Inventory of hazardous substances in container vessels: another necessary but bureaucratic burden for carriers
In addition, as early as the end of this year, from 31 December 2020, in accordance with the European Union Ship Recycling Regulations (EUSRR), ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards with the EU member state flag and all other ships, regardless of country of origin, will be required to keep an inventory of hazardous substances and materials (IHM) when visiting an EU or European Economic Area (EEA) port. New European ships and EU-flagged ships which are being dismantled must have this list of hazardous materials (IHM), inspected by the relevant administration or authority, indicating the location and approximate quantity of these materials. Check out our engineering jobs listings COVID-19 is stirring things up However, as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, many ship-owners may not be able to complete the required Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) before the deadline. To this end the British and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) recommends that its members firstly develop an IHM on older ships. Older ships are usually recycled more quickly, and such planning will show that ship-owners are proactive in meeting the requirements of the new EU regulations. In addition, as members of BIMCO, www.strategies.lv has already written to the European Commission and asked for favourable conditions for all parties concerned regarding the deadlines for shipping companies to complete the IHM process while dealing with COVID-19 limitations and outages. The letter also includes a set of industry guidelines on compliance with EU ship recycling regulations and the establishment of an inventory of hazardous materials, which BIMCO members are encouraged to use. It is now known that the new regulation will affect approximately 137 (58%) of the 236 BIMCO member vessels. Only 33 ships have completed their work on this, while the rest are in various stages of development in an attempt to meet these new requirements. www.strategies.lv is propounding streamlining of the system, but it also wants it to be a reasonably achievable condition for all market participants and for this new bureaucratic burden not to further restrict companies which are already hit by the pandemic.
The European Union (EU) is working very hard to make ship recycling greener and safer in the future. It is quite clear that the dismantling of ships in many parts of South Asia in its current state is not acceptable, either from an environmental or a social point of view. Ship recycling regulations, adopted seven years ago, are finally gathering pace now. In particular, the regulation firstly prohibits or restricts the installation and use of hazardous materials such as asbestos or ozone depleting substances on board ships.
Urban, Rural and Transportation Economics (JEL R)
How to Write a Successful Motivation Letter for Economics Conferences
Browse our economics conference listings Start with the basics: your name, institutional affiliation, and a very brief career recap You should open your letter of motivation by introducing yourself and giving basic information on your current role and the current topic of your economics research. You may want to include a sentence in which you mention the positions you have held previously, or any grants which you have been recently awarded. However, the majority of your letter should be about your research rather than about yourself, so keep this section short and to the point. Give a basic description of your economics research You don't need to describe the exact details of your research, such as the experimental methods used or the results which you have gathered so far, as this information should be contained in your abstract. But you should give a simple summation of which sub-field you work in and what your research is about. Keep this general, as the people reading it may not be experts in your area. Imagine you were describing your work to a friend who works outside of academia, and write a few sentences about your research in this style. <11an>limit:2;categories:conferences;disciplines:General Economics (JEL A)</11an> Fit your topic to the conference theme As well as a general topic or subject which they cover, many economics conferences will have a theme which is different each year. The theme will typically reflect a large or important issue in the field which has been prominent over the year. If you can find a way to fit your research into the conference theme, this will greatly improve your chance of being accepted. The fit doesn't have to be perfect, but the themes are usually designed to be flexible, so put a sentence into your abstract about how your findings do or will impact on the theme and you'll make your presentation more relevant for the conference organizers and the audience. Be specific about the benefits of your economics research You probably know that you should describe all the ways that your research could have an impact on the field, in order to persuade the conference organizers that the attendees would benefit from hearing about your work. However, you should avoid the common mistake of describing the benefits of your work in generic terms. For example, 'This work will help to develop a more complete understanding of [this particular sub-field]' is too vague and is not convincing. Instead, be specific about the benefits of your work, for example 'This work will add the perspective of [a particular group] which is currently missing from analyses in [this particular subfield].' Also make sure to note why your research timely and of relevance at this time in particular. For example, 'Following the publication of [major work] last year', or 'With the [major world event] approaching next year, this research adds [a new perspective/important data/a new theoretical framework or idea] which is important at this time because...' Describe how your economics research is relevant to the conference audience You should consider why your work would be of interest not only to other members of your field in general, but to the audience at this conference in particular. For example, if you work in psychology in the field of mental health, and you are applying to a conference with a strong clinical focus, then you could describe why your work would be useful to clinicians for their practice. Or if you are applying for an interdisciplinary conference, describe the relevance of your work to the other fields represented at the conference.
When you apply to present at an economics conference, you'll often be asked to provide a letter of motivation along with your abstract and CV. This is used to decide which applicants will be invited to give a talk or poster presentation at the conference. But what information should this letter of motivation contain, and what's the best way to increase your chances of being accepted to present?
Freight container market needs a two-year recovery period
At first, everyone thought that this was just a problem for China: a significant reduction in manpower, the closure of factories and shipyards, but, as the events unfolded, it was already clear that this was a global crisis. Various restrictions have led to labor shortages in all segments of China's shipping industry, which in turn has affected trade, and this decline is the sharpest in 16 years. China is a major player in the international trade chain, with the most active and important shipping container ports in the world. Although the country was the first to be hit by the coronavirus, it is one of the first to embark on a recovery path, while the rest of the world is still overcome by uncertainty and chaos about the future scenario. Check out our engineering jobs listings Surplus cargo - a major problem in the shipping industry As a result of the economic consequences of the coronavirus, the volume of cargo imported into the USA also decreased significantly - by 12.5%. These retail figures sharply reflect the extent to which domestic consumption of goods has declined, but it will take a long time to recover to pre-coronavirus levels. The United States has also imposed strict restrictions on ships entering Chinese ports by imposing strict crew and ship surveillance. According to the coast guard guidelines, the ship's crew is currently required to have a 14 day quarantine period. These requirements are causing a significant drop in trading activity, which is halting the progress of industry processes. Another trend that is exacerbating the transport market as a whole is the increase in demand for small vessels, while large vessels are experiencing a sharp drop in chartering tariffs on the main long-haul routes with the most delays. With container vessels at a standstill, a new record of -2.65 million TEU was reached in the spring of this year, driven by the transport of semi-empty or virtually empty vessels. Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) expects the idle fleet to remain at around 10% for the remaining year, which is also in line with the World Trade Organisation's optimistic scenario of a 10% reduction in container traffic demand in 2020. Given that most international cargo ships are quarantined, surplus cargo will create additional problems for freight operators. In some cases, due to increased congestion in ports, containers are sent back to the country of origin because there are countries that avoid Chinese shipments. China is a major importer of crude oil, so the slowdown in economic activity in China is certainly having a negative effect on demand for crude oil tankers. This is also noted in the market research Vessels Value data, which this year showed a sharp drop in demand for Chinese crude oil tankers. From an average of 3.4 billion ton miles per day in 2019 to almost zero today. However, it should be noted that fluctuations in fuel prices have led to a direct reduction in shipping costs for a number of operators. Namely, the demand for oil tankers is currently increasing, as the "collapse" of The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC + Alliance) led to a 30% drop in oil prices and a possible price war between the world leaders. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to severely damage oil demand 2020, which will have a negative impact on oil transportation rates in the coming months. Demand for container transport will not recover in the short term Experts already estimate that the demand for container transport will not recover in the short term, it will take at least two years. As the virus continues to spread like wildfire, container shipping is increasingly becoming the epicenter of the global shipping industry crisis. The sale of containerized consumer goods has been hit hardest by various restrictive measures and consumer habits, so the crisis could last long enough. The current scenario, which revolves around the coronavirus, has caused a number of setbacks in the maritime and shipping sectors, and it is still quite difficult to predict the future of the shipping industry. If COVID-19 restrictive measures are reviewed at the level of policy makers, this will stabilize the situation and make it more predictable.
