The Economics of Space Exploration In the several records throughout human history, hardly any endeavours have captured the imagination quite like the exploration of space. From Armstrong’s first tentative steps on the moon to the voyages of rovers on the remote landscapes; humanity’s fascination with the cosmos has been relentless. Beyond its scientific appeal and thrill of discovery, space exploration does carry intense economic implications. … Continue reading Spacenomics
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”. Those were the words of John F Kennedy in 1962 at the dawn of the Space Race. In the previous year, the USSR had shocked the world by sending the first man into space. Uncle Sam was worried that his dominance was being … Continue reading The Second Space Race
Oil, often referred to as ‘black gold’, has historically had a profound impact on the global economy. Its original use in ancient civilisation was for medicine and lighting. However in the 19th century, it became the lifeblood of industrialisation, powering machinery, transportation and ultimately shaping geopolitics. Today, oil remains a critical driver of the global economy. As the world becomes more environmentally oriented (coupled with other … Continue reading Beyond the Barrel: Economic Evolution in a Post-Oil World
Initially written in response to question: A government funds its own expenditure by taxing its population. Suppose, instead, it relied solely on money newly created by the central bank? What would be the advantages and/or disadvantages? The notion that governments rely on the tax revenues derived from individuals and businesses and thus cannot simply “print more money” to solve any issues they might face … Continue reading What MMT Can Do For Us
To conduct international trade and financial transactions, a reserve currency is necessary to eliminate the costs of settling transactions, involving different currencies. Prior to reserve currencies, the gold standard was used to align all currencies, but Gold did not grow at a pace with the real economy and caused crashes as a result. The financial economy has to grow faster than the real economy, otherwise … Continue reading The Euro’s Fundamental Problems
Economics is often criticised for being a reactionary science that predicts nothing and only explains its mistakes (Rodrik, 2015). It is rarely credited with discoveries that help society; and in a random survey, most participants did not trust economists (Economics Network, 2017). Instead, economists are criticised for their resistance to change and for limiting the exploration of real-world practical policy solutions. Moreover, it is true … Continue reading Has Economics Run Out Of New Big Ideas?
In the modern world, we take it for granted that the government should play an essential role in economic and social affairs. The idea that society could ever function smoothly without the apparatus of the state seems preposterous. Indeed, there is good reason to believe this, as mainstream economists today would identify three broad areas of responsibility that the state holds in managing the economy. … Continue reading Anarcho-Capitalism: Utopia or Pipe Dream?
It is January 19th 2017 and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has just been extradited to the United States to face charges related to his running of the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico, the Sinaloa Cartel. The United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration, also known as the DEA, claims that this is a monumental victory that will be the beginning of the end for drug smuggling into America. However, … Continue reading Crossing Borders and Crossing lines: The International Impact of the Mexican Drug Trade
On the 8th of January 1982, the telecommunications company AT&T was finally mandated to split into 7 independent companies. At that time, it was the only provider of telephone service throughout almost all of the United States. Moreover, most telephone equipment was provided by Western Electric, its subsidiary, which resulted in a vertical integration system, where a company owns its supply chain. Unsurprisingly, the United … Continue reading Monopolies
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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