Saturday, December 27, 2014

Sectors of the economy

Nice summary from economicshelp
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/12436/concepts/sectors-economy/

Supply and demand: The Californian egg market

Thanks to tutor2u for this


http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/changes-in-the-californian-egg-market

Market structures in transport: Singapore

Thanks to tutor2u for this great video


http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/market-structures-in-transport

Using monetary policy to influence exchange rates: Russia

Great example from Russia, but will it work in the long run if other factors are leading to a decrease in the demand for roubles?


http://news.sky.com/story/1392617/russia-ramps-up-rate-to-17-percent-to-boost-rouble


This could be the doomsday scenario for Russia
http://news.sky.com/story/1392871/rouble-woes-six-stages-of-a-currency-crisis

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Legislation: scotland lowers the drink drive limit

.....and, if you believe this BBC clip, it will be strongly enforced. Will it reduce the market failure?


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30341649

The rising demand for air crew in China

Interesting clip from Aljazeera


http://bcove.me/zt9yzita

How good is legislation at reducing market failure?

Not much use at all unless it is enforced which is not the case in the logging industry in Peru


http://bcove.me/zk2mrs8g

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Sunday, November 16, 2014

What fine should you get for littering?

£500 for a Pringles lid? So reports the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-29949175

Successful information provision by governments to reduce market failure: Drink driving public information films

From the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29948187 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29936901

Positive and negative externalities from the Jakarta sea wall

Great clip from the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30030189#

Why governments tax fuel: Price Elasticity of Demand in action

Nice story from Australia from the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29983483#

Why the price of oil if falling

60 second summary from the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29745684#

Information failure and market failure: legal highs

A longer than normal clip (10 mins) which raises a lot of issues about information failure and possible government actions


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23178688


Also, other BBC clips on the issue http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29829172# and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26364309 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26149954 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26140661and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25982554 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25878280

Information failure? Is plastic food packaging safe

Interesting clip from the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29631355#

Should we allow the advertising of e-cigarettes?

Intersting clip from Sky


http://news.sky.com/story/1370246/e-cigs-put-smoking-back-on-tv-after-49-years


Is there information failure? Will there be positive or negative externalities when they are consumed?

Perfect competition presentation

A comprehensive explanation from Mo Tanweer


http://motanweer.mediacore.tv/media/perfect-competition-2014

How competitive is the UK supermarket market?

Great data from economicshelp


http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/11947/economics/market-share-in-uk-supermarkets/

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Unit 1: The price of milk

Loads of stuff on S&D in this BBC interview
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29502499#

Unit 1: Pre-loading and negative externalities

....reports the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29454768#

Unit 1: Plain packets for cigarettes in France

That bastion of smoking introduces regulations on packaging, reports the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29373283#

Unit 2: The money supply and inflation

Thanks to economicshelp for this post
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5278/inflation/m4-money-supply-and-inflation/

Unit 2: Economic growth

Thanks to economicshelp for this data packed post
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5843/economics/economic-growth-stats-2/

Unit 2: The UK budget deficit

Thanks to economicshelp for this post
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5922/economics/uk-budget-deficit-2/

Unit 2: Monetary policy and the exchange rate

Thanks to economicshelp for this great post
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/11550/currency/money-supply-and-the-exchange-rate/

Unit 1: Supply and demand criss cross

Thanks to tutor2u for this
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/make-your-students-happy-test-their-demand-and-supply-knowledge-with-this-5?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:11:49:00Z

Unit 1: Allocative efficiency; the continuing change on the high street

Thanks to sky for this report
http://news.sky.com/story/1349807/high-street-decline-continues-with-shop-closures

Unit 2: What's measured in GDP

More than used to be the case as previously unrecorded drugs and prostitution output has been added reports Sky
http://news.sky.com/story/1344953/drugs-and-prostitutes-boost-economy-by-12-3bn

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Unit 1: The economic problem: Who gets the goods produced

An interesting solution to scarce resources in Venezuela; fingerprinting(!) reports the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-28893383#

Unit 1: Welsh assembly plan to stop smoking in cars

.If you have a child in the car, a £50 fine reports BBC Wales
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-29169124#



Unit 2: EU unemployment

Thanks to economicshelp for this
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/1247/economics/european-unemployment-2/

Unit 2: Why is the AD curve downward sloping?

