The Icarus Paradox: Success will burn you
From Greek mythological characters to Fortune 500 executives, it seems as though no human is immune to complacency. Why? Continue reading The Icarus Paradox: Success will burn you
Feminism, gambling and the fat-free
In 1974, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky exposed a blatant fault in our judgement under uncertainty Continue reading Feminism, gambling and the fat-free
Professor Anthony Venables: “The Economics of Cities”
Using a presentation that Professor Tony Venables CBE had given to the World Bank, we were treated to a masterclass in what drives the very things that define the majority of economic activity Continue reading Professor Anthony Venables: “The Economics of Cities”
Why chucking shoes at the problem won’t fix the economy
An effective way of doing charity or just a shrewd advertising campaign? Continue reading Why chucking shoes at the problem won’t fix the economy
Babies = Depression
What can twenty toddlers teach us about economic recessions? A lot more than you may think Continue reading Babies = Depression
The Allais Paradox: Explained
The Nobel Prize-winning economist, Maurice Allais, posed this famous paradox in a 1953 Econometrica article. It led to the discovery of one of the most significant notions in behavioural economics today: loss aversion. Continue reading The Allais Paradox: Explained
The case for oligopolies
An oligopoly is the most likely market structure to promote consumer welfare as it is likely to deliver the lowest prices. Oligopolies are made up of big firms who have greater economies of scale than firms in perfect or monopolistic competition. This means they can keep production costs lower and charge lower prices. Even though there are only a few firms in the market, if … Continue reading The case for oligopolies
Solution to the moral hazards of microfinance?
Microfinance is commonly regarded as the promise of innovative, cost-effective paths to poverty reduction and social change. However, we are not living in a perfectly competitive credit market, so downsides such as moral hazard and asymmetric information that tend to create inefficiency make the program less effective, or even counterproductive in certain cases. So why don’t we ask people to help others and do the right … Continue reading Solution to the moral hazards of microfinance?
India’s ambition to become a cashless society
On 8 November 2016, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced the demonetisation of all ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi series Continue reading India’s ambition to become a cashless society
“The Return of Depression Economics” by Paul Krugman
The Return of Depression Economics combines Krugman’s narrative with his analysis of the significant economic recessions of the past century, culminating to the crisis of 2008. Krugman assesses the crises in the United States of the early 1900’s and the crises in Asia and Latin America of the 1990’s, before perceptively demonstrating their similarities to the Great Recession. He observes that we did not learn … Continue reading “The Return of Depression Economics” by Paul Krugman
