Unit 1 Micro: Public Goods News Clips
A selection of recent news clips linked to the concept of public goods
Unit 2 Macro: China’s Trade Engine is Spluttering
New data suggests that the rapid growth of exports from China is once again slowing down. This Reuters business news video (2 minutes) provides some useful background information on the recent downturn in export and import volumes and mentions that rising imports and a shrinking trade surplus may help the Chinese to rebalance their economy and perhaps provide a demand stimulus for exporters from struggling European countries.
That said the continued weakness of many EU countries will make it difficult for Chinese exporters to maintain sales and employment. During the global recession of 2008-09 millions of workers in Chinese manufacturing industry lost their jobs prompting many to return to their rural homelands in search of work and income.
* Which industries in China are likely to be most affected by a reduction in the growth of exports?
read more...»A backward step on the Maldives’ road to democracy?
In development economics one of the issues that can often be a barrier to a country’s development is political instability, and it looks like the Maldives will be my case study this year. Read on to find out why
read more...»Unit 3 Micro: Video Resources on Carbon Taxation
The crucial issue of how best to tackle climate change and make significant progress towards a low-carbon economy is one that gives students tremendous opportunities to hone their analysis and evaluation skills. A few weeks ago the Australian government was successful in getting through the Senate proposals for a new carbon tax and in this blog we link to some excellent video reports on the background to this decision.
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Winning the War on Deforestation
Justin Rowlatt from the BBC has been investigating some of the remarkable progress being made in controlling deforestation in Brazil. The battle focuses on an area known as the “arc of destruction” and the video reports here show the impact of a government making a clear commitment to tackling the issue and backing it up with force and with incentives.
read more...»Unit 3 Micro: Richard Wilkinson on Inequality and Economic Harm
I have been using this talk given at TED 2011 by Richard Wilkinson when teaching the topic of poverty and inequality and the risks that a growing chasm between low and high income groups can have for society and economic performance. Students and teachers familiar with the work of Pickett and Wilkinson and their recent book “The Spirit Level” will know well the approach that these authors take.
They use published data on inequality and link to wide differences in a range of economic and social outcomes. Their work has been criticised by many on the right, not least because their argument is strong and clear - namely that we need to reduce inequality to tackle some of society’s deepest and most corrosive problems.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro:Video Resources on Human Development Data
Here is a short collection of short video resources on measuring human development with specific reference to the annual human development report and to progress in improving welfare in countries such as Kenya and Brazil
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Growth and Development - Some Indicators
The dictionary definition of ‘development’ is to improve, to progress, or to grow – but development is not just about growth! It is concerned with the improvement of human welfare within an economy, and so it encompasses concepts such as the standard of living, cultural identity and political freedom.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Signs of Progress for Zimbabwe
Just a few years ago the Zimbabwean economy was in collapse and meltdown and the political system on the point of disintegration under the disastrous handling of the dictator Robert Mugabe. When hyperinflation ruled, a sign once appeared in the toilets of a hotel in Harare, “please do not flush Zimbabwean dollars down the toilets”
Three years since the creation of a coalition government, there are some tentative but notable signs of improvement. Inflation has fallen and the use of the US dollar and other regional currencies as legal tender has helped to finance essential imports of basic products. Unemployment remains above 75% of the labour force and there is huge absolute poverty, but the glimmers of hope are there as shown by this recent news report from AlJazeerah English.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: The Economic Disaster of Youth Unemployment
The official figures show that there are now more than one million young people counted as unemployed in the UK although the precise scale of the jobless crisis is difficult to measure accurately. Nonetheless, it represents a fundamental economic, social and political problem and one that policy makers must address.
In this video report from Al Jazeerah, Lawrence Lee visits Leeds to find a well qualified nineteen year old with good qualifications but who cannot afford to go to university and is finding it tough to win a place in the police force - his main ambition.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Trade and Growth
Export demand can be an important driver of growth and development. For many years China has practiced export-led growth with exports accounting for over 40% of GDP. China ran a trade surplus with the rest of the world of around of $200 billion in 2009 – this looks huge, but is fairly modest as a share of GDP. The surplus on the balance of payment current account has diminished from over 10% of GDP in 2007 to less than 6% in each of 2010 and 2011. But China still has a structural trade / BoP surplus.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Inflation
The super-charged growth in China has brought about a rise in inflationary pressures and is a good example of the possible conflicts between rapid economic expansion and rising costs and prices. The Chinese government’s inflation target is 4% but inflation is a growing worry for the Chinese government – after some mild deflation in 2009 there has been acceleration in the consumer price index. Agricultural prices have been a key driver of inflation with food costs up 12% in the year to March 2011.
