Dambisa Moyo’s new book Winner Take All debuts at #13 on the New York Times Best Seller list this week.She is currently on a speaking tour in the United States but flies back to the UK to speak at our Economics Teacher National Conference on Wednesday 27th June. Click here for information on how to book a place at this super end of term event.Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog Russia is one of the world’s biggest producers of crude oil and gas and the price that these energy supplies fetch on world markets have a disproportionate effect on Russian GDP growth, their balance and payments and the Russian government fiscal position. In the summer of 2012 oil prices in particular have been falling quite sharply - a concern for the Russian Finance Ministry To mark the 2012 Rio Summit, the United Nations has started to publish an Inclusive Wealth Index which builds into an evaluation of a country’s wealth the impact of economic growth and development on the stock of a country’s natural capital. This chart from the Economist would be an excellent starting point for discussion of changes in natural wealth for a range of countries. The World Bank has this short 3 minute video on measuring poverty This news report from drought-stricken Eastern Kenya looks at the potential of drought-resistant seeds in maintaining farm yields in a region afflicted by extreme poverty and malnutrition. The seed has been locally produced and distributed to farmers across lower Eastern Kenya at a reasonable price and promises good yield, early maturity and resistance to common diseases. But farmers still face many challenges in making it work. This 101 East programme from Al Jazeerah shown in June 2012 looks at attempts within China to fast track investment and progress in product innovation as part of the drive to sustain growth and make the leap from middle to higher income living standards. The programme is 25 minutes long. China faces allegations of unfair trade practices and intellectual piracy by some of its major trading partners in the US and Europe Sunk costs cannot be recovered if a business decides to leave an industry. World crude oil prices are falling back from their recent highs and this will bring blessed relief to hard-pressed consumers and many businesses in the UK. High oil and gas prices effectively act like a tax on consumption because they increase the prices of many goods and services for which demand is price inelastic. Yea we can try to switch to more energy-efficient products over time - and many people are doing this albeit at a short term cost - but essentially when petrol and home energy costs rise, it causes a direct hit on the real purchasing power of millions of households, many of whom have barely seen any rise in their wages over the last couple of years.
Sir Terry Leahy, formerly CEO of Tesco makes this point in this interview on Channel 4 news The poor summer weather has hit many businesses across the UK and the flash flooding has caused havoc for many communities. This BBC news video looks at some of the businesses damaged by the heavy rain. But can you think of businesses that will have benefitted from the deluge? The introduction of a carbon tax in Australia has become one of the most hotly debated political and economic issues for many years in that country. The economy has enjoyed strong growth in recent times buoyed by rising demand for and prices of many of Australia’s huge endowment of natural resources.
Under the new carbon tax, around 300 of the worst-polluting firms to pay a A$23 (£15) levy for every tonne of greenhouse gases they produce.
Will a carbon tax threaten this growth? Or will it prove to be an inspired decision - helping to pave the way for greener growth and a faster pace of innovation not least in renewable energies and low-carbon goods and services? Many thanks to the fantastic audience of Economics teachers who packed the British Library Conference Auditorium on 27 June 2012 for the Economics Teacher National Conference.
We were delighted with the day - a simply stunning speaker line-up was complemented by a real buzz amongst the delegates who took full advantage of the opportunity to renew existing friendships and many new contacts. The packed-out wine reception after the event was further proof that the Economics teacher community is really strong and growing!
Many thanks also to Ian Pryer (Freman College) who has done a superb job curating the many tweets from delegates attending. His Storify summary of the day is provided below:
If workers are needed for the output they are required to produce, then it follows that they could be paid up to the extra value of revenue that their output generates for the firm, and that wage differentials will reflect differences in labour productivity - in other words, I am talking about the marginal revenue product of labour. The University and College Union (UCU) have commissioned a report from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) called ‘Further Higher? Tertiary education and growth in the UK’s new economy’, looking for some evidence of the differences in the productivity of workers who have A levels and those with degrees - you can see the results in the table above. A useful series of flow charts on the BBC Business Webpage outlining some of the causes and effects of the present problems of the Eurozone economies.
