ItemList
number of items: 20
total items: 249
item list element: The Racial Inequalities of COVID-19
item list element: The INOMICS Questionnaire: Fratzscher vs Jackson
item list element: The Need to Decolonise Higher Education
item list element: From University Campus to Remote Education: How Steep is the Learning Curve?
item list element: How COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for a Green New Deal
item list element: Our Economies Prioritise Male Interests. They Must Be Changed
item list element: The Case for Income Tax Reform in the US and UK
item list element: COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for UBI
item list element: Will China Become the World’s Largest Economic Superpower Because of Coronavirus?
item list element: The Best Books on Environmental Economics
item list element: How COVID-19 Could Change the Role of Government
item list element: Covid-19 and the Seizure of Power
item list element: The best video games for economists
item list element: The Case for Wealth Taxation
item list element: What Impact Has the Coronavirus Had on Higher Education?
item list element: The Case to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
item list element: Is it time to bin GDP?
item list element: Government intervention helps women. We need more of it
item list element: The US Economy is Failing Young People
item list element: A Guide to Dating in Academia
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The Racial Inequalities of COVID-19
type: Article
title: The Racial Inequalities of COVID-19
description: The reality Some, it seems, are without even a paddle. The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysed COVID-19 related deaths during the virus’s peak between March and May, and found that, when adjusted for socio-economic factors and geographical location, the risk of death involving COVID-19 was twice as likely for black males than for their white counterparts, and 1.4 times greater for black females than theirs. Those of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian backgrounds, while not quite as endangered, also fared far worse than white ethnic groups, completing a picture of a distinctly unequal society. Although the US federal structure makes national data harder to compile - race or ethnicity is known for around half of all cases and 90% of deaths - the distribution of suffering falls on similar lines: communities of colour shoulder the greatest burden. The COVID Racial Tracker, a joint initiative of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center and the COVID Tracking Project, attempts to aggregate state data, detailing the extent to which this is true. Among its more shocking findings, it showed that nationally, Black Americans ‘are dying at a rate more than 1.5 times higher than their population share’, and that in four states, that rate was three or more times greater. Similar trends were found in relation to Hispanics and Latinx, who in 42 states make up a much greater share of confirmed cases than their proportion of the population. In eight of those states, it was reported four times greater. Battered by the virus, these communities have also felt the sharpest end of the financial fallout. In the UK, the IFS Deaton Review revealed that Bangladeshi, Pakistani, black African and black Caribbean men are far more likely to have endured loss of income, or redundancy. While in America, one study found that black adults, who already suffered far higher unemployment rates pre-COVID, ‘are twice as likely to have been laid off or furloughed as white adults’. As of June 2…
disambiguating description: Dubbed ‘the great equalizer’ at its outset, COVID-19 has often been described as picking its victims at random. Blind to race, ethnicity, and gender, it sees just a human body, a host that enables it to do what all pathogens are programmed to do: spread. While this, from a biological perspective, may be true, the disease’s sweep of the globe has been anything but equalising. Data from both the US and UK - who along with Brazil compete for the honour of worst pandemic response - show that in terms of cases and deaths, minorities are hugely overrepresented. We may all be weathering the same storm, but as Dr Zubaida Haque has put it, ‘we are not in the same boat’.
date posted: 2020-07-09T10:40:33Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:38:27Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: COVID-19
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: racial inequality
keywords: coronavirus
keywords: corona
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: labordemographiceconomics
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Labor and Demographic Economics (JEL J)
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

The INOMICS Questionnaire: Fratzscher vs Jackson
type: Article
title: The INOMICS Questionnaire: Fratzscher vs Jackson
description: Esteemed economist, Stanford Professor, and friend of INOMICS, Matthew O. Jackson, generously took time out of his busy schedule to take part in the third INOMICS Handbook Questionnaire. Opposite him, in his customary role of quizmaster, was Professor Marcel Fratzscher, president of the DIW Berlin, and one of Germany’s leading voices in macroeconomics. Observing tradition, and as a nod to those involved, the encounter has been dubbed ‘Fratzscher v Jackson’. What took place was both in-depth and personal, the conversation ranging from Aristotle and gender bias, all the way to economic blogs and bicycles. For anyone connected to economics, especially those starting out, this one is not to be missed. Download the INOMICS Handbook! Marcel Fratzscher: What is your favourite place on earth? Matthew O. Jackson: My bicycle. I guess that is a trick answer, as it takes me to many places. It brings me out into nature and on many adventures. I see places from a very different perspective. And somehow, it is also great for ruminating and relaxing my mind. MF: Outside of economics, what occupation would you have if you could be absolutely anything? MOJ: I grew up during the Apollo missions and would have given anything to be an astronaut, but my eyesight precluded that path. Putting that aside, if I had to move outside of the social sciences now, I would become a biologist. The 21st century is poised to be the golden era of the biological sciences. Improvements in our ability to gather data and analyze it are very rapidly enabling huge advances in our understanding of everything from how the brain works to how and why genes express themselves. MF: What is the virtue you appreciate the most? MOJ: Empathy. It’s not normally thought of as a virtue, but you look at it as a modern take on Aristotle’s view of friendliness as a virtue. The ability to understand other people’s emotions and needs, and react to them, is one of the most important ingredients in making humans powerful as a s…
date posted: 2020-07-02T11:03:01Z
date modified: 2021-05-20T11:20:59Z
language: en
keywords: Matthew O. Jackson
keywords: Marcel Fratzscher
keywords: interview
type: blog
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: generaleconomics
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: General Economics (JEL A)