The COVID-19 crisis has hit hard enough and continues to affect the global container shipping market. The current economic situation does not give much hope for a short-term recovery of this market. Demand for container shipments has fallen sharply, especially as China closed much of its plants in February 2020. The volume of production or cargo to be exported to other countries plummeted. The situation was exacerbated by a number of restrictions and requirements in almost every industry and in the world's ports.
Event management and organization during the coronavirus outbreak
Virtual options such as GoToMeeting and Zoom are viable solutions which allow conference organizers to host their events safely, in spite of the pandemic. Virtual broadcasting may also allow you to expand the options available to participants. Here’s how: Pre-recorded sessions: Allow each speaker to submit a recording of their presentation along with corresponding written materials. This will enable you to offer your participants access to all materials, or only to those materials which are most relevant to them. This will allow you to structure your pricing in the most effective way, enabling you to offer a more personalized experience and ensuring participants get the best value for their money. If you want to learn more about the risks and challenges for conference organization and recruitment during the 2020 pandemic, download our e-guide resource about recruitment during Covid-19. ➲ Download our e-guide "Recruitment during Covid-19" here Live webinar packages: Live webinars are the best option if you want to give participants a more hands-on and interactive experience. To this end, you can provide a link to all prospective participants asking them to join in at the appropriate time on the scheduled date, allowing them to be part of the active discussion and to ask questions. If you haven’t gotten the message out yet, be sure to take the opportunity to remarket and rebrand your conference or event as an entirely online experience. Social media live events: Going Live on Facebook or Instagram, or using other tools such as YouTube, LinkedIn or Twitter is an excellent way to broadcast your event while growing your social media presence. Social media is a handy tool since users will most likely already have the apps installed or can use it via their browsers; it eliminates the need for any links to be shared or for any type of prior coordination. Users can just click on your social media profile and join in on the conversation. Being honest and clear will get you far and help you establish a good working relationship with your participants. Engage with them every step of the way and make sure they know what’s happening. Communicate concisely and promise only what you can deliver. During the upcoming months, we are releasing a series of articles on recruitment tips and advice during Covid-19. If you are interested in following this series, subscribe to our Newsletter. As a welcome gift you will receive our recruitment e-guide as well as exclusive access to special promotions for our subscribers. If you are interested in promoting events offered by your institution, please contact us at info@inomics.com. We will be happy to boost and support your recruitment strategy during these tough times, help you plan and optimize your strategy for 2021, and support you in reaching your last attendee quotas in 2020 and beyond.
One of the areas of recruitment most adversely affected by COVID-19 is that of conferences and events, which until 2020 had been almost totally based on on-site attendance. With long-term health and safety measures in place affecting and restricting public gatherings, it is now time to rethink budget allocations and put them towards online broadcasting facilities as well as equipping your conference environment with the tools to continue, remotely.
Within free-market economies, market players act via the relevant mechanism or accepted system of determining prices and quantities bought and sold in the market. Occasionally, the actions of market players affect the welfare of individuals and groups who are not directly involved in the market. Such effects are called externalities because they are external to the market. For example, the production of particleboard releases toxic chemical waste into the environment. If producers and consumers are left to negotiate prices freely then the cost of this externality, the environmental damage, will be ignored. Other individuals and groups in the economy who have no need for particleboard will suffer the externality without compensation. This situation is illustrated in the graph: the equilibrium quantity of particle board in the market \(Q_{1}\) is determined where the marginal benefit (\(MB\)), or marginal revenue, to producers equals their marginal private cost (\(MPC\)). If the environmental damage can be costed then for each unit of particleboard produced the additional toxic waste and associated marginal damage (\(MD\)) can also be included in the graph. It follows that the additional cost to society as a whole from the market for particleboard, its marginal social cost (\(MSC\)), is the sum of the marginal private cost and the marginal damage\[MSC=MPC+MD.\] A new socially optimal equilibrium quantity \(Q^{*}\) is determined, taking into account the externality, where the marginal benefit from particleboard production is equal to its marginal social cost. Note that while this quantity \(Q^{*}\) is less than the free-market quantity \(Q_{1}\) it is nevertheless still positive, i.e. it is socially optimal to produce some particleboard. This is because some members of society, namely the producers and consumers of particleboard, stand to gain from it. A compromise is met in which the costs and benefits are simply set against each other from a social perspective. In the above example it is in society’s interest to move from the free-market equilibrium \(Q_{1}\) to the socially optimal equilibrium \(Q^{*}\). This can be seen by quantifying the loss to particleboard market participants in terms of forgone consumer and producer surplus, represented by the pink triangle in the graph, and subtracting it from the reduction in damage, represented by the shaded blue area under \(MD\) in the graph. The result is a positive net social gain (\(NSG\)), which, as shown in the blue triangle between \(MSC\) and \(MB\) in the graph, is also equal to the reduction in social cost minus the reduction in (private) benefit to market participants when moving from \(Q_{1}\) to \(Q^{*}\). Figure 1: Net social gain from "correcting" an externality The obvious question, once one has established the presence of an externality and the existence of a socially optimal equilibrium, is how to get there. More often than not a public (government) response to the externality is required, however, in some cases a private response will be sufficient. In free-market economies, firms that cause general forms of pollution through their operations are often taxed by the government, to compensate society for the environmental damage. The value of the marginal damage is paid back by the firm to society through the tax, and as a result of the effective increase in their costs, firms decide to reduce production. An alternative public solution is for government to allocate a fixed number of pollution rights and to charge firms for the right to produce and cause a limited amount of pollution (here, the ‘socially acceptable’ amount caused by producing \(Q^{*}\) in the graph). Such rights can be auctioned and allocated to the highest bidder, in order to maximise compensation to society for the damage. Each of these solutions effectively ‘internalizes’ the externality back into the market such that the socially optimal equilibrium is preferred by market participants over the original free-market equilibrium. In certain instances, the externality only affects one or a few other members of society. A classic example of externalities is that of a river flowing in a remote part of the country where people fish for food. People living upstream may catch fish before the fish swim downstream so people living downstream have none left to catch. In such cases it is important to have clarity on who owns the rights to the fish in the river, in order to avoid conflict over what then becomes a scarce resource. Yet as long as property rights are properly assigned and upheld by law, and it is not costly for individuals to bargain with one another over these rights, it will not be necessary for the government to intervene any further to manage the externality caused by over-fishing. The individuals affected will sort it out on their own. This laissez-faire solution to the problem of externalities has come to be known as the Coase Theorem after the late economist and Nobel laureate Ronald Coase who described it in “The Problem of Social Cost” (Journal of Law and Economics, 1960). Further reading The problem of externalities in economics and the Coase Theorem are discussed in detail in chapter 5 of Public Finance by Harvey Rosen and Ted Gayer (10th edition, 2013). Good to know As already mentioned, externalities can also be positive. For example, a farmer planting orange trees to grow and sell oranges will be providing new nectar and pollen sources for bees, which benefits the local ecosystem and everyone living in the area. It may be in society’s interest to encourage a greater production of orange trees than the farmer would choose if left simply to the market for oranges. In such cases of potential marginal social benefit, the government can offer subsidies to farmers to increase production. Of course, subsidies also require financing so it is important to quantify the social benefits, and weigh them against any costs when making policy decisions.
Externalities are costs (negative externalities) or benefits (positive externalities) of market transactions that are not reflected in the market price and that affect individuals who are not participating in the market. Depending on the allocation of property rights in the economy, the presence of externalities is addressed through negotiation between the affected parties and/or government intervention in the market.
Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
In order to calculate an elasticity of substitution, it is first necessary to determine an isoquant. From there, one must work out input ratios and marginal rates of technical substitution (or MRTS) along the isoquant. An isoquant represents combinations of inputs \(x_{1}\) and \(x_{2}\), which are required to produce a given level of output \(\overline{Y}\). These combinations along the blue isoquant \(f\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right)=\overline{Y}\) are visible in the graph below. For any given point \(\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right)\) on the isoquant \(f\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right)=\overline{Y}\), it is possible to compute the input ratio. This is simply the quantity of one input divided by the other \(\frac{x_{2}}{x_{1}}\), as depicted by the gradients of the pink and grey lines in the graph. Any production technique that uses inputs \(x_{1}\) and \(x_{2}\) to achieve output \(\overline{Y}\) will have an input ratio specific to that particular technique. For any given point \(\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right)\) on the isoquant \(f\left(x_{1},x_{2}\right)=\overline{Y}\) one can also calculate the marginal rate of technical substitution \(\frac{-dx_{2}}{dx_{1}}\). This is the rate at which input \(x_{1}\) can be exchanged for input \(x_{2}\) while maintaining the level of output at \(\overline{Y}\). Figure 1: Elasticity of substitution along a curve In essence, elasticity of substitution \(\sigma\) measures how easy it is to move between points along an isoquant. When moving between such points there are changes in both the input ratio and the marginal rate of technical substitution. Elasticity of substitution sets proportionate changes in the input ratio against proportionate changes in the marginal rate of technical substitution such that \[\sigma=\frac{\frac{\Delta\left(x_{2}/x_{1}\right)}{x_{2}/x_{1}}}{\frac{\Delta\left(-dx_{2}/dx_{1}\right)}{-dx_{2}/dx_{1}}}.\] A positive value of \(\sigma\) indicates a certain degree of substitutability between production inputs. For the extreme case of perfect substitutes, elasticity of substitution approaches infinity \(\sigma\rightarrow\infty\). Electricity from two different suppliers could be seen as an example of a perfect substitute. Indeed, the electricity does the same job of powering production, regardless of the supplier. On the other hand, a value of \(\sigma=0\) indicates just the opposite: the inputs cannot substitute for each other, as they are perfect complements. Therefore, one cannot be employed without also employing the other. For example, in car production, wheels require tires: neither is sufficient on its own. Thus wheels and tires are perfect complements. In general, elasticity of substitution changes at different points along an isoquant. For example, it may be harder to swap machines for people (low \(\sigma\)) when only a few people are involved in production. On the contrary, it is easier to introduce machines (high \(\sigma\)) while there are still enough people to run the machines. However, a special case is one in which the elasticity of substitution is at a constant level for any combination of production inputs. That is, \(\sigma\) is the same value at any point along the isoquants that represent the production function. In practice, this is somewhat unrealistic but it simplifies the mathematics considerably, in particular for empirical modelling. This explains why the assumption of Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) is popular among economists studying production. The best-known example of a CES production function is the Cobb-Douglas production function. The decision about how to organise production depends both on the substitutability of production inputs (value of \(\sigma\), shape of isoquants) and on the relative cost of the inputs to one another, which can be represented by means of isocost lines. For example, if an energy firm produces electricity both through an environmentally friendly source (e.g. wind) and by burning a carbon fuel then how much of each input (wind or carbon fuel) the firm allocates to electricity production will come down to their relative cost. Of course, if the firm suffers a bad reputation for causing harm to the environment then the reputational cost could also be internalised within the production cost. This would make it more likely for the firm to choose or increase its use of the green source. Alternatively, governments could seek to regulate the market for electricity (see the articles on positive and negative externalities). Further reading For an application of elasticity of substitution to the theory of environmental economics, see the paper by economists Daron Acemoglu, Philippe Aghion, Leonardo Bursztyn, and David Hemous, “The environment and directed technical change” (American Economic Review, 2012). The authors compare ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ technologies within a model of sustainable growth, offering recommendations for different types of government intervention that depend on the substitutability of inputs. Good to know The concept of elasticity of substitution is also applicable to the theory of demand, for the analysis of indifference curves and the substitutability of goods and services in consumption. The concept dates to the early 1930s, when it was originally developed simultaneously and independently by economists John Hicks and Joan Robinson. Ironically, one might argue that Hicks and Robinson were good substitutes for one another in the production of economic knowledge, with a mutually high value of \(\sigma\)! Nevertheless, from the student’s perspective, a good understanding of this concept requires some effort. As Thomas Edison once said, there is no substitute for hard work. <o:p></o:p>
Elasticity of substitution measures the ease with which one can switch between factors of production. The concept has a broad range of applications. For example, it can be used to compare labour and capital in firms, or native versus immigrant workers in the labour market. Additionally, it can assess 'clean' versus 'dirty' methods of production for environmental economics.
Derivatives are widely applied in economic modeling and theory, because they are an invaluable tool used to measure the effects and rates of change in economic variables and find the maximum and minimum values of functions. Microeconomists and macroeconomists alike make frequent use of derivatives. The technique is key to solving constrained optimization problems, such as Lagrangian optimization, for the purposes of maximizing utility and profit. Many other decision problems can be represented mathematically and solved using first derivatives. Further, derivatives are often important for understanding why certain models of the economy differ or to examine their underlying assumptions. Using derivatives in economics with a profit example Consider the following production cost function for a good C(q) = k + aq2 where k is a fixed cost, q the number of units produced and a is a parameter representing variable costs. C(q) represents the total cost of production for q units of the good. When making the decision about how much of the good to produce, a profit-maximizing firm will be interested in the cost of producing the last unit of the good (known as the marginal cost) and aim to set this equal to the extra revenue from selling that unit (marginal revenue). Suppose that (total) revenue from selling this good is simply the unit price p times the quantity sold R(q) = pq. Then profit (π) will be revenue minus cost π(q) = R(q) - C(q). Maximum profit is found by taking the first derivative of the profit function and setting it equal to zero: \[\begin{aligned} \frac{\partial\pi\left(q\right)}{\partial q}=\frac{\partial R\left(q\right)}{\partial q}-\frac{\partial C\left(q\right)}{\partial q}&=0\\ \Leftrightarrow\ \ \ \frac{\partial R\left(q\right)}{\partial q}&=\frac{\partial C\left(q\right)}{\partial q}\\ \Leftrightarrow\ \ \ p&=2aq\\ \Rightarrow\ \ \ q^{*}&=\frac{p}{2a}.\\\end{aligned}\] Since the first derivative of the profit function is zero at this optimal point where p = 2aq, profits are neither growing nor falling. It can be verified that the point is a maximum (and not a minimum) by taking the second derivative of the profit function: \[\begin{aligned} \frac{\partial^{2}\pi\left(q\right)}{\partial q^{2}}&=\frac{\partial^{2}\left(pq-\left(k+aq^{2}\right)\right)}{\partial q^{2}}\\ &=-2a,\end{aligned}\] which is negative for positive a, i.e. the gradient (or slope of the tangent line) of the profit function is decreasing in q. In other words, as q grows, profits increase by a smaller amount, and beyond the optimal point q* profits begin to decrease as q increases further. So, profits are still growing at q < q* but falling for q > q* and therefore profits are at a maximum at q = q*. This example is represented in the following graph where it is shown how profits (π) are maximized at point q = q* where the first derivative of the revenue function, which is marginal revenue, equals the first derivative of the cost function which is marginal cost (in other words, the point where MR = MC): Figure 1: Graphical representation of profit maximization In Figure 1, the red line shows the profit function. It is at its maximum at the point q*, which is also the point where the green cost function C(q)’s derivative (or slope of the tangent line) equals the slope of the blue revenue function R(q). Recall that this is the point where marginal cost equals marginal revenue. Pointed out on the graph are the three relevant points on each function. Recall that profit is maximized at the point where the first derivative of the profit function equals zero. This is shown by the red arrow. This produces q* as the optimal quantity. It can be shown that the first derivatives of R(q) and C(q) are equal at this point by plugging q* into the provided functions and solving; these points are denoted by the blue and green arrows in the graph. A note on total derivatives The above example involves simple, direct, partial relationships between output quantity q and revenue/cost/profit. In most real-world situations, revenue and cost will also depend on other variables. For example, revenue is also affected by sales effort e and marketing expenditure m. Costs are additionally affected by the price of raw materials r and wages w. Insofar as these other variables interact with the production quantity, it may be necessary to calculate the total derivatives of the revenue and cost functions with respect to q in order to determine the optimal level of production, \[\begin{aligned} \frac{dR\left(q,e\left(q\right),m\left(q\right)\right)}{dq}&=\frac{\partial R}{\partial q}+\frac{\partial R}{\partial e}\frac{de}{dq}+\frac{\partial R}{\partial m}\frac{dm}{dq};\\ \frac{dC\left(q,r\left(q\right),w\left(q\right)\right)}{dq}&=\frac{\partial C}{\partial q}+\frac{\partial C}{\partial r}\frac{dr}{dq}+\frac{\partial C}{\partial w}\frac{dw}{dq}.\end{aligned}\] Calculating these total derivatives takes into account any indirect effects of changing the production quantity on revenue and cost that arise due to potential differences in sales effort, marketing expenditure, the price of raw materials and wages brought about by changing the production quantity. Further reading Hal Varian offers a simple introduction for economists on how to calculate derivatives of functions, both total and partial, in the mathematical appendix to his popular text book Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach (see sections A10 to A13 of the ninth edition). Good to know More often than not, when economists compute derivatives of functions they are performing ceteris-paribus analysis. Taking the partial derivative of a function y = f(x1) with respect to x1 is done to estimate the effect of x1 on y while assuming that all else remains equal. This is why many economics courses only focus on the partial derivatives and assume that other influences on the revenue and cost functions remain constant. Therefore, total derivatives are seldom used in most economics courses. However, it’s still important to remember that basing economic reasoning on partial derivatives involves making the key assumption that other factors are held constant.