A good starting point for AS students and teachers preparing for A2 Economics courses. A year ago today a group of teachers established an informal twitter network within a matter of seconds by collectively using the hash tag #ecbusteach to connext with each other and share links, ideas and resources. Over the last year for many of use Twitter has become a tremendously useful platform for collaborating, supporting and enriching our passion for Economics. If you would like to connect to like-minded colleagues on Twitter then please post a tweet with the hash tag #ecbusteach and in a few days we will create a new network map teaching colleagues using this link. Here are the details of the final shortlist and highly commended essays for the 2012 competition. The standard of writing this year was very high - congratulations to those listed below and thank you to everyone who entered and the teachers who encouraged them to produce such interesting and vibrant economics. Judging by the quality of the entries, the future of our wonderful subject is in good hands.Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog Yields on Spanish government bonds reached 7% yesterday, a level at which most experts believe the nation cannot survive without a bailout and this led to José Manuel García-Margallo, Spain’s foreign minister releasing the rather dramatic statement “‘If the Titanic sinks, it takes everyone with it, even those travelling in first class,’’ he said, in a warning clearly aimed at Germany and other eurozone countries” as reported in this Guardian piece.
Brinkmanship or is impending doom just round the corner? Maybe this is a reaction to Spain’s 100 billion no strings bank bailout, a mere bagatelle according to this Economist article “It is a plaster, not a cure.” On a class trip to an advertising and media company today, we were shown an ad campaign that bore a strong resemblance to the Smoking Kids campaign that Geoff blogged about a few days ago. Houston - we have a problem. The police in Houston, Texas, lack the money and resources to promptly analyze the evidence collected in rape cases. Basic economic theory would say that those who cause a negative externality should contribute to paying for the external costs. So who should pay for rape investigations? This has been a focus of debate today, sparked on the one hand by new data showing that the number of children living in poverty in the UK last year fell by 300,000, or by 2% to 18% of children living below the poverty line. This is based on the government’s Households Below Average Income statistics which define
child poverty as children living in homes taking in less than 60% of the median UK income. Thousands of students across the UK and overseas are entering the final stages of preparation for their Unit 4 macroeconomics paper. A summer hat tip to several colleagues who have been posting some really good exam advice for students who are using twitter as a source of help, thoughts and key themes ahead of their exam. We are using the twitter hash tag #econ4 so that these exam-related tweets are easily followed. It is another good example of how this fast-growing platform can be used as a way of providing reassurance for students as they get closer to their final economics paper.
Click on this link to access the Unit 4 Economics Tweets I am heading to London to make final preparations for the 10th Anniversary Economics Teacher National Conference at the British Library Conference Auditorium. We have a large gathering of over 150 teachers and I am looking forward to meeting as many of the delegates as I can for a day that is built around four key-note speakers - here are the timings and details and travel directions and travel news links for those making the journey. Last minute bookings: https://tutor2u.wufoo.com/forms/economics-teacher-national-conf-2012-booking-form/
Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography BlogUsername Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog We are delighted that Jonathan Portes, the Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research will be one of our four keynote speakers at the Economics Teacher National Conference at the British Library on Wednesday 27th June. Booking a place at our event could not be easier - just click here for details or call us on 0844 800 0085 (office hours are 8:30 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. (Monday to Friday)
Here is my selection of economics books for students keen on deepening their understanding - revised and updated for summer 2012 to include a selection of new books that have just hit the bookstores! As the American presidential race starts to heat up, one of the key differences between the two candidates is their policies on how much support the government should give to the average person (in this case “Julia”). Barack Obama favors more support (and therefore more spending) whereas Mitt Romney favors less support (and therefore less spending).Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog Here is an innovative advert from Ogilvy Asia emphasising a behavioural economic idea that reminding yourself of the consequences of a choice can often be a strong deterrent or lever to sustain a change of lifestyle. When Robert Skidelsky gave his talk on Keynes here in Madrid last October, he spoke at length about the importance of effective government spending emphasising that the focus of the spending should be on capital rather than current. Yes, when aggregate demand is lacking, the government should increase spending on capital projects, even if that means deficit spending, in order to kick start the economy with the accompanying multiplier effect on output, jobs and growth. This blog entry will provide a range of resources on economic growth data for the world economy There is increasing interest in the roles that social networks can play both in economic development and also as part of effective development policies. The sociologist Robert Putnam has defined social capital as “connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.” Saving is the difference between income and consumption. In countries such as China and India, the national savings rate is high in contrast to developed economies. In 2010, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong all had gross national savings rates at or above 30 per cent of GDP, as did Vietnam, India and Malaysia. China topped the list with 53 per cent of GDP.
