Readers Question: In the U.S. I have noticed that most restaurants and fast food places have window signs advertising for workers. Would these minimum wage workers, as a collective, be considered a monopsony or a monopoly? To answer your question, these minimum wage workers would be considered neither a monopoly or monopsony. The fact that …
Readers Question: how to evaluate the reliability of economic data? This is a good question. In brief, some issues to consider Is there a political angle? – Political leanings of media/think tank In what context is the data presented? How to interpret the data. Should we look at nominal data, real data or as a …
There was a global recession in 1974, 1980-81, 1991-92 and 2007. Readers Question: In this period of recession, is gold a safe investment? Gold is traditionally seen as a safe investment, especially during a time of financial uncertainty, high inflation, depreciating exchange rates and economic recession. The main reason is that gold has an intrinsic …
A look at the economic and social impact of Mrs Thatcher’s economic policies. Summary of Thatcher’s Economic policies Belief in the desirability of free markets over government intervention. E.g. pursuing policies of privatisation and deregulation. The pursuit of supply-side policies to increase efficiency and productivity. Reducing the power of trades unions and increased labour …
The savings ratio a big determinant of economic activity. Consumer spending accounts for 63% of GDP – dwarfing other areas, such as government spending, investment and exports. A rise in the savings ratio can have a very significant impact on economic activity. A blogger, mentioned a minister, Liam Fox calling for more savings. Former cabinet …
Comparative advantage occurs when one country can produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than another. This means a country can produce a good relatively cheaper than other countries The theory of comparative advantage states that if countries specialise in producing goods where they have a lower opportunity cost – then there …
Mock Interview Practise I offer mock interview practise, specifically for the PPE course. Usually, I like to offer a two-hour session. This usually involves 75 minutes of interview and 45 minutes to go through answers and offer suggestions. I find that in two hours we can make substantial progress on improving confidence and interview technique. …
New statistics from the ONS, show that there are large disparities in wealth within the UK. In 2010/12, aggregate total wealth of all private households in Great Britain was £9.5 trillion, (increasing from £9.0 trillion in 2008-10. Some highlights from the report The wealthiest 10% of households owned 44% of total aggregate household wealth. The …