Derivatives of functions are computed using differential calculus. A derivative in calculus is defined as “the rate of change of quantity y with respect to quantity x”. This sounds very similar to the definition for a slope, and in fact the derivative can be thought of as the slope of a curve. This article will discuss the usage of derivatives in economics, but will not explain how to calculate derivatives.
Econometrics, Statistics and Quantitative Methods (JEL C)
The Best Free Online Macroeconomics Courses
We understand how difficult it’s been in these last months, the fear, frustration, and now, more recently, the boredom. Many have picked up new hobbies to pass the time, some have started learning a new language, and others, even, have experimented with exercise... As admirable as these endeavours are, a trick is still being missed. For what better way could there be to emerge from all of this madness than with a better grasp of... macroeconomics. Yes, there is none. You’re in luck, too. For there are countless opportunities to do this online, oftentimes for free! Can anyone really say they don’t need a little revision on the functions of GDP, the fluctuations of inflation, or the factors informing unemployment rates?! We thought not. So without further ado, here are our best picks of all that's out there: 1. Macroeconomic Diagnostics (edX) Hosted by the IMF, this course will teach you to assess a country’s macroeconomic situation using practical tools integral to day-to-day macroeconomic analysis. Throughout the 6 weeks of the course, you will learn how to analyze potential output, identify expenditure composition of growth, measure inflation, and assess sources of inflation. You will also gain a grasp of monetary and fiscal policy, develop an understanding of public and external debt sustainability, and learn how to assess the medium-term prospects of any given economy. It’s pretty all encompassing, and best of all it’s free! 2. Macroeconomics for a Sustainable Planet (edX) Run by the prestigious SDG Academy, this course focuses on the potential earth-saving question: is it really possible to develop a thriving global economy in a fair and environmentally-resilient way? At 13 weeks in length, and thus slightly longer than others in the list, the course also manages to squeeze in scrutiny of GDP, assessment of sustainable investment strategies, and takes a look at the rapidly changing labor market. We could not recommend it highly enough. 3. International Macroeconomics (edX) Let the University of Queensland lead you through an exploration of all the fundamentals of contemporary international macroeconomy, including the study of trade, exchange rate systems, international financial policy and open macroeconomy. At just 6 weeks, this course is not just for the economist, but also the layman, and will deliver a great level of understanding on the international economy, in addition to trade balance and exchange for anyone ‘curious about global economic behaviour and what influences it’. 4. Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics (classcentral) In 8 hours of material, this free macroeconomics course explores the economic way of thinking, and the role incentives play in our lives. It also seeks to answer big questions like: why do some countries grow rich while others remain poor? What role does a country's banking system play in its economic policy? Big questions to one side, it also covers important topics like the function of the Federal Reserve, also known as ‘the fed’, monetary policy, fiscal policy, the Solow Growth Model, and the ‘economics of ideas’. 5. Macroeconomic Forecasting (edX) Another course hosted by the IMF, here you’ll learn how to create and assess forecasting models to predict macroeconomic variables such as inflation and economic growth. Over the course of its 9 week duration this macroeconomics course will familiarise you with macroeconomic variables such as inflation, growth and consumption, while instructing you how to create statistical models in economics and then how to apply them to policy. 6. Strategic Business Management - Macroeconomics (Coursera) Delivered by the University of California, this course is for anyone interested in exploring the strategic components of applied economics combining business strategy with the principles of macroeconomics. It equips its participants with a powerful analytical toolbox with which to assess the major functions of business, management, statistics, and, of course, business strategy. 11 weeks in length, if you want to ‘expand your skills at the interface of strategy and business management’ this is the course for you.
With university life still suffering major disruptions and COVID fatigue reaching new heights, we at INOMICS felt it time for the latest instalment in our ‘online course’ series.
Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
Depression and Anxiety on the University Campus
Scarier than all this, though, is the real truth: that it’s not just college students, but all young people. Vindication for this comes from the conclusions of a psychiatric report from 2008 which found young people of student age but who don’t attend college to be equally as likely to suffer from some kind of psychiatric disorder as their college-going counterparts. Non-college attending individuals were more likely to self-medicate with drugs, whereas college students were at a higher risk of having some kind of alcohol misuse disorder. Among the initial sample of over 43,000 respondents, nearly one-half met the criteria for a psychiatric disorder. It’s glaringly obvious there’s a mental health crisis among young people. But why? Money, drugs, and TLC The reasons for this crisis are manifold and complex. The aforementioned 2008 study found that among both young adults of college-going age and the general population as a whole, loss of social support was a heavily contributing element in an increase in risk for psychiatric disorders. Another obvious explanation specific to university-goers could be the pressures students are put under to study long and hard and perform well, troubles mirrored among the non-student population in job insecurity, financial worries and the stress of the 9 to 5. Students are expected to deal not only with their studies, but also the stresses of moving away from home, living somewhere new, being thrust into a community of total strangers, and managing their own finances, all similar worries for young people attempting to purchase their first property and find a decent job. Moreover, n places like the United Kingdom and America, university fees are preposterously high, meaning many students live under financial strain and work part-time jobs – another pressure. But these aren’t the only factors. Said stresses have changed little over time; half a century ago, students were still under pressure to perform well in their exams in an unfamiliar, potentially lonely environment. The financial burden was perhaps less, but – and without taking away its obvious impact – this can’t be used to explain the huge increase in disorders. One potential factor is the opening up of the conversation around mental health: students are more willing to talk about their struggles, so levels of diagnosis are higher, and therefore it appears there is an epidemic. But even this doesn't explain away the numbers. Even taking into account potential disparities in statistics, university campuses across the world are nonetheless experiencing a proportional upsurge in students who need help. Perhaps the most important factor which has bee neglected is lifestyle. The stress of university can affect sleeping patterns, and getting enough sleep has been shown to be essential in staving off depression. Many students eat poorly, don’t exercise as much as they should, and often drink copious amounts, whether due to the university lifestyle in general or as a coping mechanism. Some experiment with drugs, which can become a crux, and a large number of students report feeling isolated and alone. Those who have difficulty making friends may be disproportionately affected. All of these are important contributing factors to mental illnesses. Recent studies from, among others, Dr Steve Ilardi, have shown, for example, that Omega-3 is a critical fatty acid in combating depression, and having a stable social circle and frequent social contact can work wonders. Being stuck inside all day studying at the computer doesn’t help either, as getting enough sunlight is an often-overlooked contributor to mental health difficulties. Dr Ilardi recommends a programme which involves regular exercise, a tight-knit social circle, adequate Omega-3 and sufficient sleep every night. The trials have a 90% success rate (success being judged on patients not going into remission after 12 month). However, his programme potentially difficult to implement when one considers the stresses - and pressures - of university life. Universities themselves have a responsibility to deal with this problem, not just students. Unfortunately, these institutions are totally