Should I boycott goods made in sweatshop factories? Another question from – What would Keynes do? This is a dilemma for an economist. If we boycott goods made in ‘sweatshop factories’ – does it help or hinder workers in developing economies? Firstly, when we hear about working conditions in some ‘sweatshop factories’ – low pay, …
In behavioural economics, loss aversion refers to people’s preferences to avoid losing compared to gaining the equivalent amount. “losses loom larger than gains” (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979) For example, if somebody gave us a £300 bottle of wine, we may gain a small amount of happiness (utility). However, if we owned a £300 bottle of …
Regulatory capture is a form of government failure where those bodies regulating industries become sympathetic to the businesses they are supposed to be regulating. Regulatory capture can mean monopolies can continue to charge high prices The opposite of regulatory capture is ‘public interest theory’ – the idea that government regulation can influence monopolies to behave …
The invisible hand is a concept that – even without any observable intervention – free markets will determine an equilibrium in the supply and demand for goods. The invisible hand means that by following their self-interest – consumers and firms can create an efficient allocation of resources for the whole of society. How does the …
The Laffer Curve states that if tax rates are increased above a certain level, then tax revenues can actually fall because higher tax rates discourage people from working. Equally, the Laffer Curve states that cutting taxes could, in theory, lead to higher tax revenues. It starts from the premise that if tax rates are 0% …
Sainsbury’s and Asda have announced a plan for a merger. They argue it will lead to lower prices for customers, no job losses and is necessary to deal with the threat of new discounters like Lidl and Aldi and the impending arrival of Amazon. Others are more cautious arguing that the new firm will have …
Readers Question: Does the Rahn Curve support the empirical evidence? If not, why not? Can you prove that there is a relationship between the level of Government Spending and GDP growth? The Rahn Curve suggests that there is an optimal level of government spending which maximises the rate of economic growth. Initially, higher government spending …
Readers Question: Is there an economic term for the phenomenon of ignoring (or turning a blind eye to) future risk, assuming that the current situation will prevail? I refer to the situation we currently see of both borrowers and lenders who are being caught by interest rate rises, having seemingly assumed that interest rates would …