Wages are rising fast in China – many economists believe that China has hit a stage in its development at which demand for labour starts to grow faster than supply, creating labour shortages and pushing up salaries. This is known as a Lewis Turning Point. A new TED talk focuses on progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The 2012 MDG report was issued in July 2012 - this TED talk argues the case for crowd-sourcing the next generation of development goals rather than leaving these choices to unelected technocrats.: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog Latin America continues to have the biggest gap between rich and poor in the world but progress is being made in reducing the scale of extreme poverty especially from specially targeted poverty-reduction programmes initiated by governments in making sure that each household has an income. This short news report focuses on the battle to cut the estimated 170 million people who live in absolute poverty. Here is an updated selection of videos featuring renowned development economist Paul Collier: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog
Malnutrition has been called by economists at the World Bank as the “non-human face” of poverty. High rates of malnutrition can severely impair development and bring untold human misery. In 2006, around 40% of Indian children under the age of five were undernourished. Progress in reducing this has been painfully slow.Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog
The Indian government spends little over one per cent of its GDP on healthcare and the state-run hospitals suffer a severe shortage of doctors and beds in state hospitals, but provides tax concessions and cheap land to its booming private healthcare industry providing expensive treatments to India’s most wealthy people. India in total spends only 4% of their GDP on healthcare. Here is an example of a fast-growing developing country in Africa making important investment to help meet ambitious targets for supplying energy from renewable sources. Katrina Manson films and reports for the Financial Times from the Great Rift Valley on Kenya’s latest plans to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity.
The fixed costs of finding geo-thermal sources, build the turbines and then connect to Keyna’s energy grid are huge. But a move towards smaller geo-thermal energy plants provide a more cost efficient approach. Successful investment will help to reduce energy imports, provide a viable alternative to uncertain hydro-electric power, create new jobs and contribute to Kenya’s search for sustainable growth. This blog will provide a regularly updated selection of news videos on the role that often small-scale infrastructure projects can play in supporting development in some of the least developed countries. Click below to view the current entries: This blog looks at some economic development issues in the African country of Botswana Over 1,000 people a day are arriving to live and work in Dhaka - the world’s fastest growing city. Rural-urban migration is putting huge pressures on the local environment as this news report shows. Can foreign investment in eco-friendly brick manufacturing factories help to the cut the dangerously high level of toxins from Dhaka’s construction industries? How does the EU carbon trading system link into this video resource? Japan’s high speed rail network has been for decades one of the world’s benchmark industries for rapid mass transport. Their safety record over the last forty years has been impeccable with not one single passenger fatality from a derailment.
The FT news video report available below captures the cutting edge technology and quality of infrastructure that makes Japan the envy of many other rich nations. But competition is growing especially from France and China notably in the battle to win export contracts to licence the technology and hardware used in investing in new rail capacity.
: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog This news video report from the Wall Street Journal is superb in highlighting the economic consequences of the chronic shortages of energy and fuel in the fast-growing Indian economy. The focus is on a newly opened coal-fired power station (note the investment in it from Hong Kong and China) which has already had to close dow production twice because it has run out of coal supplies. This three minute video from the World Bank looks at how secure electronic banking systems leveraging the fast-growing mobile phone network can act as a spur to economic development in Rwanda. And here is another example from BBC news of some of the benefits of using mobile phone technology. Smart hand pumps promise cleaner water in Africa Just a year after being made independent, the scale of the growth and development challenges facing South Sudan are huge. This selection of news stories collected into Storify looks at some of the issues and problems facing one of the poorest countries in the world.
Dambisa Moyo was on great form when she spoke to the Economics Teacher National Conference in London last week. Her new book Winner Take All investigates the causes and consquences of rising global demand for commodities. In particular Dambisa Moyo predicts increasing geo-political tensions and conflicts as countries scramble to secure ownership and supplies of land, water, energy and minerals. In this blog I have linked to some of Dambisa’s recent media appearances as Winner Take All was launched in the USA and here in the UK. In this Financial Times analysis video the world class British business JCB is showcased - they see the world as their market and focus only on their core competencies - what are the key ingredients in building and sustaining their competitiveness in global markets? JCB is the UK’s biggest privately owned manufacturer. Production and export of a caffeine-free tea produced in a tiny part of South Africa is threatened by the impact of climate change which is causing increased variability in rainfall. This short news piece illustrates the challenge of climate change and the importance of the crop of a unique tea called Rooibos which has helped create a multi-million dollar a year industry in the Western Cape of South Africa There is a huge agenda for China with green development. The key point is that China is now fully committed to reshaping her growth in the years ahead, indded success in promoting green growth and development may be crucial to lifting China from being a middle income country to a high income economy.
