Blog and updates
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7 Mar 2016
Price discrimination on airline seating
We're now used to paying different prices for air tickets depending on when we choose to book, but a patent has been filed in the US for a new "bench seat" that can accommodate different numbers of...
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7 Mar 2016
Supporting visually impaired students in economics
I received a request for advice last week from an economics teacher who was looking for guidance on best to support a severely visually impaired student through the complicated diagrams in 2nd year...
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7 Mar 2016
Johnson says EU membership is like a Prison - play the 'Crazy EU regulations' game
London Mayor, Boris Johnson appeared on the Andrew Marr show yesterday and has now become the poster-boy for the 'Out' campaign hoping to convince people to back Britain's exit of the EU....
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7 Mar 2016
The declining fortune of the millennials and Generation Y
I was really struck by the research published by the Guardian today on the declining share of income accruing to young people compared with the older, retired generation, due to a combination of...
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7 Mar 2016
A short history of crude oil's booms and busts
This nifty little video from CNN looks at some of the ups and downs in world crude oil prices over the long run.
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6 Mar 2016
Is it becoming tougher for corporations to avoid tax?
This BBC news magazine articleThis BBC news magazine article highlights the reasons why some of the leading tax avoiders are starting to play ball. Unsurprisingly, it's not because of their...
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6 Mar 2016
Inelastic Supply - The World Runs Low on Single Scotch Malt
An almost perfect example here of inelastic supply in action. By law, all Scotch whisky must be aged for a minimum of three years and it takes several years for new distilling capacity to come online.
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6 Mar 2016
Economic damage of polluted waterways in Bangladesh
A short but revealing news video on the economic impact of polluted rivers in Bangladesh. Huge areas of waterways have been wiped out by illegal land reclamation and the dumping of toxic waste.
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6 Mar 2016
Zimbabwe's Nine Legal Tender Currencies
After the disastrous hyperinflation of recent years, the old Zimbabwean currency was abolished in 2009. Now there are nine different currencies accepted as legal tender on the streets. Will the...
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6 Mar 2016
China's petrol price floor
Fuel prices are plunging in many countries across the world but not in China where prices at the pumps are frozen when global crude oil prices dip below $40 a barrel. Perhaps the price floor is a...
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6 Mar 2016
A New Phase of Globalization
This short interview from Boston Consulting Group is interesting - there is some useful evaluation in here about the pace of globalisation and how the accepted norms are being challenged (e.g....
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6 Mar 2016
Britain's biscuit shortage
You may have noticed signs in supermarkets apologising for the lack of Bourbons and Custard Creams on the shelves in recent months, due to the flooding of the United Biscuits factory in Cumbria...
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6 Mar 2016
Consumers are key to sustaining Chinese economic growth
China is expected to approve a five-year economic plan this week. Economic growth in the world’s second largest economy has been slow and the Chinese government is betting on consumer spending to...
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4 Mar 2016
Beyond the Bike - assessing the Thai economy
This week's Beyond the Bike resources focus on assessing the prospects for the Thai economy, and the role of communication technology in easing business.
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4 Mar 2016
Ethical dilemmas facing Japanese academics
This short video from the Financial Times highlights the remarkable potential of ultra fast robotic hands that can beat literally anyone at rock, paper scissors! But the dramatic progress in...
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3 Mar 2016
Ad Blocking - free markets at their best or worst?
Yesterday, Culture Secretary John Whittingham described Ad Blocking software as a “modern-day protection racket”, yet for many users of the internet they represent a support mechanism that improves...
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2 Mar 2016
Welfare reforms will hit the poorest new study finds
An IFS study, published today, is to reveal that changes to the welfare bill over the next five years will increase child poverty, with the poorest seemingly most affected, especially those with...
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2 Mar 2016
China cuts reserve requirement ratio to stimulate credit
The Chinese central bank has opted to reduce the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5% in a bid to inject more liquidity into their financial system. This is reported here. The cash to deposits ratio...
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2 Mar 2016
A radical idea for reviving the North
The Head of OFSTED, Sir Michael Wilshaw, warned last week that secondary schools in Liverpool and Manchester were ‘going into reverse’. Too many pupils in Northern towns and cities are simply not...
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2 Mar 2016
Indonesia's Infrastructure Ambitions
The Economist reports here on ambitious plans to overhaul the Indonesia's backward infrastructure - inefficiencies hamper growth prospects. This news video is an excellent contextual example of the...
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