unprepared to deal with the problem. System failure The quality and crucially the availability of mental health care varies from university to university - but in general, it is inadequate. A survey at the University of California, San Francisco, suggested that of the 24% of students who were depressed, only 22% used mental health counselling services. Three of the main reasons students gave for not using services were cost at 28%, lack of confidentiality at 37%, and at the top of the list a lack of time, with nearly half – 48% – of students giving it as a reason not to attend. These results suggest not only that the mental health care systems in place aren't affordable for regular students, but also that the university system itself, at a foundational level, doesn't encourage either open dialogue nor space for students to look after their mental health. This space needs to open up immediately, though. The discourse around mental health – specifically, the stigma that still surrounds it – is changing, but not fast enough. A study from 2009 in Medical Care Research and Review conducted on American campuses found that how students felt they were judged by their peers did not play a significant role in whether or not they sought help; their own personal feelings towards themselves were far more important. And these personal feelings of guilt, shame, whatever they may be, which caused people to close themselves off and feel uncomfortable talking about their mental health, were highly dependent on identity. Certain groups were far more at risk of stigmatising themselves than others: namely, younger, Asian, international, and/or more religious men, and predominantly those from poorer families. In the United Kingdom, men are just as likely to be depressed as women, but far less likely to seek help, and a far worse statistic highlights this point: suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45, and men account for three-quarters of suicides in the United Kingdom. These stats will only get worse - and certain people will suffer more than others - if these spaces on campuses don't open up for this dialogue to take place. Chemical solutions Put in these terms, the problem seems insurmountable; fixing our youth is going to require time, money, and compassion on the behalf of the government, the health care system and universities, as well as us rethinking the way we want to live our lives. Fortunately, some are trying to come up with solutions before the university level. In New York, the Mental Health Association has launched an online training program to ‘help educators better prepare in supporting student mental health’. The program aims to aid teachers in their understanding of the signs and symptoms of mental health, as well as how it can affect youth development. New York State enacted a law in 2018 that made some form of mental health education mandatory in schools. Head over to India, and the same conversation is opening up, with positive effects. In Mangaluru, the District Mental Health team has begun organising camps to create awareness among teachers and parents of mental health issues, and has implemented a hotline system which students can call if they need counselling. Dr Ratnakar of the District Mental Health team says ‘the primary objective of the mission is to unearth the fear that is instilled in... young minds’ – in other words, to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness. These types of programs are especially effective as they try to mitigate the problem at an early age – during the school year. There is always the risk, however, that these types of top-down impositions can be crudely structured and organised, of low quality, even. Regardless, it’s a step in the right direction. At the university level, there are necessary steps to be taken to mitigate the fallout of this epidemic. Universities should be promoting lifestyles that foster both physical and mental health, the two going hand in hand as they do. This means providing adequate facilities for both free and low-cost sports, as well as doing things like not allowing students to stay in the library all night in order to encourage healthy sleeping habits. Moreover, an environment in which talking about mental health is encouraged should be a priority. Aside from this, universities must work with healthcare providers to ensure counselling and support led by trained professionals are available for students whenever they need it. This would shorten waiting lists and guarantee the correct therapeutic route for the person in need. Equally as important, these services need to be properly publicised. Too often, student support services aren’t advertised to students, meaning they don’t take advantage of the services which could help them through their studies and, in more serious cases, save their life. This is especially true for emergency services for those close to mental breakdown or contemplating taking their own life – these services are essential and cannot be spared. There’s a more serious issue that needs to be tackled if we are are to mitigate this problem, and it comes back to Dr Ilardi’s research. The modern lifestyle – as he puts it, our ‘sedentary, indoor, sleep-deprived, socially-isolated, fast-food-laden, frenetic’ modern life – is one conducive to mental illnesses, particularly depression. If we want to decrease the likelihood that people will experience mental illness, this needs to change. This isn’t just about providing healthcare and talking therapy for students; it’s about a fundamental shift in the way we interact with the world around us, the things we do to our bodies, and the way we live our lives. Until we do this, until we make this central structural change, rates of depression will continue to climb, irrespective of how many psychologists are available for weekly sit downs and how destigmatised the conversation becomes. The problem goes deeper than just discourse: it reaches right down into our bodies, the food we put in them, the people we interact with; in other words, into our very chemistry. If you’re affected by mental illness or psychiatric problems, whatever they may be, it’s essential to talk to a GP or a mental health professional. If you're contemplating suicide, most countries have a suicide help line. The UK number for Samaritans is 116 123 and the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.
In recent years, an epidemic has enveloped university campuses across the world - and it's not the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Compared to any other generation of college students in history, current students experience more mental health issues than ever before. Some reports suggest that 35% of freshers in American universities experience anxiety disorders - and this percentage is compounded by the fact that, terrifyingly, nearly 10% of students have considered suicide in the previous twelve months. Since the 1950s, rates of suicides on American campuses have tripled, and it’s now the second most common cause of death among students. In the United Kingdom alone, a student commits suicide every four days.
Online MSc in Data Science, Technology and Innovation
Online learning Our online learning technology is fully interactive, award-winning and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from the comfort of your own home or workplace. Our online students not only have access to the University of Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world. Programme structure You can study to an MSc, MSc with Medical Informatics specialism, Postgraduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Professional Development level. These credits will be recognised in their own right for postgraduate level credits or may be put towards gaining a higher award such as a PgCert. Learning outcomes The modular course structure offers broad engagement at different career stages. Individual courses provide an understanding of modern data-intensive approaches while the programme provides the knowledge base to develop a career that majors in data science in an applied domain. Career opportunities This programme is intended for professionals wishing to develop an awareness of applications and implications of data intensive systems. Our aim is to enhance existing career paths with an additional dimension in data science, through new technological skills and/or better ability to engage with data in target domains of application.
Demand is growing for high value data specialists across the sciences, medicine, arts and humanities. The aim of this unique, modular, online distance learning programme is to enhance existing career paths with an additional dimension in data science. The programme is designed to fully equip tomorrow’s data professionals, offering different entry points into the world of data science – across the sciences, medicine, arts and humanities. Students will develop a strong knowledge foundation of specific disciplines as well as direction in technology, concentrating on the practical application of data research in the real world.
