Taxation breaks as an incentive
Much of the recent talk about tax has been linked to the avoidance stories by big multi-national companies like Google. An alternative angle that students may find interesting as a counter argument is the use of tax concessions as an incentive by government. The most commonly used example is the concessions given to more environmentally-friendly cars when their owners pay road tax.
Another interesting example has been highlighted this week, in concessions given out to those people who give away items classified as culturally significant. Follow this link to read an article on how some handwritten lyrics penned by John Lennon have been given away by their owner as part of the Cultural Gifts tax relief scheme.
Will all the tax avoiders in the front row please jangle their jewellery?
The importance of container shipping
I have to come clean as a self-confessed container nerd (geek alert: follow the world’s containers using this amazing tool). Not only are the ships hugely impressive from an engineering perspective, but they are a gift for an Economics or Business enthusiast. You might want to be thinking about economies of scale, or the negative externalities associated with transport – or perhaps discuss supply side issues and infrastructure. Container ships cover the lot.
A while ago I argued that container shipping is the greatest of all 20th century innovations, and this week The Economist has reported that the container has been a greater driver of globalisation than all trade agreements in the past 50 years taken together.
read more...»Unit 4 Macro: Indonesia’s infrastructure deficit
Here is a video report from the fast-growing country of Indonesia where infrastructure deficiencies threaten their sustainable growth rate.
read more...»UK Economy: Has High Inflation Damaged the Economy?
What are the costs of a higher average rate of inflation? With CPI inflation staying persistently above target over much of the last six years, to what extent has this undermined UK macro performance? Or has a little extra inflation and an ultra-loose monetary policy (0.5% base rates and £375bn of quantitative easing) been a price worth paying to avoid an ever deeper recession and depression?
"The high retail price inflation seen in recent years has outpaced earnings and eaten into household spending power. Ongoing relatively high inflation will continue to impact consumer spending, especially with unemployment unlikely to fall quickly. The effect on consumer spending will vary between different demographic groups and product sectors, causing companies to revisit their offerings."
Here is the link to the Ernst and Young report - click here
Zero hours contracts and youth employment
From the
employer's point of view, a zero hours contract is a great example of the
benefits of the flexible labour market. They allow the employer to change the
number of hours an employee works each week, with more shifts offered when they
are busy, and fewer when they are not; costs can therefore be controlled and
matched more exactly to revenue. Neil Carberry at the CBI says that they have
helped to save jobs during the recession and stagnant growth: "It's zero
hours contracts and other forms of flexible working that mean there are half a
million fewer unemployed people than there might otherwise have been." Now
figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS)
show the number of 16 to 24-year-olds on zero hours contracts has more than
doubled since the start of the economic downturn, rising from 35,000 in 2008 to
76,000 in 2012. This means that one in every three people on a zero-hours
contract is under 25 (- although that proportion doesn't look as if it has
changed very dramatically throughout the period shown). If this is good for the employer, how is it for the
employee?
read more...»
AS Economics - Macroeconomics Key Term Glossary
View and/or download our key terms glossary for AS Economics units focusing on the national and international economy.
read more...»UK membership of the EU - a chance for students to make Nigel Farage laugh or cry
The UK's membership of the EU is among the hottest of topics at the moment. With the UKIP party doing so well in recent elections and various senior political figures starting to show their real views on UK membership of the EU club even Barrack Obama was giving his opinions yesterday. This doesn't mean that the topic is any more likely to turn up on macro-economic exam papers over the next few weeks at AS and A2 (the OCR AS paper has already been and gone! Hope it went well) - the papers will have been written before the more recent votes.
However, the economic question about the UK's membership has been an important topic for quite a while and so it is worth having a look again just in case it rears its multi-lingual head. Added to that, students of economics will be in an ideal situation over the next few years to be able to make an informed decision in any referendum, based upon having some of the facts and figures and having developed their outstanding evaluative skills on the matter!
With this in mind, follow this link to find a short (10 minute) teaching resource that asks that very simple question - What are the economic arguments for and against remaining in the European Union? The Powerpoint file has a 4 minute timer to give students the chance to think about the answer and then a nice little graphic illustrating some possible answers that they could use in an exam. The BBC have also produced a succinct balanced webpage on a similar question.
Unit 2 Macro: Does High Home Ownership Cause Unemployment?
For many years Professor Andrew Oswald has researched the links between home ownership levels and labour market performance. This new paper with Professor David Blanchflower takes the debate forward - they argue that rising home ownership can bring about negative externalities for the rest of the economy, damaging labour mobility and curtailing new business start-ups. It is an argument worth looking at when we discover some of the structural causes of joblessness. Read the article here
See also: It's not the deficit that will haunt our children: it's unemployment (Heather Stewart, The Observer, May 2013)
See also: Forget inflation – what hurts the most is unemployment (David Blanchflower, Independent, April 2013)
Positive indicators for the UK economy II - changing structure of the economy
Following the theme in Jonny Clarke's blog Does it matter if we are in a recession, there was some positive news of hopeful signs in some sectors of the economy in this week's Deloitte Monday Briefing. Ian Stewart, Chief Economist at Deloitte, reported on the unbalanced picture across the economy. On one hand there is 'extreme' weakness in the high-productivity sectors of North Sea oil and financial services, where output has fallen by an average of 5.4% a year. These two key sectors represent about 14% of the economy and so their weakness has a significant effect on GDP - if they are stripped out of GDP figures, the rest of the economy would have grown by approximately 2% a year in the meantime, a figure which is close to the long-run trend.