The Need to Decolonise Higher Education
type: Article
title: The Need to Decolonise Higher Education
description: Education is complicit Education is one area that could be subject to overhaul. The recent murder in America of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesotan police has sparked demonstrations across the western world, protesting not just police violence, but the system that permits such violence and ensures impunity for its perpetrators. Education, protestors claim (and this writer concurs), is a part of that system, and higher education, in particular, has drawn criticism for its failure to incorporate black and brown histories, focusing instead on white, euro-centric knowledge and methods of knowledge production. These preferences, they further assert, hide the achievements of people of colour, perpetuating hierarchies of colonialism. Ultimately, this omission, and the whitewashing of colonial violence for which it also stands accused, implicates the institution as complicit in the racism that pervades society. As such, if progress is to be made it must be ‘decolonised’. Work underway Of course, work to this end isn’t new. In the last few years, demands to decolonise education, both its curricula and campuses, have cohered into the movements ‘Rhodes Must Fall’, which has called for the removal of statues of the imperialist Cecil Rhodes from campuses, and ‘Why Is My Curriculum White?’, which, as the name suggests, has questioned the primacy of white, European thinkers in university curricula. Both have helped expand conversations about memorialisation in public space and the diversification of education, setting some important precedents. Now, however, as racism is reckoned with on both sides of the Atlantic, movements like these have been galvanised. And the momentum is only growing. <11an>limit:2;categories:jobs|courses|conferences|Professor;disciplines:Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)|Politics</11an> What is being asked? Although decolonising education can, and often does, mean different things, it generally refers to an interrogation of the assumptions that for…
disambiguating description: History, it feels, is quickening pace. Pandemics, both old and new, are rocking the world, shaking its foundations. Systemic racism, an age-old disease, continues to facilitate violence on black bodies and undermine humanity, while a novel coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands, disproportionately affected people of colour, and compounded the often racial inequalities that characterise our societies. Protestors now fill the streets, and across much of the anglophone world a tipping point has been reached. What will emerge from this moment is hard to say. A better question may be what do we want to emerge? Either way, there can be little doubt, change is afoot - and it’s been a long time coming.
date posted: 2020-06-17T14:16:37Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:46:27Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: BLM
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: racial justice
keywords: decolonising education
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: labordemographiceconomics
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
disciplines: generaleconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Labor and Demographic Economics (JEL J)
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)
discipline labels: General Economics (JEL A)

From University Campus to Remote Education: How Steep is the Learning Curve?
type: Article
title: From University Campus to Remote Education: How Steep is the Learning Curve?
description: Distance learning is nothing new; it has existed in one form or another ever since people were first able to exchange letters and talk on the telephone. In 1858 the University of London started to offer students the opportunity to study for degrees remotely. With the invention of the record player, radio and television, the possibilities for distance learning expanded but it was not until 1969 that a national government created the first institution of Higher Education to specialise in distance learning, the Open University. With the arrival of home computing and the internet in the mid to late 1990s, online learning began to evolve as a viable means for universities to deliver their degree programmes. Yet despite the increasing ubiquity of the internet in daily life since then, enrolment in online courses has been somewhat muted. As of 2019, only 15% of registered students in the European Union were taking an online course in any subject, versus 10% of all individuals living in the EU (Figure 1). This contrasts with just under half of students who used the internet to access learning materials in 2019 (Figure 2). While the trend in online education was already positive before the coronavirus pandemic, a majority of professors and students in Europe still relied on traditional methods for their teaching and learning. As universities shut down campuses and embraced remote learning in response to the pandemic, existing technologies were quickly harnessed to shift lectures, seminars and assessment online wherever feasible. In principle, from a student perspective, there are many advantages of online learning over the traditional classroom, including increased flexibility in time management and the ability to adjust the pace to suit individual learning. However in practice, the unexpected nature of the switch to online methods has left many students dissatisfied with their instructors’ efforts and this has led to claims for refunds and reductions in tuition fees. Faced …
disambiguating description: Universities around the world are currently experiencing a crash course in online education. The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the sector in a big way, leaving professors and students struggling to complete the academic year off campus and having to prepare for the next one under very uncertain circumstances. Although online learning has been around for at least two decades, adapting all courses to remote forms of education is proving a steep learning curve for most institutions. Applying a basic economic principle and considering some of the evidence on online versus traditional teaching methods can help to assess the likely effects of recent campus closures on student learning outcomes and to see how course provision and programme design may develop in the longer term.
date posted: 2020-06-08T12:44:56Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:47:57Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: COVID-19
keywords: economics
keywords: pandemic
keywords: Tom McKenzie
keywords: online learning
type: blog
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: generaleconomics
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: General Economics (JEL A)

How COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for a Green New Deal
type: Article
title: How COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for a Green New Deal
description: Securing today, and tomorrow If the earth is to continue sustaining human life there is only one answer, that, to the scientists at least, is clear: a Green New Deal (GND) and the end of extractivist-based growth. Increasing numbers of economists agree, recognising that a holistic, interventionist approach - like the GND represents - is needed to reanimate economies and address inequality and unemployment, which, while pre-dating COVID-19, have been grossly exacerbated by the disease. Indeed, much that the GND promises - a basic income, job guarantee, to say nothing of climate security - has been made more pressing since the pandemic struck. The Green New Deal for Europe, has outlined its implementation as comprising a program of relief, recovery and reform. Relief in the form of a basic income and job guarantee for those out of work or adversely affected by extreme weather events; an economic recovery that swiftly transitions from fossil fuels, invests in green infrastructure, and creates jobs where they are most needed; and reform, like the introduction of a Genuine Progress Indicator, to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and guarantee humanity’s future. In all, it’s a complete overhaul of the economy, change on a scale we've rarely, if ever, seen outside of wartime. The aims are so sweeping, leaving so little of society untouched, they can be hard to envisage - and perhaps for that reason, that at once it’s both so abstract and expensive, that it’s sometimes struggled to gain traction. Taking advantage of this, its detractors have mocked its ‘bankrupting’ expense and the ‘undue’ faith it places in government intervention. In view of recent events, however, these criticisms are beginning to look weaker. <11an>limit:2;categories:jobs|courses|conferences;countries:France|United Kingdom|Italy|Spain|Switzerland|Denmark|Ireland;disciplines:Agricultural And Environmental Economics (JEL Q)</11an> Changing perceptions ‘It costs too much’ its critics chorus. And wit…
disambiguating description: In the midst of the destruction it’s wrought, the lives and livelihoods it’s taken, and freedom it’s limited, COVID-19 has given us one thing that may yet prove positive - the opportunity to reflect. Under lockdown, we’ve been compelled to consider our pre-COVID lives, the aspects we valued, the parts we endured, and how things could be changed. Separation from reality has renewed our perspective. And it’s come at a convenient time, for a choice hangs in the air. With swathes of the economy on life-support, and recession hitting, we have the opportunity to choose which areas we preserve, and which we let perish. Ultimately, we must decide on which values our future economies are built. As climate catastrophe looms large, the stakes could not be higher.
date posted: 2020-06-03T08:33:39Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:51:28Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: COVID-19
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: Green New Deal
keywords: coronavirus
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: agriculturalenvironmentaleconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Agricultural and Environmental Economics (JEL Q)