: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog Competitiveness will be key to Spain’s prospects of a durable economic recovery and the chances of cutting debt. Spain would probably benefit from a devaluation of her currency but there are other factors that drive competitiveness in global markets. Indeed there are plenty of large and medium large Spanish businesses that have growth and export potential even if Spain stays within the Euro Zone. The growing share of Spanish service exports is a good sign especially in the areas of financial services and engineering. This FT video looks at what Spain might do to bolster overall competitiveness including a focus on research and development and innovation together with economic reforms designed to raise productivity. Peter Marsh the Financial Times industrial editor has written a new book about the future of manufacturing. He has been travelling around the world looking at some examples of cutting edge new technologies in manufacturing that will likely reshape the industrial landscape in the years to come. In this video example we visit a company Phoenix, Arizona at the forefront of made to order manufacturing. After 17 years of development by Dr. James St. Ville, Armor Designs, can, within a few hours, create custom composites for body and vehicle armour. News Corp is splitting up their businesses - this is known as a de-merger. The lucrative film and TV channels will be split from the newspaper and other publishing businesses. So The Times, Wall Street Journal, The Australian, Penguin books and Harper-Collins will be in one stable. Whilst 20th Century Fox films and the Sky and Fox television channels go into other separate business. Will these companies be worth more apart than they are together? A potentially important moment for the contestability of the tablet market. Technology giant Microsoft has unveiled its touchpad tablet computer. The “Surface” will face tough competition from Apple’s iPad and many other devices including those made by Samsung. These video resources provide some background. The Surface tablet computer will not be available until the Autumn on 2012. Great Infographic below and found here outlining the scale of Amazon’s market penetration (One third of all internet shopping is done through Amazon - More than $48 billion in revenues in 2011) and how they achieved it. Some nice examples for A2 students for Unit 3 of abuse of monopoly and monopsony power. An obvious question may ask why the regulators haven’t been involved before now - by the looks of things, it’s just a matter time! The pay-day loan boom is a symptom of more than three decades of financialization in the UK economy. Households and also some businesses are using the loans made available by companies such as Wonga. But borrowing from them involves astronomical rates of interest on an annualised percentage basis. In this clip we see how pay day loan businesses are becoming an ever more frequent sight on our high streets - but are tehey targeting the poorest and most vulnerable in society? Should regulators get tougher on them? Are they a sign of these difficult times? The scale of the fine is staggering, Glaxo SmithKline has been found guilty of off-label marketing - an illegal strategy - GSK targeted the antidepressant Paxil at patients under age 18 when it was approved only for adults, and promoted the drug Wellbutrin for uses it was not approved for, including weight loss and treatment of sexual dysfunction
This is corporate irresponsibility on a grand scale as this new report makes clear.
Guardian: GlaxoSmithKline fined $3bn for healthcare fraud
Daily Mail: GlaxoSmithKline to pay $3billion fine after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud - the biggest in U.S. history: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog The milk industry is in the news once again with some dairy farmers threatening to go on strike and limit milk supplies in protest at cuts in the wholesale price of milk offered to them by the major milk processing businesses. I have put together some video resources available from different web sources and built them into a Storify slideshow, as more videos are added the slideshow will be updated automatically.
Barclays have been hit by record fines for distorting key interest rates including the London Interbank Offer Rate and the consequences of this appalling contamination of the market for interest rates for lending and borrowing between the banks are likely to be far-reaching for the banking industry as a whole. Barclays has agreed to pay $453m for using underhand tactics, including price-fixing, to rig the markets. Keep an eye on the new because this interest-rate fixing scandal is set to engulf HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.
The Governor of the Bank of England has launched a scathing attack on the culture of the UK banking industry: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog Here are details of the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FfL) designed to kick start lending by commercial banks to the business and household sector. Will this scheme lead to help for small businesses desperately looking for loan finance to sustain an expansion in production and investment? Are banks the right vehicle for lending for mortages and business loans? Will new sources of business finance start to take root and flourish in this difficult lending climate? The Bank of England will be publishing league tables of FfL banks and their performance starting in December The financial crisis in the European Union is prompting an exodus of many young people from struggling EU countries - this short new report looks at the effects of people from France migrating to the Ivory Coast - does the host nation benefit in the medium term? Innovation is crucial to achieving a disconnect between economic activity and harmful externalities for third parties. Passive smoking is one such example, another is the impact of diesel fumes - he World Health Organization has recently declared that diesel exhausts are more harmful than second-hand cigarette smoke. This short news clip highlights the work being done by Dutch innovators to reduce these harmful emissions. A tax on plastic bags in Wales has seen the number given away drop by sizeable amounts according to this news report Since 1 October 2011, there has been a minimum charge of 5p on all single use carrier bags.
