Great interactive data on budget deficits around the world
The BBC have produced a fantastic visual interactive map of budget deficits across the world between 2007 and 2010. It would make a great starter activity or a main part to a lesson on government budgets.
•Government income and expenditure -
Tags: recession, globalisation, gcse macro, government budget
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Petrol prices set to rise
The cost of a barrel of oil has risen from $40 a year ago to $80 now with the price expected to rise even further in the coming months.
These oil tankers are apparently refusing to dock and unload their contents until the price of oil rises!
•Competitive markets -
Tags: demand, supply, oil, gcse micro
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Great video on how to use the OECD website
The BBC have created a great short video showing how to use the OECD website. This will be particularly good for the OCR module on global issues.
•Globalisation -
Tags: globalisation, oecd, gcse macro
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Direct or indirect taxes – You decide
I have been asking my year 11 students which taxes they would raise to reduce the UK’s massive budget deficit. These two articles would be perfect to help with the debate. The first shows a disadvantage of direct taxes as 50 millionaire hedge fund traders are leaving the city for Geneva to hide from the 50% income tax rate with fears that many will follow.
The second article reveals how retailers are worried that VAT will be increased in the new year to 20%. A big disadvantage of increasing indirect taxes such as VAT is it could reduce spending. An interesting lesson activity would be to set up a debate about the pros and cons of direct and indirect taxes using the two articles as case studies.
Bit of fun on a Saturday morning - Youth unemployment
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•Employment & unemployment -
Tags: unemployment, gcse macro, youth unemployment, neets, productive capacity
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Great video on BA and Iberia merger
Following on from my blog yesterday I have found a great video clip on the proposed merger of BA and Iberia. Willie Walsh talks about the synergies that are going to occur due to the merger.
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•Growth of firms -
Tags: merger, economies of scale, gcse micro, growth of firms
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BA and Iberia - economies of scale
The proposed merger of British Airways and Iberia shows types of economies of scale very nicely. Economies of scale occur when a firm grows larger its long run average costs fall. If we remember the mnemonic we used for types of economies of scale - Really, Fun, Mums, Try, Making, Pies, we can then apply this to the merger.
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•Growth of firms -
Tags: economies of scale, gcse micro, growth of firms, long run average costs
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8 million economically inactive – Unemployment definition
A common mistake I noticed whilst marking GCSE papers this summer, involved students writing that an unemployed person is someone who has not got a job. I will use this article in an unemployment lesson to show that to be unemployed you must be willing and able to find a job, but currently out of work. The article shows that 7.9 million (one in five of working age) people in the UK are out of work and are not trying to find a job. They are considered to be economically inactive.
Another article which would be very useful for an unemployment lesson clearly explains the difference between the two main measures of unemployment, the Claimant Count and the ILO survey.
Click read more for some questions on unemployment
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On this day…40 years ago – Technological unemployment
This interesting article from the Guardian, written 40 years ago, is a fantastic example of technological unemployment. Maureen O’Connor warns ‘Girls need more careers advice before the computers really take over’. The article estimated that in the United States, 25% of secretaries would be redundant within seven years due to computers rapidly being introduced into offices.
After reading the article students could be asked to think of any current examples of technological unemployment.
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Toy shortage at Christmas?!
Have toy manufacturers misjudged the amount of sales this Christmas? With the UK still in a recession toy manufacturers could have presumed that Santas budget was much lower this year and therefore produced fewer toys.
•Competitive markets -
Tags: recession, demand, supply, elasticity, gcse micro
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UK trade deficit worsens - Q&A
This is often a topic that GCSE Economists struggle with. An interesting article on the BBC explains how the UK trade deficit has worsened due to the car scrappage scheme.
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•International trade & protectionism -
Tags: recession, exports, imports, trade deficit, currency, gcse macro
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Booming businesses in the recession
We have all heard lots about the numerous businesses that have lost out to the recession. We have not heard so much about the businesses that have done well out of falling incomes and increased unemployment.
read more...» •Economic growth -
Tags: recession, growth, gcse macro
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Mnemonic Monday – Types of Unemployment
This mnemonic will tie in with my Super Starter Sunday on unemployment. It aims to help students remember the different types of unemployment
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Super Starter Sunday - Unemployment special
This week the pictures show different types of unemployment.
1. As usual the students have to guess the news stories using the pictures.
2. Students should then try to work out the type of unemployment in each picture
3. In groups, they could discuss ways solve each type of unemployment.
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Competition in action - M&S to sell top brand names
Marks and Spencer have recently lost market share in part due to the emergence of Waitrose but also due to shoppers trading down supermarkets due to the recession. Well M&S have decided to fight back.
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•Competitive markets -
Tags: competition, gcse micro
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My trip to Brazil - The Olympics, Market Failure and the Exchange Rate
Last week I was given the opportunity to go to Rio to compare the Brazilian education system to our own. Whilst there I thought it would be interesting to look out for any interesting economic stories for the blog. This is what I found.
I couldn’t help but notice how positive everyone seemed to be about Rio securing the Olympics in 2016, with many expecting growth to skyrocket after the event. It may be interesting for your students to use this article to discuss the economic impact of an Olympics on the host city.
