The Dating Game and Nash Equilibrium: Why Most Don’t Find the Perfect Match Love, Logic, and the Inevitable Bad Match: Dating, as simple as it sounds, should be for people to meet, like each other, and form a perfect match. Reality, however, is rather messy—it is governed by strategic decision making and inefficiencies similar to those found in ‘game theory’. Dating at Eton is one-sided and … Continue reading Nash’s Equilibrium and Dating
How a dual system distorted the economy For decades, Cuban people lived with two different currencies in their pockets: the CUP (Cuban National Peso) and the CUC (Convertible Peso). However, it was not always this way. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the CUC was introduced in order to stabilise the economy—but at what cost? Whilst the implementation of the CUC helped stabilise the … Continue reading Cuba’s Currency Crisis
“The Economic Impact of Chinese New Year: Growth, Disruptions, and Opportunities” The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, just took place. It is not only a time of cultural celebration but a period of great economic activity in China. The impact on its economy is huge, affecting tourism, retail, manufacturing and also transportation. The Spring Festival is one of the most celebrated annual … Continue reading The Economics of Chinese New Year
The Paradox of Progress – Why Technological Advances Aren’t Boosting Wages Introduction Technological advances have always been the main driver of economic growth and prosperity; major historical events such as the Industrial Revolution (1760-1830), and –more recently – the rise of the internet have brought around higher productivity, and with that, higher wages. However, although events past the 1980’s (such as the rise of artificial … Continue reading The Paradox of Progress
The contrasting antitrust challenges faced by Google in the EU and the US highlight the different regulatory approaches to addressing Google’s monopoly in the markets of online search and digital advertising, specifically in areas like search engine services, search text ads, and ad exchanges. In Europe, the company has encountered fines totalling billions, often linked to long-standing concerns over market abuse. However, the EU’s recent … Continue reading The Google Antitrust Cases
Why did the chicken cross the road? To avoid a tax—but instead, it got an entire truck tariff named after it. Picture a situation in which a dispute over fried chicken led to a trade conflict that ultimately influenced the choices of vehicles people drove. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Ahh, trade policy. The U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on import light trucks in the 1960s … Continue reading Chickens
Stephanie Kelton’s The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy (2020) is a provocative challenge to the macroeconomic paradigm of the past century that sees persistent elevated budget deficits as a failure of fiscal management. Kelton, a former economic advisor to progressive US Senator Bernie Sanders, argues that the political aversion to deficits is based on a fundamental failure to … Continue reading Book Review: The Deficit Myth
World Economics: Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium come into effect globally, with Europe and Canada announcing swift retaliation. As of Wednesday morning, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced European countermeasures, stating that the measures are “strong but proportionate,” imposing €26 billion worth of tariffs on US goods from April 1st. Canada is also set to retaliate with $20.7 billion in tariffs, … Continue reading News Briefing – 14/03/25
Globally people are progressively shifting away from cash and adopting digital payments in their day to day life. In the last decade or so, the UK has seen a significant surge in mobile banking, contactless cards and fintech platforms such as Apple Pay and PayPal. However, the dependence on private businesses presents challenges of access as well as control. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are … Continue reading CBCDs and Digital Currency
Impact on OPEC of changes in the market for Oil According to The Organisations of Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC), just under 80% of the world’s crude oil reserves are located within OPEC nations. Countries such as China and India rely heavily on OPEC for a steady flow of oil. This has fuelled significant growth in industry and technology seen in these nations over recent years. … Continue reading OPEC and the Changing Oil Market