The Welsh government acted in a bid to encourage re-use of bags and therefore lower demand for single-use free bags. The justification was on economic and environmental grounds:
The European Union is bringing in tough new laws covering the collection and recycling of the growing mountain of electrical waste - also known as e-waste. From 2016 - for every hundred tonnes of electrical items put on the market during the previous three years member countries will have to collect and recycle 45 tonnes of e-waste. The EU directive provides an opportunity for businesses that can recycle and reuse electrical products and their many component parts - the high global prices for essential raw materials gives added impetus to the challenge to tackle the e-waste problem. This news video also looks at entrepreneurial activity in recycling waste in India. A topical example of negative externalities associated with fly tipping covered the activities of university students in Bristol.
A few days ago I answered some questions from students at another school writing their own economics magazine - this is a fabulous way to build enthusiasm and passion for a subject and develop skills as budding economics journalists. I have reproduced my answers below. Another amusing clip (albeit brief) from EconStories.tv featuring Keynes ("I love Champagne!") and the under-appreciated "Freddie" Hayek..oh and you can also buy the t-shirt if need be. This animation explains how osmotic power can provide renewable sources of energy. Osmotic or salinity gradient power describes the energy available from the difference in salt concentration between two bodies of water, for example a river and an ocean. The world’s first osmotic power plant was opened in Tofte, Norway in 2009. Countries that can successfully develop renewable energy technologies stand to gain from both a growing domestic share of renewable energy but also from exporting / licencing the technology to other countries. There is growing interest among policy makers about the importance of protecting and enhancing natural capital to support sustainable growth and development. I have put together a selection of recent news video resources on natural capital that might be useful for students and teachers who are new to the idea and who might want to look at it as part of their study of environmental and development economics. The Earthrise series from Al Jazeerah news provides some super short case studies relevant to AS and A2 economics courses that cover environmental market failures, innovations in government interventions and many vivid examples of threats to sustainable growth and development for many countries around the world.
Our Storify series below provides a regularly updated selection of news videos from the Earthrise series. Here is a classic British comedy sketch that I might use when teaching inequality and the validity of GDP as a measure of economic and social welfare. I will use it in lessons when discussing the Easterlin Paradox Although Adam Smith delved into religion in his 1776 Wealth of Nations, mainstream economists have historically stayed clear. This has recently changed and as I cycled through the Holy Land back in April with fellow economist & stoker Mike Biggs, we reflected on whether economics can be used to analysis religious activity and, perhaps more interestingly, whether religion can help to explain regional differences in economic development …
Stuart has put together this excellent end of term quiz with some super questions related to international development. Click below for a download link. Here is an interesting experiment in applied behavioural economics designed to get some motorists to alter their time of road use and make better use of existing road and motorway capacity. Click on Earn Rewards for Smart Commuting and read this background article from the New York Time: Incentives for Drivers Who Avoid Traffic Jams
Similar ideas are being applied to incentivising people to use mass transit systems at off-peak times and the experiments also include an important social network or “badge effect” - where your socially beneficial transport choices are transmitted to your friends and acquaintances. Are these incentives enough? Are they durable? Most transport policies towards congestion involve sticks rather than carrots - which do you think is most effective?: Username Passw Forgot your password Not a member Please register tutor2u Economics Business Stds Politics Intl Bacc Sociology Law Religious Stds Management History Geography Give It a Go Other Blogs Search tutor2u Contact tutor2u Online tutoring Latest News Buy Resources Teacher Newsletters Facebook AS A2 Blog GCSE Blog Revision Materials Economics Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops econoMAX Business Blog Biz Quiz Bus Studies Shop Teacher CPD Revision Workshops Business Cafe Politics Blog Revision Materials Politics Shop Teacher CPD FPTP TOK Blog IB Economics Blog IB Bus Management Blog Sociology Blog GCSE Revision Materials Shop Blog Study Notes Quizzes Blog Study Notes Strategy Blog Strategy Theory Marketing Blog Marketing Theory Finance Blog Finance Theory History Blog Geography Blog
| Peter Klein | President Obama’s gaffe about business creation — “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen” — has been met with the usual reactions. Defenders claim he simply used infelicitous language to describe the vital role of government in providing essential goods, while critics point out, for [...]
| Peter Klein | Joe Salerno’s post at Circle Bastiat, “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Cloud,” could have been an entry in our nothing new under the sun series. Joe highlights a recent HBR blog piece on the physical footprint and energy requirements of server farms, showing that success in the digital age [...]
| Peter Klein | I’ve been reading Jack Mathews’ The Battle of Brazil: Terry Gilliam v. Universal Pictures in the Fight to the Final Cut, a fascinating — if absurdly one-sided — look at director Terry Gilliam’s struggle to get his 1985 film Brazil distributed in the US. Mathews tells the story as a noble [...]