The inequality of income in Rio is a great example of market failure. I was lucky enough to see a school in the middle of the second biggest favela in Brazil. There I saw that many in Brazil have not benefited from economic growth and live in appalling conditions surrounded by drugs and violence. (We drove past a drug dealer carrying an AK 47!) Click read more for some questions on market failure
The Brazilian Secretary of Economic Policy believes the currency has to weaken by 19% to allow for strong economic growth in the country. Students can use the mnemonic, SPICED to remember the effect of a strong currency. Strong Pound Imports Cheap Exports Dear. Click read more for some questions on exchange rates
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Fantastic interactive guide – economic growth
The Guardian has come up with another great interactive guide showing GDP growth in countries across the world. Growth ranges from -2.6% in Finland to 7.9% in China.
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How would you spend £38bn?
As the amount the government have pumped into the banking system in the UK continues to rise, the Guardian looks at what else this huge sum of money could be spent on.
•Government income and expenditure -
Tags: government spending, gcse macro
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Video games - positive or negative externalities?
Not long ago video games such as Grand Theft Auto were being blamed for childhood obesity, reclusive children and an increase in violent crimes. These negative externalities were considered to be so harmful that some people felt certain games needed to be banned. It seems however that the general public has had a change of heart. 46% of a recent Times survey felt the reputation of the video game industry has improved due to one product…the Nintendo Wii. It produces many positive externalities such as reducing strain on the NHS, as an increasing number of people use games such as Wii Fit to develop an active and healthy lifestyle. Analysts even believe the console can improve family relationships as they get together to play games. Click read more for some classroom activities to go with this article.
Demand and Supply in action - The housing market
The housing market has seen six consecutive months of price increases suggesting an upturn. We have also seen the first annual percentage price rise, 2% on the previous year.
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•Competitive markets -
Tags: prices, gcse micro, demand and supply, housing market
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L, U, W, V or bathtub shaped?
No doubt we have all heard the various letters and shapes that have been suggested for the shape of this recession. This article in the Guardian would make a great start to the half term possibly prompting an interesting discussion.
•Economic growth -
Tags: recession, gdp, gcse macro, economic growth
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Great data on the global recession
The Guardian has once again produced a great guide to the countries that are still in recession and those that are beating it.
•Economic growth -
Tags: recession, gdp, international economics, gcse macro
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The UK still in recession - some great resources
As it was announced today that the UK remains in recession with the economy unexpectedly contracting 0.4% between July and September, there are some great resources around for teaching economic growth and GDP. The graph below from the BBC shows this recession and the last.
•Economic growth -
Tags: recession, gdp, resources, gcse macro, economic growth
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The self service supermarket – Technological unemployment
Here is a great example of technological unemployment. Tesco have opened their first self-service only shop which requires just one person to supervise five tills. Critics worry this could lead to massive job losses as the major supermarkets currently employ around 750,000 people. Click read more for some GCSE style questions to go with the article.
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How should we tax those greedy bankers?
The country is in uproar about bankers receiving bumper bonuses this year. Here is an interesting video from the BBC which asks whether banks should face a windfall tax. It could be used as a starter for a lesson on tax where you could ask pupils to think about the pros and cons. They could also use the following article from the Guardian website to think of other ways to tax bankers.
Mnemonic Monday - PED Calculation
Whilst marking hundreds of OCR papers over the summer, I noticed a lot of students understood PED but mistakenly put price on the top of the calculation and quantity on the bottom. Here is a very simple way to make sure pupils always put % change in quantity on the top and % change in price on the bottom for PED.
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Alcohol 50p a unit - Minimum price lesson
Every time I teach minimum prices I always talk about the minimum wage or the agricultural market but today I was delighted to find a new example which I will be using from now on. It has been suggested that alcohol should have a minimum price of 50p per unit, well above the current lowest price of alcohol which is currently around 9p per unit. By setting the price high, demand should reduce which in turn will hopefully slow the current trend of alcohol related deaths. Click read more for some questions on minimum prices.
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Super Starter Sunday - Beat the Teacher 3
This weeks beat the teacher is based on supply. Can you spot the mistakes in the text?
Beat_the_Teacher_3.doc
Beat_the_Teacher_3_answers.doc
The US criticises the weakened Yuan – Protectionist policies
I wrote a blog last week about China’s exports recovering from a huge dip. They have done this by actively keeping their currency weak and proving firms with tax rebates to ensure companies maintain their price competitiveness. This has angered the US who feel China’s currency is undervalued by 20% to 40% which means that Chinese products are cheaper for US consumers and American products cost more in the Chinese market. This would be a good article to use when teaching currency, the balance of payments or protectionist policies. Click read more for some GCSE style questions on these topics
Is a weak pound good?
As some of you may be discovering it isn’t a great time for UK holiday makers to go on holiday in the USA or Europe. As the value of the pound against both the dollar and the euro has weakened it has meant that it is more expensive to buy goods abroad (remember as a tourist going abroad we are an import because the money goes out of the UK and into the foreign country). Could this weak pound be good for the UK economy as a whole?
read more...» •Exchange rates and currencies -
Tags: exports, eu, imports, exchange rate, international trade, gcse macro, widec, trading partners
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