The Bretton Woods System
The Bretton Woods System: a Blueprint for a Globalised Economy The Bretton Woods System was a set of international economic and financial agreements established in July 1944 during a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA, towards the end of WW2. The agreements intended to establish a renewed framework for the global economy, stabilise the international monetary system, and prevent economic conflicts such as protectionism … Continue reading The Bretton Woods System
Lifting the German Debt Brake
Germany has a unique constitution. It was born from the ashes of the Second World War and is one of the only countries legally limiting government borrowing as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (the value of all the goods and services produced in a country in a year). Governments around the world spend a considerable amount of money every year on everything from health services … Continue reading Lifting the German Debt Brake
Cuba’s Currency Crisis
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
Nash’s Equilibrium and Dating
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
Emerging Markets: Is the Risk Worth the Reward?
When considering a country’s economy there are two types: emerging and developing. An emerging economy is characterised by transition in the economy of a nation from a pre-industrial, underdeveloped economic environment into an industrially competitive one which exhibits some, but not all, of the characteristics of a well-developed economy. The term ‘emerging market’ was first used by Antonie Van Agtmael of the International Finance corporation … Continue reading Emerging Markets: Is the Risk Worth the Reward?
Low Fertility and its Economic Consequences
What are the causes and consequences of low fertility rates in advanced economies? How can we combat them? Introduction In this article, the aim is to explain and find ways to combat the main causes of low fertility rates in advanced economies: the cost-of-living crisis, the declining rates of child mortality and the empowerment of women, which encompasses both their higher education and the increased … Continue reading Low Fertility and its Economic Consequences
Book Review: The Deficit Myth
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
Chickens
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
When Growth Fails
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell” – Edward Abbey, The Second Rape of the West, 1975. In the above quote, Abbey refers to the shrinking wilderness of his beloved Arizona, industrialised by resource extraction and urban expansion. However, such a statement goes far beyond wilderness: when economic expansion is the common goal, it damages the very foundations that … Continue reading When Growth Fails
The Google Antitrust Cases
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
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