Our Economies Prioritise Male Interests. They Must Be Changed
type: Article
title: Our Economies Prioritise Male Interests. They Must Be Changed
description: Many operate at the highest levels of governance, where economists comprise an integral cog within the policy-making machine. From this lofty position, their male experience, along with that of their political counterparts, permeates the legislative process, and consequently, male interests - intentionally or otherwise - are formally prioritised and coded into the law. For despite claims to the contrary, no economic decision can be gender neutral; the diverging roles men and women play in the economy make it impossible. And herein lies the problem: fair economic policy is predicated on recognition of this fact. Disappointingly, few policymakers seem capable of doing this, and more disturbingly, some actually seem unwilling. As a result, discriminatory economic policy continues to be passed. Whether tax breaks that benefit rich, property-owning men, or public service cuts that encumber single mothers, the pattern of prejudice is clear: when it comes to the economy, women tend to lose. The sexism of austerity Austerity politics, implemented across much of Europe following the Great Recession of 2008, embodied this bias in its most brazen and destructive form. Borrowing from the same phrasebook, governments justified its rolling out using cynically collective language. ‘Everybody must live within their means’, they implored, warning that ‘the pinch would be felt by all’. These attempts to engender a sense of national unity, an all-in-it-together camaraderie, masked the grim reality that women would shoulder most of the financial burden. Irish reduction of child benefits; Portuguese slashing of family allowance; Montenegrin cuts to family assistance - they would do so everywhere. <11an>limit:2;categories:jobs;disciplines:Economic Thought & Methodology (JEL B)|Labor and Demographic Economics (JEL J)</11an> In the UK, where austerity was rigorously imposed, the House of Commons Library found that 86% of the financial burden between 2010-2017 fell on women, and cuts were e…
disambiguating description: In the collective consciousness, the economist exists as a middle-aged man, bespectacled and clad in a suit, whose unhealthy pallor betrays a hermit-like lifestyle led in the confines of a library. Of course, this image isn’t a particularly fair reflection of the discipline, or its practitioners. Some, for instance, will be aware that in the last few years a number of economists have experimented with contact lenses. Nevertheless, the stereotype remains instructive: the large majority of economists are men, and given the positions they hold, and influence they exert, such homogeneity is a cause for concern.
date posted: 2020-05-26T12:02:01Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:53:50Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: gender
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: austerity
keywords: sexism
keywords: economy
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: labordemographiceconomics
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Labor and Demographic Economics (JEL J)
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

The Case for Income Tax Reform in the US and UK
type: Article
title: The Case for Income Tax Reform in the US and UK
description: Always one of the key issues between left and right, the debate over higher tax rates has again seen some action over the last few years in both the UK and the US. The Labour Party in the United Kingdom proposed in 2017 a 50% tax rate for those earning over £123,000 and a 45% for those earning over £80,000, with the plan that the top 5% of earners pay a little more to fund the country and relieve the burden on the poor. Currently there are four brackets in the UK, including one for personal allowance. From £12,501 to £50,000 you pay 20%, from £50,001 to £150,000 you’ll pay 40%, and anything above that 45%. Their relatively moderate proposals resulted in a barrage of arguments for and against. And the issue blew up in America at the beginning of 2019, too, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested that a 70% income tax rate on incomes over $10 million rate might not be too bad an idea. As might be expected, conservative politicians pushed back hard against the idea, Rep. Steve Scalise, for example, tweeting that the Democrats would ‘take away 70% of your income and give it to leftist fantasy programs’. Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, compared it to slavery, tweeting ‘Slavery is when your owner takes 100% of your production... Ocasio-Cortez wants 70%... What is the word for 70% expropriation?’ <11an>limit:2;categories:jobs|courses|conferences;countries:Italy|United Kingdom|United States;disciplines:Financial Economics (JEL G)</11an> On the surface these tweets show either a total misunderstanding, or worse, a deliberate misrepresentation, of how marginal taxation works. Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed tax, for example, would only tax 70% on every dollar a person earns over $10 million, which is not exactly the majority of Americans. And less than four percent of Britons earn over £100,000, meaning very few would be liable for Labour’s proposed tax bracket increase. This is how progressive tax brackets work: you pay more tax only on money earned that falls wi…
disambiguating description: Whether someone believes in higher rates of tax or not can tell you a lot about their political views. As a general rule, conservative politicians - at least since the 80s - have favoured fewer tax brackets and relatively lower rates of tax. The argument goes that this encourages people to work harder because they keep more of their money, which means more money remains in the economy; eventually it will trickle down to those not so rich. On the other end of the spectrum, more left-wing politicians argue that higher taxes on top earners are an effective way of raising government revenue for public services which help out those who need support, and that a few more dollars or pounds taken off of someone who earns astronomical sums already is a drop in the ocean.
date posted: 2020-05-19T07:49:54Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:57:55Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: James Matthew Alston
keywords: United States
keywords: United Kingdom
keywords: tax
keywords: economy
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: macroeconomicsmonetary
disciplines: socialscience
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences

COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for UBI
type: Article
title: COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for UBI
description: It’s not enough However, despite such pledges, the panoply of bailouts, furlough schemes, and loans are failing to reach all those in need. It’s a familiar story: the effects of the crisis are driving a wedge into societies’ already pronounced divisions, entrenching and exacerbating them - they will soon be untenable. In the US, it’s ‘women, particularly women of color, communities of color, and impoverished Americans…[that] are bearing the brunt of the economic downturn’, according to data from Vox. In spite of the largest relief package in history, the so-called ‘left-behind’ are being cut further adrift. Research from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) makes for similarly depressing reading. They have estimated that the ‘lost labour income [as a result of the virus] will result in an increase in relative poverty for informal workers and their families… of almost 52 [percentage] points in high-income countries and 56 points in lower and low-income countries’, confirming the unequal distribution of the economic fallout. Over 2 billion people work informally worldwide and if they, and other vulnerable demographics, are to be protected, more is needed, more invention is due. Without additional support, societies will destabilise, leading to, as Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General, has warned, ‘a heightened risk of societal conflict’. Introducing UBI ‘This may be time for a universal basic wage’, contemplated Pope Francis in his Easter Address in April, observing the economic destruction around him. And the Pontiff may be right. No longer fringe, the case for UBI is as strong as it’s been, its popularity soaring. A 2018 poll of 28 European countries showed that 68% of Europeans are in favour of direct no-strings-attached cash payments to citizens. Since coronavirus has cruelly exposed the precarity that underpins so many people’s lives, the harsh hand-to-mouth reality, one would now expect that figure to be even higher. And this really is UBI’s gr…
disambiguating description: Necessity is the mother of invention, so the old proverb goes. And with coronavirus spreading through countries, deep economic recession clambering at its coattails, the collective need has rarely been higher. In just four months, almost 300,000 lives have been taken worldwide, and lockdown, in its various forms, is threatening untold livelihoods - as of May 9th, 33 million jobs have been lost in the US alone. True to the saying, some invention has been forthcoming as incumbents have scrambled to protect their citizens and economies. The UK’s Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, for instance, has shown great ideological flexibility, committing to stimulus packages so large they’d make the most ardent of socialists blush. And similar developments can be seen across the world.
date posted: 2020-05-14T13:52:39Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T09:59:07Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: coronavirus
keywords: covid-19
keywords: universal basic income
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: microeconomics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: macroeconomicsmonetary
disciplines: financialeconomics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Microeconomics (JEL D)
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
discipline labels: Financial Economics (JEL G)
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

Will China Become the World’s Largest Economic Superpower Because of Coronavirus?
type: Article
title: Will China Become the World’s Largest Economic Superpower Because of Coronavirus?
description: China’s bid to become the world’s economic superpower has been a long time coming. Following the economic stagnation and isolationism of Chairman Mao’s leadership fifty years ago, China has developed a sophisticated high-tech economy that is the envy of many in the Western world. A key part of this was a massive infrastructure drive: China owns more high-speed rail than the rest of the world put together, and has the busiest, largest ports and container storages on the planet. Middle-class growth is also tangible with home ownership on the rise, and in recent years, statistics from McKinsey show that Chinese tourists were the world’s highest spenders per single trip. Concerning the virus’ impact on the global economy, what is certainly not lacking from commentary is the price fluctuations of oil, decreased agricultural output, decreasing exports, and unemployment figures. From this, one may well form the opinion that the coronavirus pandemic has also negatively affected China’s prospects of taking pole position in the economic race. In reality we may be on the cusp of a reordering of economic superpowers. Despite China supposedly losing the recent trade wars against the US, the COVID-19 pandemic could be the final big push that catapults the Chinese economy ahead in the world order. Click here to browse our economics job listings Chinese economy recovers ahead of other countries The economic ramifications of lockdown are clear even to the layman. Fiscal packages and bailouts have been the most common ways Western countries have responded to the crisis, while, China’s strict reaction to the pandemic, which has succeeded in controlling the spread of the virus, lies in its ability to firmly curtail people’s freedoms and, as a result, the economy. Its centralised government has a capacity that extends beyond most western democracies, enabling it to act swiftly and enforce measures well. It has capitalised on both. Since March, 33 million people have lost their jobs in A…
disambiguating description: The ascension of the Chinese economy to global preeminence is not without precedent. China was, after all, one of the largest economies in the world from the Song Dynasty (c.900 CE) until the 19th century’s ‘Great Divergence’, when European industrialisation facilitated the long period of Western economic dominance that generations alive today know all too well.
date posted: 2020-05-12T13:01:40Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:00:08Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: COVID-19
keywords: China
keywords: America
keywords: geopolitics
keywords: coronavirus
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: internationaleconomics
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: economicdevelopmentgrowth
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: International Economics (JEL F)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Economic Development, Innovation and Growth (JEL O)

The Best Books on Environmental Economics
type: Article
title: The Best Books on Environmental Economics
description: However, the problem is far from solved, and how to balance the economy with climate change policies is a question that still awaits an answer. At the very least, most people currently have a lot of time to read; and what better issue to read about than the most pressing of our time? INOMICS is an Amazon Associate, meaning we are a part of their affiliate program. This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn money through any qualifying purchases made after you click through. However, this is not a sponsored post. 1. Stephen Smith - Environmental Economics: A Very Short Introduction Another in the excellent bite-size series from Oxford University Press, this edition focuses on giving a brief overview of the field and asking some important questions to get you thinking about the topic. Designed (as the title suggests) as an introduction into the topic, Smith outlines pollution control, environmental damage and its reduction, and global climate change policies, giving some answers as to how governments should balance their economic duties with the responsibility to protect the environment. Including questions like whether the economic costs of controlling environmental damage are viable, whether some environmental damages are necessary and even desired, and how we can assess the impact environmental damage has on humans, this book offers a great (and very short) springboard into the topic of environmental economics. 2. Frank Ackerman and Lisa Heinzerling - Priceless: On Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing Can you assign a monetary value to things like the environment and health? Many economists have tried to do this and, while it sounds rather cold and calculated, it’s often how governments decide what’s important to them. The problem is, our moral compasses are often ignored when numbers are the way we try and solve the problems we face. In Priceless, Ackerman and Heinzerling argue that the cost-benefit analysis which defines ho…
disambiguating description: In our current state of isolation, it’s important not to forget about some of the other issues which still beset the human race, not least climate change. Due to the fact that so fewer people are travelling both around the world and domestically each day, the levels of greenhouse gases being emitted are far lower than they have been in recent years.
date posted: 2020-05-06T10:30:40Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:01:43Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: James Matthew Alston
keywords: books
keywords: economics books
keywords: environmental economics
type: blog
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: agriculturalenvironmentaleconomics
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Agricultural and Environmental Economics (JEL Q)

