The Malthusian Trap of Societal Collapse

Thomas Malthus introduces his theory of population growth, which examines the relationship between the size of a population and the sustenance available to support growth, in his work An Essay on the Principle of Population. Specifically, it posits that population growth can be modelled by a geometric progression and food supply growth by an arithmetic progression. In other words, assuming the abundance of food is beyond … Continue reading The Malthusian Trap of Societal Collapse

Catastrophe Bonds

An Introduction to Catastrophe Bonds and the L3C   Catastrophe bonds (or cat bonds) are high-yield debt instruments used to raise money for companies in the insurance industry in the event of a natural disaster. A bond is a financial instrument in which the issuer (a government or company) sells bonds to investors, which gives the issuer capital, raising money. They pay the investor with regular … Continue reading Catastrophe Bonds

Nudges – A Dive into Behavioural Economics

Introduction:  In classical economics, individuals are assumed to be rational decision-makers. Rationality in this case means making choices that result in an optimal level of benefit or utility to the individual making the choice. This view, which is known as ‘homo economicus’, or the economic man, is the portrayal of humans as agents who are consistently rational and narrowly self-interested, and who pursue their ‘subjectively … Continue reading Nudges – A Dive into Behavioural Economics

Chart of the Month: January 2025

Nvidia’s share price (NVDA) during a five-day period up to January 28th Source: Google Finance, 2025 On Monday 27th of January, Nvidia (NVDA) suffered a 17% fall in its shares, constituting a $592.7 billion drop in market capitalisation – the total value of company shares held by investors – from $3.5 trillion to $2.9 trillion and corresponding to a fall in share price from $142.62 to … Continue reading Chart of the Month: January 2025

The US Bond Market Puzzle: Higher Yields Amid Cuts

The economic theory suggests that when central banks cut interest rates, bond yields decline. Interest rates are the annual return investors receive from a bond. If the central banks issue new bonds at a lower rates, existing bonds – which yield a relatively higher return – will be received with higher market demand, thereby driving up bond prices. Consequently, their yield, defined as the quotient … Continue reading The US Bond Market Puzzle: Higher Yields Amid Cuts

Christiania: Economic Lessons from Copenhagen’s Self-Governing Society

Freetown Christiania is an experimental self-governing community in Copenhagen, amidst the “hippie” counter-culture movement of defiance that characterised the time. Born in 1971 from the occupation of an abandoned military base, Christiania defies conventional economic norms, operating without private property and with a unique model of communal ownership and resource sharing. Over the past 50 years, it has evolved into a sustainable micro-economy that draws … Continue reading Christiania: Economic Lessons from Copenhagen’s Self-Governing Society

Britannia on the Brink: Is the UK Turning into Greece Lightning?

In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, Greece was faced with crippling debt. Resulting in the implementation of austerity measures (policies which reduce government spending and shrink the budget deficit), slumping GDP and overall political instability. Despite the UK being one of the largest economies in the world its national debt (£2,686 billion) has been ever rising, especially after the pandemic and specific … Continue reading Britannia on the Brink: Is the UK Turning into Greece Lightning?

UK Productivity

What strategies would be most effective for improving UK productivity?  Introduction Enhancing productivity, defined as the ratio of output to input volume [1], is critical to unlocking higher UK economic growth. Productivity improvements account for half of the differences in GDP per capita across countries (Chart 1). Growth in labour, capital, and Total Factor [2] productivity would translate into higher standards of living and prosperity growth. As Krugman … Continue reading UK Productivity

The Secret to Australia’s Success

Among the economies of Southeast Asia, Australia stands out on its own. Viewed by many as the stronghold of the West in the East, its GDP per capita of $69,000 competes with the richest EU countries and even stands above the UK’s. Some attribute modern Australia’s success to its colonial origins or to its influx of skilled immigrants over the last hundred years. However, the … Continue reading The Secret to Australia’s Success