UK Economy Revision - Downloadable Revision Sheet
Here is a link to a downloadable revision handout on key UK economic data designed for AS and A2 macro papers this summer. I hope it might be useful for some students and teachers.
read more...»Does it matter if we are in a recession?
Those of you who avidly follow Geoff Riley's blogs on this website may have read that he advises students to avoid getting too worked up about whether the economy is actually in recession.
Most economic students will readily tell you the official definition of a recession and can analyse the impact of an under-performing economy. However, it was interesting to read today that, having officially avoided a triple-dip recession last month we may have to revise whether we actually sank in to a double-dip recession in the first place. Follow this link to read the Telegraph's report on how the ONS are revising recent statistics on the economy's performance, suggesting that the shrink in the construction industry shrank by 5.0% (not 5.4% as originally reported) in the first three months of 2012 and, as a consequence, the UK did not slip into another recession.
As Geoff would tell you, whether the country was in a recession or not is the not the most important factor - the economy's sluggish growth should be the paramount concern and the word 'recession' has become more of a political tool. In the upcoming exams, students should remember that the avoidance of a double-dip or triple-dip is fairly irrelevant - the overall performance is the key indicator and there is still plenty to be worried about.
Strong Baht May Damage Thai Economy
This week, I’ve been revising exchange rate policies with my Year 13 Economics class. This is a hot topic in Thailand as the Baht recently hit a 17 year high against the dollar.
The exams are nearly here - as if you need reminding! Well, here’s a reminder!
Here's a very simple, but totally unsubtle reminder for your students on the upcoming dates and times of the AS and A level exams in Economics for the AQA, Edexcel and OCR awarding bodies.
Follow this link to download the 'Exam Countdown' file. There you will find a small and easy to use Powerpoint file called 'Exam Countdown'.
Follow this link for a quick tutorial on how to use the resource.
Open and run the slideshow (ensuring that you have 'enabled macros'). The screen will change to a setup slide after a couple of seconds. Click on the exam that you wish to remind your student about and the countdown timer will start. The timer shows how many days, hours, minutes and seconds remain before their exam starts. There's nothing like instilling a sense of urgency!
Please note this file is fully functional. If you would like an editable version (where you can edit the times, dates and 'event') you will find one as part of the 'Super Teacher Utility Belt' resource available from our PowerPoint games-based learning site.
UK Economy Revision - Policies to Reduce Unemployment
Here is a streamed (and downloadable) presentation on policies to cut unemployment in the UK economy.
read more...»AS Macro revision - The Codecracker
Here's a short activity that can be used to add something a little different to your upcoming revision sessions for AS Macro topics. The Codecracker file (downloaded by clicking on this link) can be used either in class or given to your students as an exercise at home.
The file has 8 multi-choice questions on a variety of topics from the AS macro syllabus. Students have to get all 8 right (collecting letters along the way) to get the correct code. If they get even one answer wrong then the code will not be cracked (and they have to start again!). This may last 5 minutes or 50 minutes!
This is stand-alone Powerpoint file called a '.pps' file which means that it will open up automatically without having to open Powerpoint first (and you don't need Powerpoint on your PC). You can pass the file to your students using your preferred method (e.g. email) and they can see if they can crack the code in their own time.
PS. An editable version of this resource will soon be available from this website.
AS and A2 Key Term Glossaries
Brought together in one blog resource - click below for details
UK Economy: Update on the State of the Economy April 2013
This pdf presentation might be useful support for students preparing for macro papers this summer.
Download: UK Economy: Update on the State of the Economy April 2013
OCR AS Micro and Macro Exam Tips
Drawing on comments from examination reports and contributions from some OCR teacher examiners, here is a summary of some approaches to score high marks on the OCR AS micro and AS macro papers:
read more...»The UK Peace Index - highlighting the opportunity cost of violent crime
I'm always sightly dubious about statistics and information represented by campaign organisations - I'm left with the reservation that information can presented in any way that you want to prove whatever point that you are trying to make (wasn't it an economist who came up with the phrase 'lies, damned lies and statistics'?). So this fascinating report from an organisation called 'Vision of Humanity' needs to be looked at with an open mind.
However, if you take it at face value, it offers some really interesting information.
read more...»AS, A2 & IB Economics Revision Quizzes - Master Listing
[updated 22 April 2013]
Our Economics team have been busy over the last few weeks authoring a comprehensive new collection of multiple-choice revision questions designed to support AS, A2 and IB Economics students.
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be uploading these quizzes to the tutor2u website and also creating Zondle versions to enable them to played using the tutor2u mobile and tablet App.