How COVID-19 Could Change the Role of Government
type: Article
title: How COVID-19 Could Change the Role of Government
description: Countries have implemented ‘war-like’ economic measures, requested ‘war-like’ solidarity, and Emmanuel Macron has even declared France ‘at war’. Its rallying qualities aside, the analogy touches on something salient: wars change the role of government, sometimes, in the case of the post-war consensus, radically. COVID-19 could do the same. Responses to the pandemic have shown that nothing is permanent about the current distribution of resources. To the contrary, things can be overhauled, and fast. Just turn on the news: state power is serially showcased, and it’s changing the way we perceive government. With the extent of its capacity laid bare, what can we expect - or even demand - of the governments of tomorrow? Governments prove their might The remarkable has become the routine. Across the world, legislation previously dismissed as profligate, pie-in-the-sky politics is being rolled out, unopposed, often at record speed. In one preventative measure, the city of London effectively ended rough sleeping by providing hotel rooms for the next 12 weeks to all those in need. When unveiling the initiative, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, magnanimously explained ‘rough sleepers already face difficult and uncertain lives and I'm determined to do all I can to ensure they, along with all Londoners, are given the best protection possible.’ While the intervention itself is a good one, one may have doubts about Khan’s framing. Where exactly was the ‘best protection’ before? The number of those sleeping on the streets in the capital has quadrupled in the last ten years, and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that in 2019, 726 people died without shelter (a rise on the previous year) in England and Wales, a fifth of them in London. A month ago, the issue was too expensive to solve. Today, the problem doesn’t exist. The resources were found and distributed accordingly. In 12 weeks time, if containment is achieved, will those same resources be withdrawn? A common retort is…
disambiguating description: As COVID-19 has spread globally, access to the outside world has shrunk, made increasingly off-limits by government lock-down, observable now only through glass. Our digital lives have expanded to fill the void, evenings previously spent with friends now passed plugged into laptops, obsessing over the latest figures, bailouts and newly-imposed restrictions - time blurs. Amid the chorus of leaders justifying ever more draconian measures, one thing has been hard to miss: the invocations of war.
date posted: 2020-04-27T12:23:14Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:03:56Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: COVID-19
keywords: economics
keywords: government
keywords: William Pearse
type: blog
disciplines: economichistory
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
discipline labels: Economic History (JEL N)
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences

Covid-19 and the Seizure of Power
type: Article
title: Covid-19 and the Seizure of Power
description: But are we too generous with our trust? Recent developments in places as far-flung as Hungary and the Philippines remind us that there’s a second history, running parallel to improving approval ratings, of governments using crises to enhance and consolidate their power. It’s a darker history, and one we would do well learning from. Alas, there are concerning signs it’s set to repeat itself. Tailored to tyrants In many ways, the current moment is primed for exploitation. If health systems are to withstand COVID-19, it’s essential that strict restrictions are placed on public life, civil liberties reduced, and, to enforce it all, state power extended. In concert, this is music to the authoritarian’s ear; a description of an idealised society. It's a world in which power-grabs can be carried out publicly, legitimised by rousing cries of unity, and all anxious voices comforted by the knowledge that everything is in the ‘national interest’. It's, above all, an opportunity. Indeed, short of war, no other emergency comes close to matching the ubiquity of COVID-19’s fallout. Consider, for example, terrorism. Terrorist attacks can scar populations and cause great economic damage, but in scale, they pale in comparison. They tend only to hit a contained area which limits the economic impact, and, despite being designed to scare, the panic created is also less widespread. A pandemic, on the other hand, knows no boundaries, equalising the terror and economic damage it wreaks, the village dweller suffering in similar ways to the city-based socialite. And this is key: while fearing for health or financial well-being, people are at their most compliant, their most likely to surrender their freedom. What further sets COVID-19 apart is that the consensus response is to stay indoors. In other emergencies - during war, after a natural disaster, or following a terrorist attack - agency can be claimed by citizens, armies can be joined, humanitarian aid contributed, or marches defiantly a…
disambiguating description: As the world is ravaged by COVID-19, governments everywhere are enjoying burgeoning support. A glance at approval ratings finds presidents, prime ministers, even autocrats, overwhelmingly popular, in some instances irrespective of their actual performance. Of course, this is unsurprising: there’s long been a history of populations coalescing around established leaders in times of crisis. Amid uncertainty, we find their increased visibility reassuring. Speaking to the nation they look competent and confident; we feel inclined to trust them, and more often than not, we do.
date posted: 2020-04-20T13:04:58Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:05:02Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: government
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: coronavirus
keywords: covid-19
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: economicdevelopmentgrowth
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Economic Development, Innovation and Growth (JEL O)
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

The best video games for economists
type: Article
title: The best video games for economists
description: INOMICS is a member of the Amazon Associates affiliate program and the Apple affiliate program. This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn money through any qualifying purchases made after you click through. However, this is not a sponsored post. Business Simulators 1. Capitalism This classic business simulation game and its well-reviewed sequel Capitalism II allow you to live out your wildest dream: running the most successful business in the world. As CEO, you’ll have to avoid bankruptcy, fight off competition, and make sure you don’t get bought out. But don’t expect this journey to be easy - Capitalism has been ranked as one of the most difficult games ever. While the game’s beginning is not the most realistic for most of us - you can start your journey with capital of two hundred million dollars if you want - it offers an insight into how one could start a new company, providing semi-real simulations of markets and the cutthroat world of business. At the game’s outset, you can either start totally from scratch or "inherit" a business such as an agricultural company. Typically, your goal will be to dominate a certain percentage of market share within a certain time period. An expansion named Capitalism Plus released in 1996, introduced random events such as riots and technological breakthroughs, making the already-complicated game even more difficult to play. So have fun failing at your first business - thankfully, at no risk whatsoever. 2. Virtonomics Virtonomics an economics video game that is used in schools and on university campuses to help students learn the ins and outs of business markets. Both entertaining and educational, this massively multiplayer online game is similar to Capitalism in that it simulates the processes of building a business in a competitive environment. With totally open-ended gameplay and the ability to play forever if you want to (though we don’t necessarily recommend that), the turn-based game allows players to c…
disambiguating description: So you’ve decided it’s time to take a break from all the hard studying you’re doing during your economics Master’s or PhD program. Why not spend time playing a video game which will help you accrue business acumen, improve your real-world economics knowledge, or reflect economics concepts in its gameplay? Sound too good to be true? Thankfully, there are some games which offer just that.
date posted: 2020-04-08T13:33:29Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:06:11Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: James Matthew Alston
keywords: economics video games
keywords: learn
keywords: games
keywords: Sean McClung
keywords: video games
type: blog
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: business
disciplines: management
disciplines: generaleconomics
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Business
discipline labels: Management
discipline labels: General Economics (JEL A)