MSc in Online Data Analytics for Government
WHY THIS PROGRAMME The Statistics Group at the University of Glasgow is internationally renowned for its research excellence. Students are able to benefit from this by learning from academics whose expertise covers the analysis of data from a wide range of applications. Designed for part-time study, this programme allows you to gain an MSc degree from a leading university while you're still in full-time employment. Plus, from day one you can start to put your new knowledge to the test at work. You won't have to wait until you've graduated to make a real difference in the workplace. A faster study route, which lets you complete the programme in two years, and a slower study route, which lets you complete the programme in four years, is also available. You will have the freedom to work at your own pace and access to a wide range of learning tools including rich interactive reading material and tutor-led videos. You will also be able to arrange tailored one-to-one sessions with our academic team. PROGRAMME STRUCTURE This flexible part-time programme is usually completed over three years. In the first two years, you will take two courses each trimester. If you are doing the MSc, in the third year you will undertake a project and dissertation. Core courses (MSc / PgDip) SAMPLING FUNDAMENTALS (10 credits) This course introduces students to key concepts from probability theory and provides an introduction to survey sampling with a focus on the underpinning probabilistic mechanisms. STATISTICAL COMPUTING (10 credits) Designed to introduce you to programming in the statistical software environment R. You’ll be introduced to basic concepts and ideas of a statistical computing environment and trained in programming tools which use the R computing environment. The course provides computational skills which will support other courses on the programme and you will learn the fundamental concepts in scientific programming. DATA SCIENCE FOUNDATIONS (10 credits) This course will introduce you to different approaches to learning from data, with a focus on interval estimation, hypothesis testing and frequentist and Bayesian model-based inference. You will then learn how to implement these statistical methods using R. PREDICTIVE MODELLING (ODL) (10 credits) This course will introduce you to predictive modelling using multiple linear regression as a showcase. It will present some of the distributional theory underpinning the normal linear models and the associated methods for testing and interval estimation. You will also find out how the design matrix of a linear model can be constructed to accommodate categorical covariates or, through basis expansions, non-linear effects. ADVANCED PREDICTIVE MODELS (ODL) (10 credits) Looking at models which can account for a non-normal distribution of the response and/or the fact that data is not independent, but correlated. You will gain an overview of different generalisations of linear regression models and become acquainted with the theory of exponential families. You’ll also be introduced to generalised linear models and the concept of a time series. STATISTICS IN GOVERNMENT (10 credits) The course provides an introduction and overview of survey sampling and design, survey statistics, ethics, types of surveys, data processing and management. DATA PROGRAMMING IN PYTHON (ODL) (10 credits) This course will introduce you to object-oriented programming and Python as a generic programming language and its use for data programming and analytics. You will learn to use Python libraries that are relevant to data analytics such as scikit-learn, NumPy/SciPy and pandas. UNCERTAINTY ASSESSMENT AND BAYESIAN COMPUTATION (ODL) (10 credits) Develops the foundations of modern Bayesian statistics and demonstrates how prior distributions are updated to posterior distributions in simple statistical models. You’ll be introduced to advanced stochastic simulation methods such as Markov-chain Monte Carlo. You’ll also find out how to fit Bayesian models using high-level software for Bayesian hierarchical modelling such as BUGS or STAN. INTRODUCTION TO SURVEY RESEARCH (10 credits) The course provides an introduction and overview of survey sampling and design, survey statistics, ethics, types of surveys, data processing and management. DATA MINING AND MACHINE LEARNING I: SUPERVISED AND UNSUPERVISED LEARNING (ODL) (10 credits) An introduction to machine learning methods and modern data-mining techniques, with an emphasis on practical issues and applications. You’ll be introduced to different methods for dimension reduction and clustering (unsupervised learning), a range of classification methods beyond those covered in the Predictive Modelling course. You’ll also learn about neural networks, deep learning, kernel methods and support vector machines. DATA MINING AND MACHINE LEARNING II: BIG DATA AND UNSTRUCTURED DATA (ODL) (10 credits) This course will provide you with a grounding in data mining and machine learning methods used in big data scenarios. You will also learn methods for analysing networks and unstructured data, as well as formal methods for social network analysis and quantitative text analysis. LARGE-SCALE COMPUTING FOR DATA ANALYTICS (ODL) (10 credits) The course introduces students to deep learning and convolutional neural networks and presents an overview over systems for large-scale computing and big data. DATA ANALYTICS PROJECT (ODL) (60 credits) (MSc only) At the end of the programme you will complete a project, giving you the opportunity to put the skills you have acquired throughout the programme into practice. During the project you will solve a real-world data analytics problem using state-of-the-art data science methods. CAREER PROSPECTS The programme equips you with key data and analytical skills required to master the challenges and make the most of the opportunities in today's technology-driven world. The programme is specifically designed for employees in the public sector and will help you accelerate your career and progress to senior roles in data science and analytics.
While the amount of data being produced is proliferating at a staggering rate, the skills to extract information and the value we receive from it are both relatively scarce. Analytics and data-driven decisioning is playing an increasingly important role in the economy, society and public administration. Designed together with the Office for National Statistics, our MSc in Online Data Analytics for Government is based on our successful online MSc programme in Data Analytics and will provide you with vital skills required to develop your modelling and data handling expertise. You will gain a firm grounding in the principles of learning from data sets, whilst at the same time getting hands-on experience handling, analysing and visualising data, helping your organisation to maximise the insights and value extracted from its data.
King’s Business School is the new hub in London for engaging with business, finance and government; where game-changing research informs a contemporary approach to business education, creating socially responsible leaders of the future. Learn from leading academics and active senior finance professionals who will give you the right knowledge and tools to effectively tackle business challenges and support your career aspirations. There will be a strong focus on practical skills, giving you the right knowledge and tools to effectively tackle challenges in the global finance and banking sectors, and support your career aspirations. Fit your studies around your work and life commitments without taking a career break, and start to grow the essential research, analytical and critical thinking skills that you will need to succeed in your future finance career. Why study with King’s Business School? King’s College London has been ranked top in London for business & management studies (The Complete University Guide 2019). The course aims to develop practical skills and maximise employability. Course modules are led by industry leaders to ensure that there are real world applications for all of your learning. King’s Business School provides a highly stimulating intellectual environment, where students access unparalleled academic excellence and study alongside international peers from over 50 countries. Achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in as little as 8 months, a Postgraduate Diploma in 16 months and an MSc in just 2 years. Become part of a large and active community of alumni worldwide. Benefits of online learning: Access world-class teaching and excellent student support, from anywhere in the world, without leaving home. King’s online courses offer the same rigour as on-campus courses. Six intakes per year for maximum flexibility. Small class sizes allow close instructor interaction and collaboration with other professionals from across the globe. The course information sheet is a printable version of the information on this web page, which you can download here.
The 100% online MSc in Global Finance & Banking from King’s Business School allows you to explore advanced financial and banking principles, such as investment analysis, analysis of financial statements, models of asset returns, optimal investment & risk and portfolio management.
Courses available Machine Learning: Practical Applications online certificate course Explore machine learning techniques to optimise your data analyses for informed business decision-making. 8 weeks | 7-10 hours per week Public Policy Analysis online certificate course Gain practical skills and analytical frameworks for analysing, evaluating, and communicating public policy. 10 weeks | 7-10 hours per week Automation: Implementation in Business online certificate course Learn how to deploy and manage key service automation technologies in your organisation, ethically and effectively, for enhanced productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction. 6 weeks | 7-10 hours per week Real Estate Economics and Finance online certificate course Gain the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to make more informed real estate investment decisions. 8 weeks | 7-10 hours per week MBA Essentials online certificate course Gain holistic business and leadership skills to become a better manager, with this essential toolkit for the contemporary business environment 10 weeks | 8-12 hours per week Managerial Finance online certificate course Develop an understanding of the crucial frameworks and tools of modern corporate finance to make better managerial and investment decisions 6 weeks | 8-12 hours per week Business, International Relations and the Political Economy online certificate course Learn to maximise opportunities and mitigate risk stemming from global events with expert commentary and insights from LSE thought-leaders 8 weeks | 7-10 hours per week Negotiation Programme online certificate course Maximise your negotiation skills for business and career success in this six-week online course. 6 weeks | 7-10 hours per week Data Analysis for Management online certificate course Develop the skills you need to analyse, interpret and communicate data with confidence and impact within your organisation. 8 weeks | 7-10 hours per week Cryptocurrency and Disruption online certificate course Understand the theory and technology behind cryptocurrencies, how people invest in them and the future implications for business. 6 weeks | 7-10 hours per week How Online Courses Contribute to LSE's Mission LSE was founded to address real world issues - with the aim of understanding the causes of things for the betterment of society. Offering online certificate courses supports this vision, making LSE’s world-leading teaching and research accessible to a global audience. The interactive nature of the learning experience enables the School to reach the widest possible audience, and allows students worldwide to engage in the academic debate for which LSE is renowned. The Online Learning Experience Studying with LSE online, you’ll gain access to the insights and teaching of LSE subject experts and thought leaders, as you would on-campus, in addition to hearing from industry pioneers through video lectures. You’ll engage with real-world case studies and issues, and upon successful completion of your course you’ll walk away with a certificate from LSE - validation of the knowledge and skills you’ve gained. Presented in Collaboration with GetSmarter To present these online certificate courses, LSE is collaborating with online education leaders, GetSmarter. GetSmarter’s people-based, interactive and supportive learning model has resulted in unprecedented course completion rates, as well as measurable career improvements for many past students. Studying with LSE and GetSmarter, you’ll have a dedicated Success Manager and access to technical and academic support around the clock. This personalised and intimate approach allows you to study from anywhere in the world, at the time of your convenience, and still interact with your peers. Further Information and How to Apply For more information on these online certificate courses, visit the course pages below, or contact lseonline@getsmarter.com.