Please bookmark and share the link to this blog entry and visit regularly to check on our progress as we add new revision quizzes.
read more...»Unit 2 Macro: Making Sense of the Data
This is an excellent resource for Unit 2 students. The BBC's Hugh Pym interviews some city economists about what is happening to many of the key macro economic indicators
read more...»The Angry Economist 2 - The George Osborne Edition (evaluating macroeconomic policies)
He's back but he's still angry! In this latest version of The Angry Economist, our favourite curmudgeonly analyst wants to know students' opinion on George Osborne's economic policies - no wonder his blood pressure has risen!
This simple Powerpoint resource is aimed at getting your students to analyse and evaluate economic policies - 8 of the Chancellor's policies are presented and the Angry Economist randomly picks a macro-economic objective to consider. All you have to do is get 8 volunteers from your class to do the analysing - a great 10 minute activity whilst revising for the up-coming macro exams at either GCSE, AS or A2 level.
Here is a list of the policies the Angry Economist wants students to look at (you may wish to recap on them before you start the activity):
- Reduce Government debt
- Increased number of private sector jobs
- Increased allowance before Income Tax needs to be paid
- Cut Corporation Tax
- Set up Regional Growth Fund
- Funding Lending Scheme
- Deregulating some planning rules
- Frozen Council Tax
Of course, the beauty of this resource is that you can change any of these policies to whatever you want them to be.
Click on this link to download the Angry Economist 2.
PS. Click on this link to have a look at the original Angry Economist.
Paul Ormerod: Whatever happened to all those miners? Shocks and economic resilience
Where have all the miners gone? To judge by the rhetoric of the BBC and other Leftist media outlets, whole swathes of Britain lie devastated, plagued by rickets, unemployment and endemic poverty – nearly thirty years after the pit closures under Lady Thatcher!
The reality is different. There is indeed a small number of local authority areas where employment has never really recovered from the closures in the 1980s. But, equally, there are former mining areas which have prospered.
read more...»
Scoop it Boards for Economics
A growing number of teachers are curating Scoop It Boards focusing on specific exam courses or aspects of the subject - ranging from ones on market failure and government intervention through to international economics, China, and relevant articles and resources for papers such as OCR F585 and Pre U. Maybe students can be encouraged to curate and develop their own boards as a way of keeping a study log of interesting blogs, news features, analysis and evaluative pieces?
read more...»Revision Quiz: AS Economics: Managing the Economy (1)
This 10 question quiz looks at the broad topic of macroeconomic management of the economy.
Launch Revision Quiz: AS Economics: Managing the Economy (1)
Unit 2 and Unit 4 Macro: Economic Simulation - the Government Game
Introducing The Government Game - tutor2u's new Economic Simulation game that is just perfect for revising for AS & A2 Macroeconomic Policy topics!
Unit 2 Macro: UK and US Growth Compared
In this short Financial Times video, Vicky Redwood the Chief UK Economist of Capital Economics looks at why economic recovery in the UK has been slower than in the USA since the end of the last recession.
read more...»Paul Ormerod: Sovereign debt and Euro zone reality
The recent debacle in Cyprus has essentially been shrugged off by the markets. The European Central Bank vigorously asserts the crisis in the Euro zone is over. So why is there continued unease about the financial viability of countries such as Spain and Portugal, a morass into which even the French are now being dragged?
Economic theory helps us understand a bit more about why this is the case. One thing which the last few years in Europe have shown very starkly is the massive difference between debt which is denominated in nominal terms and that which is in real terms. Nobel Laureate Chris Sims makes the point clearly in his recently published Presidential Address to the American Economic Association.
read more...»Economics Revision - Mind Map and Visual Notes Competition
There are thousands of AS and A2 students out there at the moment putting in some serious hours of revision ahead of the May and June papers. Effective revision is more of an art than a precise science but many students are producing some superb mind-maps, revision flash cards and other visual resources to telling effect.
We like to showcase some of them at this stage of the year. In the spirit of friendly competition, we will offer some book prizes to our favourite mind maps and similar revision notes. You can email them through to us (ideally one image per mind map, 800 x 600 size works best for us but we can resize any image). Or post them on twitter and add @tutor2u or @tutor2u_econ to your tweet so that we can see them!
We will announce the winners on the 1st of May! Check below to see some of the early entries. This blog will be updated on a regular basis.
read more...»Unit 2 and Unit 4 Macro: Unicef Child Well-Being Report 2013
Unicef have just released their latest 'report card' on the relative state of well being among children in 29 of the most wealthy countries. The report (a full version and a summary) are available from this link.
The report shows pleasing progress for the UK (our place on the overall ranking has gone up from last place to 16th) with an improvement in obesity levels and a reduction in consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs compared to the 2007 report.
However, worryingly, the UK is ranked 24th in the table with regards to its provision of Education. The biggest weakness highlighted, is the fact that the UK has one of the lowest percentages of young people continuing with education post 16 (only 74%) and very high levels of young people not in education, employment or training at all (nearly 10%). Students of economics could use this as evidence of government failure with regards to supply-side policies - with such a low level of participation in comparison to our major competitors can we guarantee that we are developing skills that will allow the economy to grow in the future? Could your students suggest (and then evaluate) suggestions for how this situation could be remedied?