The Case for Wealth Taxation
type: Article
title: The Case for Wealth Taxation
description: Whether America will see a wealth tax in the foreseeable future is moot - certainly, vested interests will leave no stone unturned in its attempt to thwart it. Nevertheless, it’s now part of the conversation, and its growing popularity among the public suggests it’s here to stay. But why now? How do we explain the ‘resurgence of interest in tax policy research’ that wealth taxation proposals have helped spark, and the American Economic Association (AEA) has so excitedly observed? Gaining popularity In many ways, its popularisation is surprising in how slow it’s been, for extreme wealth inequality, which it explicitly targets, has long been a sad fact of American life - and current trends offer little reason for future optimism. Over a decade ago, President Obama described it as ‘the defining challenge of our time’, hoping, implicitly, that his tackling of it would become his defining success. Despite these aspirations his administration did little to affect the underlying economic factors that contributed to its spread. That’s not to say no progress was made; it's rather to recognise that tweaking income tax rates and gently increasing tax subsidies for low-wage workers, while praiseworthy, were insufficient to reverse the effects of decades of regressive tax policies and deregulation. Consider: between 1995 and 2016 the net worth of the top one percent almost tripled, the middle class’s barely budged, and the bottom ten percent - those most vulnerable - saw theirs shrink. Clearly, the social mobility that Americans hold so dear, and upon which their collective sense of self rests, has ground to a halt - and conservative adjustments to taxation have failed to reanimate it. Wealth taxation presents a bolder approach; it's found appeal for that reason. <11an>limit:2;categories:jobs|courses|programs;disciplines:Financial Economics (JEL G)|Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)</11an> Its champions Building on the work of Thomas Piketty, who catapulted the idea of w…
disambiguating description: The emergence of Joe Biden as the unassailable front-runner in the Democratic Primary belies a contest that at various turns broke new ground. From its unprecedented field, larger and more representative than ever (save the brief participation of two billionaires), to the remarkable resuscitation of one moribund campaign, the departure from custom was clear. Nowhere was this more obvious than in policy, where the inclusion of senators, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, dragged the conversation leftwards into distinctly uncharted territory. While all candidates acknowledged America’s extreme inequality and the need for better healthcare, social security, etc., divergence came in the prescribed means of redistribution, and unusually discussion extended beyond familiar calls to raise income tax for the rich. Most liberal of the proposals was a wealth tax: an annual tax on everything an individual owns. Its mere suggestion confirmed an improbable rise of a policy that until recently was dismissed as fringe and anti-aspirational.
date posted: 2020-03-25T13:37:13Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:07:05Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: inequality
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: wealth tax
keywords: taxation
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: microeconomics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Microeconomics (JEL D)
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

What Impact Has the Coronavirus Had on Higher Education?
type: Article
title: What Impact Has the Coronavirus Had on Higher Education?
description: Similarly, universities have begun shutting up shop, not willing to risk large swathes of students being affected by the virus. So what does this mean for students who are unable to study, and what are some of the potential workarounds? Universities close their doors Across many countries, universities and importantly their libraries have been shut down. In Berlin, for example, all Freie Universität libraries shut down officially on the 16/03/20 for an indeterminate period, some having already closed during the week before. In Italy, universities have already been closed for some time, as have major universities in the USA. It is surely only a matter of time before this happens broadly across most of the world, assuming the virus isn’t brought under control soon. Currently, many universities are on study break, meaning a few weeks during which there are no seminars, lectures or tutorials, allowing students to write their essays or do exams. With libraries shut, leaving students unable to find the research materials they need, deadlines for essays and exams will have to be pushed back to allow time for these students to still do their research. Moreover, with universities closed, many students who need to speak to their professors and tutors for help with their essays won’t be able to, at least, not in person! This causes problems for students who need to talk through their ideas with their supervisors, like, for example, those writing Bachelor’s or Master’s theses. With nobody to turn to for advice, many will cease to write until they are able to talk to the people advising them on their chosen topic. The economics of the virus There is an economic impact of the coronavirus on institutions, too. At the beginning of February when Australia began closing its borders, many Chinese students had gone back to their home country for the semester break, which over this period lasts around three months. Due to the travel ban that was put in place, many of these students were…
disambiguating description: As the spread of the coronavirus continues across the world, many questions remain unanswered, not least what is going to happen to those thousands of students whose universities have also been affected by the pandemic. Schools, offices, museums, restaurants and bars are being closed across the world, and curfews are in place in particularly affected countries.
date posted: 2020-03-17T12:48:50Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:08:15Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: study online
keywords: James Matthew Alston
keywords: study abroad
keywords: coronavirus
keywords: coronavirus covid-19
type: blog
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: business
disciplines: management
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
disciplines: generaleconomics
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Business
discipline labels: Management
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)
discipline labels: General Economics (JEL A)

