Imagine a contest where 1,024 contestants each flip a coin ten times – anyone who flips tails is eliminated. After ten rounds there would be one contestant remaining, who landed on head ten times. Nobody would call him a genius: he could be simply lucky. But put them in a tailored suit, hand them a Wall Street Journal and a Bloomberg terminal, and the market … Continue reading The Economics of Luck
In 1776, Adam Smith took his readers inside a pin factory. One worker on his own, he wrote, could barely make a single pin a day. But ten workers, splitting the job into eighteen separate steps, could make tens of thousands. This idea, from the opening chapter of The Wealth of Nations, became the starting point of modern economics. Specialisation, markets and prosperity all grew out … Continue reading From Smith to Silicon: How AI is Challenging Every Economic Theory We Were Ever Taught
In November 1956, British paratroopers dropped into Port Said to take back the Suez Canal. Within days, Britain had agreed to a ceasefire and was on its way out, humiliated. It wasn’t the Egyptian army that forced the retreat, and it wasn’t the Soviets. It was America, Britain’s closest ally, and the weapon it pointed at London wasn’t a missile. It was a pile of … Continue reading The Spy Who Lent Me: How Countries Use Each Other’s Debt as a Weapon
When you think about cryptocurrencies, what comes to your mind? To some it may be their widespread, uncontrollable volatility; the looming threat of an economic crash at any time; or a decentralized, secure, globally accessible currency independent of any person’s local government, to others it could act as a second chance for their own government’s mistakes, a lifeline you could say to the lesser fortunate. … Continue reading The Real – Time Economic “Gridlock” of Regulating Crypto
Picture poker and you probably see a player staring down an opponent at a final table. Behind every hand, though, sits a much bigger economic system. Economic impact is a measure of the total value an industry adds to the economy. It counts the money the industry spends directly on wages, venues and equipment, the money that flows on to its suppliers and partners, and … Continue reading The Economics of Poker
Economic growth has been a key area of study for Economists. Various models and theories have been developed to explain how and why economies flourish; notably, Adam Smith’s idea that growth arises from the division of labour. By simplifying multistage tasks into smaller, simple components, one can accomplish it quickly. Workers may also find faster or more efficient ways to complete their tasks, increase productivity, … Continue reading Where Does Growth Come From? Romer, R&D, and the Limits of Ideas
Whether you live in America or not, you have likely heard of the astronomical fees that the US healthcare system currently charges its users. In fact, the issue has gotten to a point where 23% of individuals who have required immediate healthcare refuse to call emergency services to avoid being charged for the $3500 it would cost to call advanced care without insurance. What has … Continue reading The US healthcare system: Why is it so flawed?
What is Universal Basic Income? Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a form of economic policy where each citizen or resident of a state receives a regular, unconditional amount of money in order to cover basic living expenses. While this idea may initially bear some resemblance to welfare benefit systems present in many modern day developed economies, the key difference to note is that, in theory, … Continue reading Universal Basic Income: a dream or realist solution?
Introduction: Startups are a key part of the global economy. They capture imagination, innovation, and talent, as well as collecting vast amounts of capital from investors. However, most startups fail and don’t survive long enough to deliver lasting returns. In 2024 alone, $314 billion was invested globally into startups (according to data from Crunchbase), with over 50% of this activity coming from the United … Continue reading The Economics of Startups: Why so many fail despite massive investment
When you think of boxing today, the focus is not necessarily on the best in the world, but on those with the greatest number of followers. The difference is clear: Logan Paul vs. KSI 2 on November 9, 2019, sold 2 million pay-per-views. On the other hand, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 1 (which was for the WBA, WBO, WBC, and IBF world titles) sold … Continue reading The economics of influencer boxing
