Blog and updates
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22 Jan 2021
Highest December borrowing on record as UK national debt approaches 100% of GDP
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced that the UK government borrowed £34.1 billion last month - the highest December figure on record.
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21 Jan 2021
Household debt: Workers borrowed more in 2020 to prop up incomes
An ONS study suggests that nine million UK workers had to borrow money to help them cope with lower incomes last year as a result of being furloughed or a reduction in hours.
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20 Jan 2021
The return of low-deposit mortgages
This personal finance story is of interest; it implies that mortgage lenders in the housing market can see the future direction of travel, after the Stamp Duty holiday ends, and are gearing up to...
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20 Jan 2021
Labour markets and unemployment: Minority groups hit hardest during the pandemic
The TUC, the federation of trade unions in England and Wales, highlights that in every industry where there have been job losses, BME workers have been more likely to be made unemployed.
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19 Jan 2021
Covid-19 speeds up the decline of cash
An increasing number of businesses are turning cashless as a result of the pandemic and the closure of many local bank branches.
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19 Jan 2021
Monopsony: Big businesses told to speed up payments to small suppliers
In strengthening the Prompt Payment Code, the UK government seem to be striking at the monopsony power of larger firms when it comes to paying smaller suppliers.
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18 Jan 2021
China's economy bucks the global trend
It seems that China will be the only major economy to grow in 2020, with the data claiming that the country experienced annual growth of 2.3% last year, as a result of strict pandemic restrictions...
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17 Jan 2021
What is Africa's Great Green Wall?
Thus clip looks at the creation of a Great Green Wall in Africa, designed to reduce the negative externalities of desertification and offset the adverse effects of the overuse of common access...
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15 Jan 2021
Economics Weekly Quiz - 15 January 2021
Here's our first weekly economics news quiz for 2021.
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15 Jan 2021
Planet on course for “catastrophic” rise in temperatures say scientists
BBC News carried a piece last night that highlighted the fact that 2020 was one of the hottest years on record.
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15 Jan 2021
The fiscal multiplier of $2 trillion of stimulus spending
Here is a terrific piece in the Guardian from Professor Barry Eichengreen on whether the new Biden administration would be better spending $2 trillion on stimulus cheques to US households or use...
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13 Jan 2021
UK economy might be facing the darkest hour
The Governor of the Bank of England has sounded a cautionary note - suggesting that the economy is facing its "darkest hour" after the introduction of a new lockdown.
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13 Jan 2021
General purpose technologies and the productivity gap
One of the most depressing aspects of the decade of the 2010s, well before Covid struck, was the apparently slow growth in productivity.
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9 Jan 2021
Could covid-19 cause an inflation spike?
The Economist looks at the nature of inflation - starting from the premise that recent low inflation is difficult to explain in traditional theoretical terms.
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7 Jan 2021
In Praise of Scientists
The speed of scientific innovation seems to be accelerating sharply. And it is innovation which ultimately drives our health, wealth and well-being.
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7 Jan 2021
If China Builds It, Will They Come?
This is a fascinating clip looking at a joint China-Kazakhstan investment project with the building of the 'largest dry port' in the world, looking to attract investment and exploit the New Silk...
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5 Jan 2021
UK cannot duck covid inequalities
An IFS report highlights the fact that post-Covid the UK will need to make a genuine attempt to tackle inequality.
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5 Jan 2021
Illusion of the Year for 2020
A hat tip to eminent behavioural economist Dan Ariely for pointing me to this amazing optical illusion - one to show students!
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4 Jan 2021
Environmental economics: 39 Ways to Save the Planet
A new BBC podcast has been launched and seems perfect for students and teachers wanting to enrich their understanding of environmental economics.
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