The Case to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
type: Article
title: The Case to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
description: The empty promises began in 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol demanded governments stop subsidizing all ‘greenhouse-gas-emitting sectors’. Posturing world leaders dutifully queued up to pay lip service, establishing a now familiar tradition. While attending various climate summits, each would (re)commit to the eradication of fossil fuel subsidies, implore others to follow suit, and then, as if nice sounding words were all it took to cleanse the world of greenhouse gases, return home and do nothing. President Obama claimed in 2012 that a hundred years of subsidies to the oil companies was over - he lied. In 2020, annual global subsidies to the fossil fuel industry were estimated at $500 billion, and following a blip between 2013-16, are on the rise again. But why? How did governments, whose raison d'être is to keep their citizens safe, come to prop up an industry that puts lives at risk? And how great a threat does it pose? It began so well... Once upon a time it actually made sense. Indeed, when fossil fuel subsidies were first implemented they were endorsed by progressives for their equalising influence. Whether direct financial transfer, preferential tax treatment, or government infrastructure spending, it didn’t matter, they did what all subsidies do: reduced prices, in this case, the price of energy. By doing so, they gave those mired in poverty access to electricity, heating, and ultimately the components needed for a dignified life. There was also the added benefit of securing national energy supplies, as supporting indigenous production reduces dependency on foreign imports, which cannot always be guaranteed. Securing the energy supply was securing the country’s future - another easy sell. Noble-sounding as these justifications may be, the refining of green technologies mean they hold diminishing credibility, especially in the developed world where 80% of all historical carbon emissions have been emitted. A recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agenc…
disambiguating description: The continued existence of fossil fuel subsidies in a time of their almost universal condemnation reveals something about the governments that rule us, something pernicious, but also something all-too-predictable. Like no other area, they expose a gulf between rhetoric and action, a disconnect so stark that, if the risks it posed were less catastrophic, would almost be comical. Back in reality, though, the cognitive dissonance, cynicism, or whatever its cause, serves only to warm our planet and threaten all life.
date posted: 2020-03-16T14:35:12Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:10:08Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: fossil fuels
keywords: economics
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: environmental economics
keywords: green energy
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: macroeconomicsmonetary
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: agriculturalenvironmentaleconomics
disciplines: industrialorganization
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Agricultural and Environmental Economics (JEL Q)
discipline labels: Industrial Organization (JEL L)

Is it time to bin GDP?
type: Article
title: Is it time to bin GDP?
description: However, in these troubled economic times, it’s increasingly unclear whether GDP remains an appropriate measure. After all, it ignores inequality, still rampant across the Western world; it doesn’t take into account the earth’s dwindling natural resources; and it fails to recognise the rapidly deteriorating environment. With such glaring omissions, should it really be trusted to measure the success of our economies, and by proxy, the quality of our lives? Here we take a closer look at the measurement’s history, the charges it faces, and its future, all in an attempt to better answer the question: is it time to bin GDP? Its birth Russian-born economist Simon Kuznets first developed GDP, initially known as Gross National Product (GNP), in the early 1930s. His design came at the behest of the US government which, during the Great Depression, was seeking a more accurate measurement of economic output to guide its interventionist governmental policy. As economist Kate Raworth describes, 'GDP enabled President Roosevelt to monitor the changing state of the US economy and so assess the impact and effectiveness of his New Deal policies'. A few years later, as America readied itself to enter the Second World War, GNP was again of use. In his book, How to Pay for the War, John Maynard Keynes explained how important aggregate economic statistics like GNP are for converting an industrial economy into a planned military one. Knowing what was available for a country to mobilise was essential to any credible war planning. Interestingly, in the 1934 report Kuznets delivered to US Congress, he warned against the use of GDP as a measure of economic welfare, and placed emphasis on maintaining a clear distinction between the quantity and quality of growth. Economic welfare, he claimed, could only be ascertained if personal distribution of income is known – something GDP does not calculate. In his own words: ‘goals for more growth should specify more growth of what and for what’. His re…
disambiguating description: Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the market value of all goods and services that a country produces in a given year, adjusted - to make it comparable to previous years - for inflation. In many ways, though, it's transcended this rather prosaic definition. It's become the barometer of a country’s progress, an indicator of a land’s prosperity, and the ultimate yardstick for assessing living standards. When growing (at expected rates), politicians refer to it as proof of the success of their policies. And when rates are not met, or, god forbid, GDP growth slows, it’s weaponised by those for whom it’s politically expedient. It has the power to both elect governments and bring them crashing down. In the theatre of politics, rarely is it anywhere but centre stage.
date posted: 2019-04-25T14:51:51Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:11:17Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: gpi
keywords: GDP
keywords: economics
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: economic growth
keywords: kuznets
type: blog
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: macroeconomicsmonetary
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: business
disciplines: management
disciplines: economicthoughtmethodology
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Business
discipline labels: Management
discipline labels: Economic Thought & Methodology (JEL B)

Government intervention helps women. We need more of it
type: Article
title: Government intervention helps women. We need more of it
description: These aren’t easy questions, the rancorous nature of current American politics evidence of their polarising nature. Nevertheless, as social expectations are raised, they require constant reappraisal, for certain injustices necessitate government intervention. Research has shown that gender equality, especially, is reliant on an active, intervening state to provide things the market has historically failed to offer and that are vital to progress - namely parental leave and childcare. The case for placing both in the custody of the state is compelling, and ultimately, if gender inequality is to be taken seriously, necessary. Here’s why. Historic prejudice The labour market has rarely been a friend to women. Reflecting regressive social mores, it has, for most of its history, viewed the female condition as unsuitable for the dog-eat-dog world of work - too sensitive, too fragile - while pregnancy itself carried great disruptive potential, an ever-present, ticking time-bomb. These sentiments continue to find expression in the hiring process - men preferred to women in a phenomenon economists call ‘statistical discrimination’. The preference presumes that women are more likely to quit work on account of starting a family. And being ‘more likely’ to quit, they are paid less - globally women earn 24% less than men according to Oxfam - as businesses safeguard themselves against future losses. In turn, unfair remuneration makes women actually more likely to quit, and the circle is complete. A similar logic makes women less likely to get promoted, explaining their relatively few numbers in positions of high authority. The material ramifications of this are dire, to say nothing of the ethical injustice. UN unemployment and poverty statistics are all skewed unfavorably towards women, and mothers have it particularly bad. Despite progress having been made - 39% of the global workforce are women and there’s been a haphazard re-examination of caregiving roles in society - the rest…
disambiguating description: The jostling between market and state, and the territory that each occupies, lies at the heart of political discourse. It's the major fault line around which political parties form and debates rage. Despite their uneasy relationship, between them they generally make available all that we need, be it food, a home, healthcare, employment, or education, at varying - and often questionable - quality and cost. The demarcation between the two, rarely ever static, differs widely across states, and speaks to the values of the society in question. What, for instance, can be said of a country whose privatised higher education is financially off limits to its poorer citizens? Is it right to leave the market responsible for people’s health? And what of the provision of childcare?
date posted: 2020-02-04T14:01:24Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:12:16Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: inequality
keywords: gender
keywords: William Pearse
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: labordemographiceconomics
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Labor and Demographic Economics (JEL J)
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