Thanks to economicshelp for this
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/11437/economics/why-is-the-aggregate-demand-ad-curve-downward-sloping/

Unit 2: Exchange rates

Thanks to economicshelp for this explanation
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/11422/economics/real-effective-exchange-rate/

Unit 2: The effect of contractionary fiscal policy in Japan

As you would expect, reports Sky
http://news.sky.com/story/1331936/japans-economy-dips-as-new-sales-tax-bites

Unit 2: A more accurate measure of output? Drugs and prostitution boost GDP

So reports Sky


http://news.sky.com/story/1329351/uk-economy-boosted-by-wider-contributions
and the BBC audio http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29042385#

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Friday, August 15, 2014

Unit 2: Supply side policies to tackle youth unemployment in Kenya

This Aljazeera video shows a small supply side policy; low interest loans from government


http://bcove.me/bnt3wne8

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Unit 2: How good a measure of growth is GDP

Nice summary from the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28324971

Unit 1: Rising demand for Steinway pianos in China

Rising incomes seems to be the main, but not the sole reason reports the BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28578541#

Unit 1: Aspirin: Am I suffering from information failure?

Is there under consumption of aspirin in the free market? It appears there might be according to this BBC report


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28670584

Unit 1: Public and private goods: The farmer's road

Nice story from tutor2u


http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/public-and-private-goods-farmer-opens-a-toll-road?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:14:55:00Z

Unit 1: The economic problem: Unlimited wants in health care

NICE's decision not to finance a new cancer drug highlights the basic economic problem


http://news.sky.com/story/1315056/breast-cancer-drug-too-expensive-for-nhs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28701630#

Unit 1: Diesel tax: Making the polluter pay?

An interesting proposal for London to try and reduce air pollution


http://news.sky.com/story/1309480/dirty-diesel-drivers-face-new-tax-in-cities

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Sunday, June 01, 2014

Unit 2: Negative effects of unemployment in Spain

Child poverty, reports Aljazeera


http://bcove.me/cpz7slyl

Unit 2: The multiplier effect of building a prison

A £23m a year injection to  the Wrexham area, if you believe this politician


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-27640797#

Unit 2: Youth unemployment in Portugal

Thanks to tutor2u for this Aljazeera clip


http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-fears-for-portugals-lost-generation

Unit 2: Problems with measuring GDP

One issue normally raised is the problem of the informal, or black, economy


It seems the ONS is trying to include some of that unrecorded activity, according to Sky




http://news.sky.com/story/1271385/drugs-and-prostitution-worth-10bn-annually


and the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/may/29/drugs-and-prostitution-contributed-almost-10bn-economy-in-2009


and this tutor2u summary
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-sex-and-drugs-included-in-measured-uk-gdp
and the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27627132#
and tutor2u
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/the-value-of-drugs-and-prostitution?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:15:17:00Z

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Unit 1: e-cigarettes: Could they be a merit good?

A really interesting clip from the BBC asking how we should react to e-cigarettes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27184630#


Monday, April 07, 2014

Unit 2: Why is the SA Rand depreciating?

Great clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/26883839#

Unit 2: China's fiscal stimulus

....reports the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-26879148#

Unit 2: A problem with measuring inflation

Same price, smaller chocolate bars, reports the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26859113#

Unit 1: Plain packaging of cigaretes: What will be the effect?

Interesting brief clip on the Australian experience

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26870708#

and the UK proposal, which looks very similar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26870708#

Unit 1: Should e-cigarettes use be limited?

Interesting proposals from the Welsh government

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26853350#

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Unit 2: How strong is the link between output and unemployment?

Fairly strong at Honda, according to this BBC clip

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26714233#

Unit 1: Evaluating the efffect of a tax cut

It depends on whether the tax cut is passed on to consumers, or added to the profits of the producers. The BBC reports on the "penny off a pint" budget cut

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/26717974#

Unit 2: Policies to reduce unemployment in Greece

A post full of information and evaluation from economicshelp

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/10284/economics/policies-reduce-unemployment-greece/

Unit 2: The limitations of economic growth when considering quality of life

Nice video found by tutor2u

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-growth-is-not-enough

Unit 2: MUltiplier example in Hull

Thanks to tutor2u for this example

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-regional-multiplier-effects-with-siemens-investment

Unit 1: Supply and demand and food prices

Nice article and clip from Sky; ideal for drawing S&D diagrams for

http://news.sky.com/story/1231300/supermarket-and-restaurant-bills-set-to-soar

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Unit 2: Japan's current account deficit

....is explained in this BBC article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26510495

Unit 2: The effect of low interest rates

Thanks to the Guardian; great for evaluation as it explains the winners and losers

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/02/interest-rates-five-years-rock-bottom

Unit 1: Building dams; winners and losers

Nice clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-26670794#

Unit 1: Legislation to reduce pollution in Paris

Evaluate how likely this policy is likely to be in reducing air pollution in Paris, especially in the long term

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26608086#

Unit 2: What is the output gap?

