Author: Etonomics

Economics, UK

Reviewing the Minimum Wage with Scepticism

The first national minimum wage was implemented in New Zealand in 1894. It was intended to protect the rights of workers and give them fair pay for the work that they do. This move has since been followed by a majority of countries around the world however, there are certain notable exceptions. These include Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Italy. In these countries, minimum wages are, more often than not, set de facto by individual industries. Put … Continue reading Reviewing the Minimum Wage with Scepticism

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News

News Briefing – 26/06/2023

This week: On Saturday, the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, began and ended an armed insurrection against Vladimir Putin, sending troops towards Moscow, causing alarm in the Kremlin. Prigozhin justified the mobilisation by claiming that the regular Russian army had attacked his forces. Putin called the act a “a knife in the back”, assuring a “harsh” response. By evening, Prigozhin ordered his troops to return, … Continue reading News Briefing – 26/06/2023

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News

News Briefing – 20/06/2023

UK Economics and Business: The cost of a two-year fixed-rate UK mortgage rose above 6% amid high interest rates, as the Bank of England continues its war on stubbornly high inflation. Rishi Sunak has promised to turn Britain into a ‘science and technology superpower’ by 2030 as he seeks to embrace AI for economic development. Vodafone has announced plans to merge with Three, which would … Continue reading News Briefing – 20/06/2023

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Business and Technology, China, International

Tencent: The King of Video Games

Tencent is not only the world’s largest game company; it also controls large shares of important markets in China such as music, social media, and films. Since April 2021, Tencent’s stock has seen a slow downward trend, falling from its highest closing price of HKD 757.00 on 14/2/2021 to HKD 266.40 as of 9/30/2022. This has been driven by anti-monopoly laws recently published by China, … Continue reading Tencent: The King of Video Games

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UK

Education is the Remedy to UK Inequality

The 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire, which claimed 72 lives, served as a wake-up call to the inequalities in rich countries. Inequality, which is the variance in levels of wealth within a population, is globally measured using the Lorenz Curve. Figure 1: Lorenz curve for the UK (2018/19)  In figure 1, the 45 degree line (red) represents perfect equality, and the more a Lorenz curve sags … Continue reading Education is the Remedy to UK Inequality

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UK

Should We Tax Wealth or Income?

Wealth and income inequality have become focal points of social and political contention and are often conflated together by politicians. However, the two must be addressed separately. Wealth is the value of an individual’s assets and is often difficult to assess, monitor, and tax. Income includes various streams of revenue that a household or person earns, and drives well being and standards of living. But … Continue reading Should We Tax Wealth or Income?

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Finance and Markets, UK

Calm Before the Storm: Falling House Prices in the UK

House Prices are Falling The UK’s current housing market might shock much of the British population, as high interest rates have led to house prices being down 3% nominally and 11% accounting for inflation since their peak in August 2022. (Bloomberg UK, 2023) However, this surprise is understandable as UK house prices have been a one-way bet for a long time, consistently rising since 2012, … Continue reading Calm Before the Storm: Falling House Prices in the UK

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China, Development

Chinese Economic Growth, Against All Odds

Today, China is an economic powerhouse with the second highest nominal GDP (after the USA) and the highest GDP PPP (when GDP is adjusted for prices in a country) in the world. Yet just over 40 years ago, in 1981, it had a nominal GDP lower than that of Canada, a country that had a population 40 times smaller than it. The nominal GDP per … Continue reading Chinese Economic Growth, Against All Odds

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News

News Briefing – 12/06/2023

UK Economics and Business The Confederation of British Industry, Britain’s most prominent business lobby group, has announced that it will reform its governance and culture. They are attempting to bring to an end the months of crisis and alleged misconduct following the departure of boss Tony Danker, who was accused of taking bribes. The plan won its members’ endorsement with 93% voting in favour. The … Continue reading News Briefing – 12/06/2023

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