The London School of Economics and Political Science is now offering short, certificate courses, available online from anywhere in the world. These courses allow working professionals to enhance their skills online and in their own time, using a highly supportive and interactive learning platform.
London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)
Adding a new recruit to your team during the COVID-19 pandemic
In light of this, we’ve created a to-do list with pointers and tips, to help you welcome and acclimatize your newest team members while the pandemic is still ongoing. Publish and make employees aware of health and safety guidelines Should employees need to go into the office, whether regularly or sporadically, they ought to be familiar with the health and safety guidelines of the office. Hold a virtual meeting to bring new team members up to speed with the policies of your office. Send out periodic emails and post signs on the noticeboards and in thoroughfares in the office with the necessary information on the coronavirus pandemic and how employees can work along with each other and their employer, to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Information on local testing centers should also be provided; if employees are deemed at risk, they should easily know where they can be tested. Newly recruited team members may be coming from different regions or countries and so preparing a small virtual welcome packet with the regional and/or country rules on COVID-19, will certainly streamline the adjustment process for employees. This will protect team members as well as your institution or company by ensuring the people who make your entity successful, are as healthy, comfortable, happy and productive as can be. Facilitate virtual social events Colleagues connecting with one an another has never been more important. Social distancing rules and remote working have created barriers to normal human interaction and has negatively impacted regular socializing amongst colleagues. The need to find creative ways for team members to bond and feel a sense of togetherness is now more crucial than ever. To this end, we recommend organizing or otherwise facilitating designated hours at the end of the workday for team members to virtually mingle, share a drink or a meal or, to just unwind after a day’s work. A good idea is to designate the last hour of the last workday of the week to a social activity. If you want to learn more about the risks and challenges for job recruitment during the 2020 pandemic, download our e-guide resource about recruitment during Covid-19. ➲ Download our e-guide "Recruitment during Covid-19" here Furthermore, social and cultural differences between a team consisting of members from different backgrounds also need to be bridged. A great way of doing this is through socializing events. Organizing these types of events will not only score you points as an employer but also build team spirit and can increase productivity. Progress tracking facilities Invest in good task management or project tracking tools. These tools allow employees to keep abreast of the periodic tasks ahead of them while enabling them to effectively manage their goals. Task management tools are essential in a remote working setup since the usual in-person updates, reminders and meetings are now no longer feasible or as routine as they used to be. Task management tools allows you as an employer to measure productivity, understand employee performance and prevent micromanagement. This is also a great way for everyone to know what each of their team members is working on since the tasks and to whom they’re assigned is visible by anyone with access to your company’s dashboard. Quick, periodic updates When planning meetings, establish clear times and lengths so everyone knows how long they have to dedicate to them. This will prevent meetings running way over the time needed for their purpose. Have fixed rules which allow for personal updates during daily meetings to be no longer than 60 seconds. This enables persons to streamline their thought process and focus on the essentials when giving their updates. Also, it prevents people from going into too much detail which is often irrelevant for most other team members. Doing this will allow employees to better plan their days and manage their time, boosting productivity. During the upcoming months, we are releasing a series of articles on recruitment tips and advice during Covid-19. If you are interested in following this series, subscribe to our Newsletter. As a welcome gift you will receive our recruitment e-guide as well as exclusive access to special promotions for our subscribers. If you are interested in promoting jobs offered by your institution, please contact us at info@inomics.com. We will be happy to boost and support your job recruitment strategy during these tough times, plan and optimize your strategy for 2021, or support you filling in the last applicant quotas in 2020.
Although recruiting efforts were initially slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic, things are picking up again. Companies, organizations and academic institutions all seem to be getting back into the swing of things.
Download the INOMICS Handbook With 11 years left to 2030, there is a sense of urgency and a recognition that innovative approaches are necessary to overcome the challenges IsDB Member Countries face in reaching the SDGs. This is where The Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF) comes in. Launched in 2016, the LLF is the product of a unique partnership model that provides highly concessional financing up to US$2.5 billion. It does so by combining the ordinary financing of the IsDB with donated grants from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), and the UK’s Department for International Development. Recipient low-income member countries pay back the IsDB while donors indirectly cover the markup rate under IsDB financing, in doing so dramatically reducing the cost of borrowing. The LLF, a bonded partnership compact between some of the biggest development organizations in the Gulf, targets the key drivers of poverty in the most marginalized Muslim populations. In particular, it seeks to address critical needs in health (specifically, primary healthcare & infectious disease control) agriculture (smallholder farmers’ production & productivity), and basic infrastructure. The development impact of LLF investments is maximized further by combining technical support from international donors, innovative implementation models involving the private sector, and a special Project Preparation and Implementation Facility (PPIF). The PPIF is devoted to increasing the relevance, readiness and results (the 3Rs) of projects eligible for LLF funding, measuring them against a refined criteria for selection, and thus laying the foundations from which millions of lives can be saved and livelihoods secured. Thanks to the relentless efforts of the LLF Management Unit, in close collaboration with relevant IsDB entities and regional hubs, the Fund has approved projects worth over US$1.16 billion to a total of 19 different countries - and disbursements are only increasing. With respect to health, the LLF has provided funding designed to improve the ability of IsDB member countries to eradicate infectious diseases. Notable examples include a US$100 million approved project in Pakistan to fight polio, and a US$32 million project in Senegal to eliminate malaria for good, both of which were in partnership with UNICEF and the Global Fund. Freeing these countries from such maladies allows their respective workforces to better contribute to economic development. The LLF also provides guidelines as to how recipient countries can provide better public healthcare to their populations. Cameroon, for instance, has received US$30 million of LLF funding for improving its healthcare system, while Djibouti was awarded a US$20 million of concessional financing to help improve its mother and child healthcare management. And the LLF isn’t neglecting its responsibility to help tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, either. It will be redistributing certain existing health investments to make sure essential services can continue running, as well as increasing them to help with the response to and recovery from the virus. Moreover, the LLF will invest in strengthening the agriculture sector in at-risk countries to ward off the potential collapse of this industry. COVID-19 affects us all, and the LLF will be playing its part to stop it. In a joint effort with reputable development actors such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), BADEA, and IFAD, the LFF is revolutionizing the traditional way of feeding vulnerable populations. It does so by adopting an approach that addresses both nutrition and production, while also taking into account the value chain at a regional level, in order to maximize synergies between the private and public sector to achieve economies of scale. It was with this method that, in 2016, the LLF approved a US$90 million livestock value chain development project that covered Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. In 2016 and again in 2018, the Regional Rice Value Chain Development Program amounting to more than US$100 million and covering The Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone and Senegal was also announced. These investments contributed to helping recipient governments reduce their food self-sufficiency deficit, boost their livestock and agriculture production, and reduce their spending on food imports. The LLF is also transforming the lives and livelihoods of millions of people through improving sanitation systems, thus dramatically reducing the disastrous spread and impact of waterborne diseases. To this end, the LLF has approved a US$54 million project to improve the water and sanitation of the city of Conakry in Guinea, and a US$49 million project for sustainably improving the sanitation system in Abidjan and eleven secondary cities in the Ivory Coast. We are proud to confirm that the LLF is now acknowledged as the largest development initiative of its kind based in the Middle East. It has established itself as one of the best means IsDB member countries have of achieving the SDGs by the 2030 deadline. That being said, much remains to be done to address the many problems these countries face. Many still require support in rebuilding their national health care systems, developing food self-sufficiency, and strengthening their ability to provide potable water, clean power, and decent sanitation systems to their poorest communities. Our ambition is to save millions of lives by eradicating extreme poverty and extending a helping hand to vulnerable people in the world. That the LLF has approved financing of over US$1.16 billion in the three years since its inception demonstrates that when committed actors join forces, anything is possible. We strongly encourage international donors, regional development actors, and all organizations committed to eradicating poverty and disease in the poorest countries to stand with us; for as a united front, we will achieve the SDGs by 2030.
