was deregulated and largely privatised. Coverage of the report can be found here (BBC news).
Largely as a result of a long-term process of consolidation through merger and acquisition, the UK bus industry is found to be highly concentrated with five businesses dominating the sector even though more than 1,200 businesses provides services.
The five largest operators (Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach) carry 70 per cent of those passengers. The CC also found that head-to-head competition between operators is un-common and that-on average-the largest operator in an urban area runs 69 per cent of local bus services - effectively a monopoly position.
Unit 3 Micro: Patent Wars- A Touchy Subject for Apple
This excellent news piece from Ben Cohen at Channel 4 looks at the increasingly aggressive patent war being fought by the manufacturers of the world’s leading mobile phone and tablet devices - the most profitable products in the digital economy. “Where once the giants (Google and Apple) competed on features, they now compete on patents.”
The news feature looks in particular at the intellectual property surrounding the slide-screen technology used by millions to unlock a device. Apple claims the IP to this but a video tracked back to twenty years ago suggests that developers were already thinking of something remarkably similar long before the iPhone came into existence. Can the makers of Android defend legal claims from Apple that their IP has been infringed? And who will end up paying for the enormous legal fees and possible extra licencing costs?
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The Christmas Tree of Integration
A seasonal look at the methods of growth for firms, covering organic growth and the sources of external growth.
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Inside a Biscuit Factory
This five minute video is superb for illustrating economies of scale in the production - we take a trip through the United Biscuit factory to see how millions of products are made every day. The commentary is a little simplistic but as a visual aid it is brilliant. A great example to use of capital intensity in production and the nature of supply curves and the elasticity of supply. Here is the link to use
Unit 3 Micro: Hope Bikes - A Commitment to Excellence
Are you into your cycling? The huge expansion of interest in cycling in the UK from road racing through to BMX and mountain-biking has gone hand in hand with the fantastic success of British cyclists on the international stage. 2012 promises to be another strong year for the industry despite difficult economic conditions.
read more...»Unit 4 Macro: Does UK Manufacturing have a Future?
Here are links to two superb short reports on prospects for UK manufacturing as the British economy struggles to escape from recession and sluggish growth forecasts in 2011 and 2012. Both are from Channel 4 News that produced a special on the health of the manufacturing sector - excellent for evaluation and for some applied examples to build into essays. The links appear below
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