The US Economy is Failing Young People
type: Article
title: The US Economy is Failing Young People
description: But what of people's lives? With records being broken, and figures heralded as ‘the best ever’, you'd be forgiven for presuming people’s lives were improving in parallel, that the numbers translated into more than just useful soundbites. For most this is yet to happen. In explanation, economist, Joseph Stiglitz, has denied that the nation’s economic health has experienced a marked improvement, claiming ‘neither GDP nor the Dow is a good measure of economic performance, for neither tells us what’s happening to ordinary citizens’ living standards’. Indeed, if one looks to more tangible metrics - life expectancy (falling and among the lowest in the developed world), disposable income (on the decline), and household debt (skyrocketing) - a vastly different picture of American life emerges: one of stagnation, uncertainty and strife. It’s with this picture that young Americans, in particular, most identify. Instead of prosperity, millennials (Americans born between 1981 and 1996) anticipate economic future of precariousness, Trump’s creation of ‘the greatest economy… in the history of the country’ having no recognisable bearing on their reality. Optimism, the characteristic for which they were once known, is fading, and in its place has grown a shrewd pragmatism, accompanied by an acceptance that the US economy, regardless of its supposed merits, is deeply flawed. Whoever is experiencing its much touted ‘improvements’, it’s not them. <11an>limit:2;categories:Graduate / Traineeship|Internship|Junior Industry Position|PhD Candidate;countries:united states;disciplines:Economics</11an> Broken promises Remember, this was the generation that were told a college education was everything, the ticket to a comfortable life. Having held up their end of the bargain - becoming the most educated generation ever in the process - they’re now finding out the social contract to which they committed was sold on false pretences. High on the list of grievances are tuition fees - they are eye-…
disambiguating description: The US economy is improving, so we are told. With the financial crash receding into the distance, almost out of sight, things are looking up, the future is finally brightening. Unemployment reached a 50-year low in 2019, falling to 3.5%, while US employers have added almost 5 million jobs in just two years. These are ‘the best economic numbers our country has ever experienced’, the President declared at Davos, with characteristic humility. And bombast aside, his sentiment is not without foundation, the US economy is posting some good numbers. In addition to jobs, GDP has been growing at close to 3 percent annually, and the Dow Jones has increased by 49% is the last 3 years - all of which is great election fodder for the coming campaign. Democrats should be wary.
date posted: 2020-01-28T15:06:54Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:14:47Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: William Pearse
keywords: Millennials
keywords: US Economy
type: blog
disciplines: politics
disciplines: publiceconomicspolicy
disciplines: economics
disciplines: macroeconomicsmonetary
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: economicdevelopmentgrowth
disciplines: healtheducationwelfareeconomics
discipline labels: Politics
discipline labels: Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Economic Development, Innovation and Growth (JEL O)
discipline labels: Health, Education, and Welfare (JEL I)

A Guide to Dating in Academia
type: Article
title: A Guide to Dating in Academia
description: Browse our academic job listings The problem of disciplines Inter-disciplinary dating remains a largely theoretical proposition in academia, and that is to say nothing of the taboo against undergraduates dating postgraduates - or vice versa. Whereas the first of these can be termed horizontal dating, and carries casual social penalties, the second, vertical dating, is often viewed with much more serious contempt. Indeed, for all of academia’s professed liberalism, there remains a severely entrenched elitist platform upon which status and seniority carry significant weight. As in every social and professional situation, groups quickly form, select cliques are established and patterns followed, until soon enough you find yourself surrounded solely by people on the same course and level of study as yourself. As noted above, it is a curious thing given that the university environment should provide a warm bed - no pun intended - for open-minded dating. Clearly, though, this is rarely the case. What becomes apparent when it comes to dating in academia is that it would be helpful if short manuals on dating etiquette and rules were handed out during freshers/orientation week, as these would provide a basic layout of the hostile battlefield. And yes, the library is as hostile a terrain as you will ever come across. Just try asking somebody out in a whispering voice, or try following somebody around the bookshelf corridors without appearing like a stalker, and you will know what we mean. Libraries aside, the whole set-up seems unfriendly. Even career academics seem not to have mastered the art, often electing to stay within the safe confines of their chosen academic field. Perhaps - dare it be said? - the longer you remain in academia the greater the chances are that your dating behaviour fossilises within your disciplinary speciality. In fact, the ever-increasing wave of students and teachers turning to online dating could be a result of the unfriendly character of dating i…
disambiguating description: Dating in academia is riddled with potholes, the most immediate of which is do not stray far from your academic discipline. Curious indeed considering that the academic world is meant to be populated by an abundance of young and energetic minds from a variety of different cultures, races and ethnicities, all of whom are hungry for new information and experiences. One would think that such an environment would provide the perfect dating terrain, right? Wrong!
date posted: 2015-02-12T23:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T10:15:53Z
employment type: onsite
language: en
keywords: university life
keywords: Jokes
keywords: dating
keywords: Humour
type: blog
disciplines: marketing
disciplines: economics
disciplines: education
disciplines: law
disciplines: socialscience
disciplines: business
disciplines: psychology
disciplines: management
disciplines: generaleconomics
discipline labels: Marketing
discipline labels: Economics
discipline labels: Education
discipline labels: Law
discipline labels: Economics and Social Sciences
discipline labels: Business
discipline labels: Psychology
discipline labels: Management
discipline labels: General Economics (JEL A)