Category: Economics

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Economics, International, Long Read

Modelling Supply and Demand: An Investigation of Price Volatility

Introduction     For those who have lived through a pandemic, price volatility is no new phenomenon. In the early days of lockdown restrictions, dramatic images of empty shelves surfaced across media outlets, prompting fears of widespread shortages and price increases. Economic theory provides a standard explanation: a change in consumer preferences (as the jargon goes) results in a rightwards shift in demand. This leads to shortages, … Continue reading Modelling Supply and Demand: An Investigation of Price Volatility

Unknown's avatarChenyang Li4 Comments
Environment, International

The Economics of Poaching

A century ago, more than ten million wild elephants roamed the forests and savannahs of Africa. Now there are fewer than 500,000 left. The exorbitant price of ivory, at $1,800 per kilo, makes the grisly economics of poaching extremely valuable, condemning 35,000 elephants each year to an ugly death. Despite its trade being banned since 1989 and a global struggle to enforce an ‘ivory crush’, strong demand from East Asia has seen the market expand by 66% since 2003 and has … Continue reading The Economics of Poaching

Unknown's avatarTristan HandLeave a comment
"Central Bank Digital Currency" in typewriter font
Business and Technology, Economics, Finance and Markets

Central Bank Digital Currencies

While the physical world has been frozen in lockdowns, the digital world has been accelerated into our living rooms. Even in a tide of new financial assets, cryptocurrencies have become the most speculative. In the first four months of 2021 alone, Bitcoin has doubled in price, continuing to hear the praises of its early devotees and adding hedge fund titans like Paul Tudor Jones to … Continue reading Central Bank Digital Currencies

Unknown's avatarJohn Chang1 Comment
brown deer near withered tree
Economics, Environment, UK

Is Rewilding Economically Viable in Britain and is it Important for the Future?

One of Britain’s often overlooked key macroeconomic objectives is sustainable use of the environment. The role of GDP growth, often the dominant indicator of the health of the economy, may need to be altered in the face of climate change.  A reimagined goal proposed by Kate Raworth is “to achieve human prosperity in a flourishing web of life”. To achieve this, we might want to … Continue reading Is Rewilding Economically Viable in Britain and is it Important for the Future?

Unknown's avatarLudlow Morris1 Comment
Development, International

Foreign Aid: The Double-Edged Sword

The coronavirus pandemic, dubbed the ‘Inequality Virus’, will push a further 150 million people globally into poverty by the end of 2021. The pandemic’s negative repercussions have been worst felt in low-income countries (LICs), where they have been described as ‘a serious setback to development progress’. Foreign aid has been at the forefront of supporting developing countries for many years, reaching ‘an all-time high of … Continue reading Foreign Aid: The Double-Edged Sword

Unknown's avatarAaryan HariaLeave a comment
Chart of the Month, Environment, UK

Chart of the Month – October 2021

The lines show the number of publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging points in each region of the UK, per 100,000 people. London is included as an outlier. The grey bars show the number of devices installed per month for the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. It is read off the secondary axis, on the right-hand side of the graph. October’s Chart of the Month focuses … Continue reading Chart of the Month – October 2021

Unknown's avatarChenyang Li1 Comment
Asia, Development, Economics, Politics

The Economic Legacy of Tokyo 2020

Tokyo 2020 was a world-first in many ways. Amidst two golden weeks, the Games bore witness to sporting history, as well as heart-warming displays of camaraderie and sportsmanship. Held when Japan was in the grip of the pandemic, these Games were the first without a live audience. They were the first games for surfing, skateboarding, and karate. They saw the first golds for nations including … Continue reading The Economic Legacy of Tokyo 2020

Unknown's avatarChenyang Li2 Comments
Economics, International

Prospect Theory

How happy would you be if I said you won £1,000? Presumably rather elated; but would you be twice as happy if I’d instead told you that you’d won £2,000? To most people the answer is almost immediate: “Well I’d be happier but probably not twice as much!” Likewise, most people would choose a guaranteed £1,000 prize rather than a 50% chance of a £2,001 … Continue reading Prospect Theory

Unknown's avatarTristan HandLeave a comment
Economics, International, Politics, UK

Financing Think Tanks

Think tanks are defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a research institute or other organization providing advice and ideas on national or commercial problems.” In modern democracies, think tanks play a crucial role in economic decision-making. They help the public to understand both sides of important policy decisions whilst holding governments to account. They also help policymakers: governmental entities, such as the Low Pay … Continue reading Financing Think Tanks

Unknown's avatarChenyang Li1 Comment
Economics

Are There Any Limits on Government Debt?

Covid-19 ensued chaos upon the UK, which has one of the highest death rates per capita in the world, and the most contracted of all G7 economies. UK GDP fell by 10.3% during the pandemic as a result of lack of consumer demand and withheld business investment. This means that there  has been enormous pressure for the government to support the economy to avoid mass … Continue reading Are There Any Limits on Government Debt?

Unknown's avatarJames Midgley1 Comment