Unit 2: What determines the level of capital investment by firms?

Nice summary from tutor2u

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-revision-on-capital-investment

Unit 1: The rising price of coffee

Great clip from Aljazeera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6iqNEiAI1lY

a) Using a S&D diagram, explain the paid rise in the price of coffee. Think how you will draw both the D and S curves; do you think D and/or S will be price elastic or inelastic?

Unit 2: Actions to reduce youth unemployment

Some good data in this article from tutor2u

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/blanchflower-calls-for-more-action-to-address-youth-jobless-crisis

Unit 2: Updated macro data

...from tutor2u covering GDP and consumption (amongst others)

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/life-in-the-slow-lane-uk-growth-in-2011-lags-the-euro-area

Unit 1: Is the demand for postage stamps price elastic or inelastic?

We'll soon find out as Royal Mail hikes its prices

http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/16197145 sky news video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17522500 BBC article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17530049 BBC video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17522683 BBC interview

a) Why has Royal mail decided to increase its prices?
b) What does that tell you about their perception of the PED for stamps?
c) Using the list of factors that determine whether D is elastic/inelastic, explain why this might, and might not, be the case

Unit 2: Raising the school leaving age: How successful would this supply side policy be

A nice evaluation from economicshelp

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5097/economics/should-school-leaving-age-be-raised-to-18/

Unit 2: Who do we trade with?

The second half of this article from economicshelp shows our major trading partners

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5083/economics/what-does-the-uk-produce/

Unit 2: Are there any benefits of inflation?

Some, says economicshelp

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/1357/economics/benefits-of-inflation/

Unit 1: Pros and cons of a fat tax

Thanks to economicshelp for this summary

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5056/economics/pros-and-cons-of-fat-tax/

Unit 1: Why has the price of petrol risen....again

It's all down to S&D reports the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17495151

Unit 2: What determines consumer confidence?

Nice clip from the BBC explaining how the Nationwide survey does it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17487689

Unit 1: Should there be a minimum unit price for alcohol?

The proposal is for 40p per unit. The government position is in this clip

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17487194 video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17485951 video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17482035 article

These tutor2u posts have some of the adv/disadv summarised

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/the-minimum-alcohol-price-debate?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:16:49:41Z

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/minimum-beer-prices-may-not-be-the-solution-for-binge-drinking1

Why's such a measure needed? Rising liver deaths says the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17471790

But the big retailers aren't happy

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16194599 Sky

..and an MP arrested for assaulting 3 people in the Houses of Parliament whilst drunk thinks the minimum price is unfair on equality grounds

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17496257

Unit 2 International inflation rates

A good source of up to date data

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/inflation-rates-list-by-country

Unit 2: What's the budget all about?

A nice clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17438647

Unit 2: Budget 2012

A nice summary from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17460451 video

and great data from the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/21/budget-2012-key-data
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/oct/18/deficit-debt-government-borrowing-data
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/21/budget-2012-spending-tax-visualised#zoomed-picture Govt income and expenditure by catagory diagram
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/21/budget-2012-all-the-data

Unit 2: Tariff wars: The USA/China tit for tat tariff war continues

....according to the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17454885

Unit 2: Why does the rate of inflation change?

A nice clip from the BBC explaining the upward and downward pressures in the "basket" betwen Jan and Feb 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17444899

Latest data from anforme

http://www.anforme.co.uk/blog/?p=2573

Unit 1: The price of driving in Shanghai

.....is rising, according to the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17441369

a) Using a S&D diagram, explain why the price of a licence has risen
b) Show and explain what the authorities could do to lower the price

Unit 1: How to reduce the market failure from plastic bags

A great summary article from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17027990

a) In what way does the market for plastic bags fail?
b) Discuss the extent to which any single measure outlined in the article couild reduce the market failure

Unit 1: The impact of indirect taxes on beer production

Nice video from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17399301

Unit 2: Unemployment resource from Ch4

They call it the jobs report and it's got a variety of links

http://www.channel4.com/news/channel-4-jobs-report-how-to-create-2-5-million-jobs/

Unit 2: Latest unemployment data: March 2012

Great data from the Guardian, including by region

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/nov/17/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics

and youth unemployment

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/nov/16/youth-unemployment-map

...and a video clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17365218

...and how women have been hit hardest rom this BBC clip

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17368769

Unit 2: Enterprise zones: A supply side policy

One of the major drawbacks of supply side policies is that they take time to have an efffect on the economy. This Sky clip shows that in spades

http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/16188250

Unit 2: The UK's largest coal mine to close?

Possibly, reports Sky

http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/16188709

a) What type of unemployment would result from this closure? Explain your answer

Unit 2: 2012 updates to the basket of goods

A nice clip from Sky where an ONS spokesman explains what the basket is all about

http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/16187767

Great data from the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/13/inflation-basket-goods-2012-full-list?newsfeed=true

...and a BBC article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17350861

Unit 1: The price of eggs

Interesting clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17336478

a) Using a S&D diagram, explain why the price of eggs has risen

Unit 2: Policies to promote economic growth

Fantastic post from tutor2u that could be used for excellent evaluation

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-policies-to-drive-economic-recovery?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:19:24:51Z

Unit 2: Unemployment data by ethnicity

Great data from the BBC

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/09/black-unemployed-young-men

and Ch4

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16185997

Unit 2: Barriers to trade in China

Here's an example of a potential barrier to trade in China

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17297006

a) To what extent would this policy be likely to improve China's Balance of Payments position?

Unit 1: Externalities arising from fracking

The highly debatable method of extracting natural gas known as fracking is heading to Ireland, according to Aljazeera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDM9HI7NTdw

a) What are the private costs and private benefits of such a scheme?
b) What are the positive and negative externalities of such a scheme?
c) What role does regulation have in this industry?

Unit 1 Smoking's decline over the past 50 years

A post from tutor2u including a Ch4 video clip, and historical interviews by the BBC

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-1-micro-50-years-of-anti-smoking-campaigns-and-awareness?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:21:17:24Z

a) What actions have ben introduced to reduce smoking?
b) Comment on the success of these mesures in reducing the consumptoion of this demarit good

Unit 2: How to increase the Aggregate Supply/Potential output of a country

A typical answer would be to have a supply side policy to improve the skills of the workforce.

This worrying clip from the BBC suggests the skills required by a lot of workers are fairly basic

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17229792

and

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17224600

a)How would increasing the numeracy skills of a country's workforce increase the potential output /AS of a country?

Unbit 1: Why has the price of petrol risen again to an all time high?

Because of factors effecting supply, according to this BBC clip

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17234745 video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17231140 article

and Sky

http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/16180946

Unit 3: Competition: Market share in the coffee and supermarket markets

Good data on

coffee market http://www.channel4.com/news/wake-up-and-smell-the-rise-of-the-coffee-shop-in-britain

and supermarkets http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/gcse-economics/comments/delicious-data-supermarket-market-share

Unit 2: Eurozone unemployment rises again

From the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17219160

a) Assess how much of a problem unemployment is for the UK in the light of the data