For many commentators high inflation in China is a symptom of an over-heating economy with an unsustainable credit and property boom. Another factor behind high inflation is that Wages are rising fast in China – many economists believe that China has hit a point in its development at which demand for labour starts to grow faster than supply, creating labour shortages and pushing up salaries. This is known as a Lewis Turning Point.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Carbon Emissions and Growth
Rapid economic growth in China has led to a sharp rise in C02 emissions per head of population and also electric power consumption per capita. Per capita emissions remain well below those of rich advanced nations but China is now committed to improving the sustainability of her economic growth and also in making big advances in researching, testing, developing and investing in clean energy technologies as a source of future exports. According to the 12th Five-year Plan (covering the years 2011-2015) China aims to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent in the five years to 2015. Carbon dioxide emission will drop by 17 percent if the plans are met.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Per Capita Incomes
Per capita incomes in China are rising though still low by advanced-nation levels. China ranks at 119 in terms of average incomes, according to World Bank data (per capita incomes, PPP adjusted). But China is now the biggest car market in the world and there has been a huge rise in the sales of luxury goods to China (these products have a strong income elasticity of demand).
China wants to achieve a re-balancing of her growth – towards domestic consumption and away from exports. Another key aim of the plans for the next 5 years is a surge in market-driven entrepreneurial activity. Plus a continued shift towards higher-value, high-knowledge manufactured products.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Changing Economic Structure
China has experienced fast growth in the last twenty years, in the last decade; the increase in Chinese GDP has been seven times the rise in the GDP of Japan. China has a new growth target of 8% pa for the next five years – a downgrading of growth but still way in excess of normal trend growth for any of the advanced economies such as the UK, Germany and the United States. In 2000, China’s accounted for 7.1% of the world’s total GDP (in PPP terms). By 2015 China will have a 19% share of global GDP. This is higher than any of the other BRIC nations
read more...»Elasticity of Demand on Apple’s App Store
As an Apple aficionado, I regularly visit the macrumors.com site to keep up to date with the latest news about my favourite computer company, so it was interesting to see this article today looking at the effect on revenue for app producers who put their apps ‘on sale’
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 4 Macro: Focus on India - Supply Side Issues
The rapid growth of the India economy has been helped by her economy enjoying a number of supply-side advantages. That said there remain structural supply-side weaknesses that will limit her continued competitiveness and development. This blog looks at the plusses and the minuses.
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 4 Macro: Focus on India - Economic Growth
This is the first of a short series of blogs focusing on economic growth and development in the Indian economy, Our first blog provides some background data and study videos on India.
read more...»Externalities in Action- TED Talk
I’ve just found this fascinating video from the amazing TED website which is an excellent example to show how ‘the market’ can can be used to solve an external cost
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: Population Shift in China
What happened in the UK in 1851, the United States in 1920 and in the World in 2008? These three years mark the estimated year when the size of a given urban population overtook the size of the rural population. And now China has reached this significant landmark.
The Chinese Bureau for National Statistics reported recently that in 2011, the proportion of urban population reached 51.27 percent (1.3% higher than in 2010) with the urban population standing at 690.79 million persons, an increase of 21 million persons in a year. China’s rural population stood at 656.56 million persons and for the first time her urban population was 34.23 million persons more than the rural population.
Click below for some study / teaching resources:
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...»Video Resources on Rising Inequality
In this blog entry we will be bringing together some short video resources that might be useful when teaching and studying the economics of inequality. Please do add some more resources using the comment box at the bottom and we can add them to the listing.
read more...»Unit 1 Micro: Illegal logging and the human cost
This news report looks at the human cost of an example of the tragedy of the commons - illegal logging in the south Philippines which contributed to tens of deaths from the effects of flash flooding. Ecosystems and economic prospects are damaged at the same time because of failures in environmental management.
read more...»Unit 4 Macro: Money, Debt and the New World Order
“All money these days is really a form of debt from somewhere else. We know now in 2012 that our debts cannot be repaid in full.”
Philip Coggan from the Economist was on fine form at the LSE last week when he spoke to a packed audience in the new academic building on the subject of his latest book. When trust in the monetary system breaks down we are in a very difficult place and, in a wonderfully broad historical sweep Philip Coggan offered some revealing insights into what a reformed global monetary system might look like in the years ahead.
read more...»Externalities in song
I was listening to the radio this morning, and ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ was playing. This led me on to an interesting idea for thinking about externalities.
read more...»Externalities Cartoon
KAL, The Economist’s cartoonist, has produced an excellent cartoon in the latest issue perfect for a discussion of a very topical externalities issue in North America. And one that has also been ‘causing tremors’ in the news over here too!
read more...»