Nice clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26629587#

Unit 2: Evaluating the efffects of low interest rates on the UK economy

I like this summary by a Year 12 student(!) on the tutor2u blog

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/unit-2-macro-has-5-years-of-low-interest-rates-helped-the-uk-economy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:11:06:02Z

Unit 2: Government income and spending 2014/15

Thanks to the Guardian for this visualisation

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/mar/21/budget-2014-tax-spending-visualised

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Unit 2: What are the causes and effects of a depreciation?

Nice post from economicshelp regarding the depreciation of the rupee

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/10251/currency/devaluation-indian-rupee/

Unit 1: Information failure: Saturated fat

So, I thought the position on saturated and unsaturated fats was clear, but this BBC report makes me think I may have been suffering from information failure...........or was I? Further research will no doubt make the picture clearer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26624473#

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Unit 1: The falling price of milk

How can this possibly be? Either because the supermarkets are willing to cut the profit they make (show this on a S&D diagram), or because it's part of a cross elasticity strategy (explain the strategy)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26491215#

Unit 2: Has our standard of living gone up even as real gdp per capita has fallen?

Quite possibly, according to this really interesting post from tutor2u (based on a Telegraph article)

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/life-is-better-now-despite-the-crisis?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economics_news+%28tutor2u+Economics+Blog%29#When:16:52:20Z

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Unit 2: Why China's current growth model may be unsustainable

In a few words: Negative externalities; smog that is shortening the life of city residents and reducing their standard of living

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-26339668#

and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26363067#

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Unit 2: Sustainable growth in the fishing industry?

Interesting clip about the Australian fishing industry from Aljazeera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES6NnWnT3cg

and what happens if it's not sustainable, eg in Indonesia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJKXgMH8OE

Unit 2 exam techniques tips

Thanks to tutor2u, but realise that not all of this is relevant to OCR

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-hints-on-exam-technique

Unit 2: Revision: Macroeconomic objectives and possible conflicts

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-macro-objectives-and-conflicts

Unit 2: Revision: Supply side policies

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-supplyside-policies

Unit 2: Revision: Fiscal policy

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-fiscal-policy

Unit 2: Revision: Monetary policy

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-monetary-policy-and-exchange-rates

Unit 2: Revision: Inflation

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-inflation-and-deflation-31476072

Unit 2: Revision: Economic growth

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-economic-growth-31476050

Unit 2: Revision: Unemployment

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-unemployment

Unit 2: Revision: Macroeconomic equilibrium

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-macroeconomic-equilibrium

Unit 2: Revision: Aggregate supply

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-aggregate-supply

Unit 2: Revision: Aggregate demand

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-aggregate-demand-31475399

Unit 2: Revision: GDP and the standard of living

Thanks to tutor2u

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/view?login=tutor2u&title=as-macro-revision-national-income-and-standard-of-living

Unit 2: Sharjah: A sustainable model for economic growth?

Great clip from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26275631#

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Unit 2: The multiplier effect of Australian mining

As explained in this Aljazeera video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRlHJqS5Bmw

Unit 2: The costs of economic growth: Obesity

As reported by Aljazeera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YpFk9nwGAk

Unit 1: Capturing cow's burps and the resulting positive externalities

Not your usual story, but if this process is adopted widely, there won't only be private benefits to the farmers (ie nearly free energy), but also a positive externality as the rest of society will benefit from lower global warming

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25264045#

Unit 1: Information failure: How much sugar in a bottle of coke?

Do you know how may calories you consume when you drink a Coke? This Newsnight clip may be illuminating if you have no idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugFock3p2xE

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Unit 1: Legal highs: The difficulty of enforcing legislation/regulation

The problem is shown clearly by Aljazeera

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1659202292001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAmtVJIFk~,TVGOQ5ZTwJbsT0Mq3k9H8GCa4jV3vL4M&bctid=3008780245001

Unit 1: Mining: A capital intensive industry

Nice clip from Aljazeera

http://bcove.me/7crh93gv

Unit 2: Happy Birthday GDP

....reports this BBC video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25587089#

Unit 1: Ireland has more "land" as they find gold!

....reports the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25558554#

Unit 1: New year, new laws/regulations

The New Year has seen a raft of new legislation/regulation around the world as reported in the Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/dec/31/new-year-new-rules-changes-2014

Look at the laws introduced in each country and ask yourself
a) Is there a market failure this law is setting out to correct?
b) If so, evaluate the likely success of the legislation in reducing the market failure

Unit 2: The cost of youth unemployment

Sky news has this depressing report from the Prince's Trust

http://news.sky.com/story/1189394/jobless-youngsters-have-nothing-to-live-for

...and the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25575182#