Blog and updates
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5 Jan 2020
Who has really benefited from Liberia's miracle oil?
This is a fantastic Guardian exploration of the impact of palm oil on the Liberian economy, and those that produce it. It highlights the 'promise' of higher incomes for Liberian farmers and the...
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3 Jan 2020
US imposes ban on flavoured e-cigarettes
A good example here of how a ban can impact on demand for a product but also lead to some possible unintended consequences.
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3 Jan 2020
Rail fares by 2.7% - fair for rail users?
The annual raise in rail fares, as people return to work, is always a prompt for plenty of navel gazing regarding the state of the railways and whether or not the rise is 'fair'.
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2 Jan 2020
Price mechanism in action - tobacco farmers chasing a sweeter crop
This BBC article looks how Greek tobacco farmers have switched to the production of stevia, a zero calorie, sugar substitute (natural sweetener).
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2 Jan 2020
Contestable markets: Reliance takes on Amazon in the Indian food delivery sector
News here that Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is going head-to-head with Amazon in the online retail sector, with the soft launch of JioMart.
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31 Dec 2019
Development Economics Success Stories from 2019
Students spend plenty of time dissecting and discussing development traps. Here is a glass-half full selection of positive development stories from 2019.
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31 Dec 2019
UK national living wage to rise by 6.2% in 2020
The UK National Living Wage (formerly known as the minimum wage) is set to rise by 6% in April 2020 following a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission.
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28 Dec 2019
CMA probes Amazon over plan to buy Deliveroo stake
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is still concerned about Amazon's proposed purchase of a stake in Deliveroo.
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28 Dec 2019
How the US-China trade war has changed the world
The BBC looks here at how the US-China trade war has changed the global trading environment, identifying three main themes - the end of multilateralism, across a range of issues; a splintering of...
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22 Dec 2019
Tragedy of the Commons - How the scramble for sand is destroying the Mekong
AQA chose sand as a topic in a recent A-level economics exam. Here is classic example of a common access resource being over-exploited as it inevitably will be.
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22 Dec 2019
Tesco halts Xmas card production over alleged forced labour
A Christmas story with a difference. In this case, a worker in a Chinese card factory producing cards for Tesco smuggled out a message highlighting working conditions.
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18 Dec 2019
How much should bosses be paid?
Tim Harford looks here at one of my favourite areas of economics, executive pay. We've linked to an exemplar essay answer on this topical question.
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18 Dec 2019
Six tax-based ways to tackle inequality
This is from a US perspective but it's still an interesting look at alternative wealth taxes, and how they can tackle inequality in the USA.
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17 Dec 2019
Zambia's loan options run out as China steps in
Just a perfect development story illustrating the rise of China in Africa, and capturing some of the many concerns regarding Chinese involvement in African economies.
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17 Dec 2019
Economic growth is the best way to raise living standards
A rebuttal of much of the material that makes a case for abandoning existing measures of national income in favour of broader measures of well-being and/or happiness.
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17 Dec 2019
How an economist helped thousands get a new kidney
A lovely example of how microeconomics can improve the world.
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13 Dec 2019
Economics Weekly Quiz w/e 13 December 2019
Here's this week's economics news quiz. Good luck!
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9 Dec 2019
Cambodian bicycle firms face bump in the road
This BBC article looks at how human rights intersects with economic issues.
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9 Dec 2019
Intergenerational equity - older voters are richer than ever
Phillip Inman highlights what I think is one of the major structural issues facing the UK economy. Inter-generational equity.
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9 Dec 2019
Government borrowing is cheap but not without risks
Ken Rogoff's latest Project Syndicate piece looks at the current trend for funding spending promises by taking on more debt, with many politicians arguing that low interest rates offer a...
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