Four years ago, the world adopted an ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) designed ‘to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030’. Despite rising life expectancy and the eradication of many endemic diseases, more than 400 million people in the member states of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) still live in absolute poverty, subsisting on less than US$1.90 per day. It is, perhaps, these countries that face the greatest challenges in fulfilling the SDGs. Traditional methods of development finance have struggled to alleviate the extreme poverty in some regions of the world, leaving the poorest populations without the basic building blocks needed to lead healthy lives and build dignified livelihoods. Many remain deprived of primary healthcare, protection against infectious diseases, a sufficient and nutritious food supply, potable water, clean power, and sanitation.
Economic Development, Innovation and Growth (JEL O)
Best practices for every stage in the job recruitment process during Covid-19
Here we’ve compiled a list of tips and solutions to help make your recruitment plans more befitting. Job Advertising: Communication is key! Being as clear as possible in the job description in terms of the role, expectations and tasks to be performed, will help build a good rapport and trust with job applicants. Include flexible working hours, childcare, health insurance and the possibility to work remotely to incentivize applicants. Consistency and clarity in your recruitment offer should be achieved through cooperation between the HR, PR and marketing departments. Processing Applications: A clear application process should be defined by the HR department to ensure the timely and efficient processing of incoming applications. Information should also be communicated to applicants promptly and succinctly and updates should be given regularly. These will help boost your status as an employer and score you points in the minds of prospective employees, building overall positive associations with your institution and brand. Current employees should also be kept in the loop when recruiting new candidates; don’t forget to update team members and let them know who will be joining them and when. Rakuna is a great one-stop shop for optimizing your recruiting needs. From automating interview scheduling, to digitizing the entire application process, Rakuna can help you to centralize your recruitment activities, boost candidate experience and build employer branding. If you want to learn more about the risks and challenges for job recruitment during the 2020 pandemic, download our e-guide resource about recruitment during Covid-19. ➲ Download our e-guide "Recruitment during Covid-19" here Candidate pre-selection: If your vacancy requires a pre-assessment of skills, ensure the test or interview can be done remotely. The software and hardware needs and constraints of the candidate also need to be taken into account; if your assessment requires a certain browser, speed of internet connection or other particular requirement, be sure to communicate this well in advance to the candidate so that they are adequately prepared. Interviews: The technological and software requirements of the interview and communication process should be factored into your budget. Investing in reliable technology and communications services will make the interview process hurdle-free, putting you and your candidate at ease and ensuring the efficiency of the process. Be empathetic to the needs and questions of your candidate during this process. Remember, remote communication can be somewhat alienating so try to bridge the gap by being understanding and taking time to address the candidate’s queries. Hiring Process: Confirming and cross-checking references can be challenging; getting a hold of the referees via online communication requires planning and patience. Be sure to set up meeting times for video calls well in advance so everyone can be properly organized. Also, the process should be able to be done entirely online. Not only is this solution safer, but it is cheaper and less time consuming for all parties involved. Onboarding: Despite the working from home set-up, the company culture should still remain. Efficient messaging, task management and communication systems are essential. Google Hangouts and Slack are great messaging tools while Kronos, Oracle or Asana are excellent project and task management solutions. Making use of these are sure to enhance the communication and management experience for your team. Remember to always include virus safety information to ensure the maintenance of good health of everyone. During the upcoming months, we are releasing a series of articles on recruitment tips and advice during Covid-19. If you are interested in following this series, subscribe to our Newsletter. As a welcome gift you will receive our recruitment e-guide as well as exclusive access to special promotions for our subscribers. If you are interested in promoting jobs offered by your institution, please contact us at info@inomics.com. We will be happy to boost and support your job recruitment strategy during these tough times, plan and optimize your strategy for 2021, or support you filling in the last applicant quotas in 2020.
COVID-19 has undoubtedly brought about fundamental changes in the ways in which we have traditionally approached recruiting. Job recruiting strategies have to be flexible and dynamic to ensure they fit with the current climate.
If you’re on the hunt for a behavioural economics program, or if you’re currently studying and just want to make sure you stay in the know, it’s definitely worth browsing some of the best books which have been written on the subject over the last few years. Maybe it’ll make you feel as though you’ve done something productive today! INOMICS and our parent company 11 Academia Networks are Amazon Associates, 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. Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics - Richard Thaler Nobel Prize winning behavioral economist megastar Richard Thaler brings us a beautifully written, engaging, often funny look into the world of a discipline he helped get to its feet. Building on the work of a previous book, Nudge, which he cowrote with Cass R. Sunstein, it simultaneously deals with the principles of behavioral economics while also describing the troubles he had convincing other economists of the importance of irrationality when it comes to economics. Behavioral economics takes many of its cues from psychology, coupled with ‘a practical understanding of incentives and market behavior’, and Thaler attempts to help the reader make better decisions - in business, in government, and in life. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions - Dan Ariely Most of us think that rational behavior guides our actions - that we are always making decisions that can be justified. But when we take a step back to think about chain smoking, junk food, extreme sports, and going back for sixths at all-you-can-eat buffets, it becomes clear this isn’t the case. Ariely, behavioral economist at MIT, attempts to answer the question of why seemingly intelligent humans don’t always act in their own interests (as orthodox economics believes) and instead make irrational decisions. Mixing everyday experiences with scientific research, he shows how emotions, societal norms, and expectations influence our decision making processes, and offers insights into how to break out of these cycles. Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference - David Halpern Based on Thaler’s idea of ‘nudging’ people (also known as libertarian paternalism) into making better, more rational decisions in their lives, the Nudge Unit (or Behavioural Insights Team) was created as a small part of the British government to promote this goal. Now a much larger institution, Halpern’s book describes the institution’s journey, from an idea to where they are now: saving us and the government millions of pounds by nudging us to make small changes to our behavior that we don’t even necessarily realise. What Works: Gender Equality by Design - Iris Bohnet Bohnet’s groundbreaking work takes behavioral economics and uses it for a more noble pursuit: that of gender equality in the workplace. Her findings reveal that trying to change mindsets doesn’t really work, due to the persistence of unconscious biases. To combat this, she builds on the work of behavioral scientists, showing that there are ways of changing organisations, rather than the people within them, which helps equality. Mostly, this involves changing - and not even by much - the practices with which companies pick their talent. Examples include making changes to interview procedures, being sure to have the right percentage of positive discrimination, and altering hierarchies. Most of all these changes are relatively small, and not particularly costly, but could make a huge difference - and create a more equal society for all. The Ethics of Influence: Government in the Age of Behavioral Science - Cass R. Sunstein Thaler’s coauthor of Misbehaving, Sunstein presents the ethical case for their famous idea of the ‘nudge’. Since the idea’s inception, it has been used to help people and governments better protect the environment, reduce poverty, and improve economic growth, as well as make people's personal lives happier and more fulfilling. Addressing ideas such as manipulation, welfare, and how far the state is allowed to reach, Sunstein presents the fors and againsts for nudges, recounting how governments have used them, and ultimately makes the case (unsurprisingly) that nudges should be used often by governments to improve society - while not ignoring the fact that sometimes, nudges can be manipulative and ethically wrong. Happiness by Design: Finding Pleasure and Purpose in Everyday Life - Paul Dolan Once we realised that what advertising sells us isn’t happiness but pleasure, the next narrative was that we can become happy simply by changing our mindset. One example of this is meditation, an undisputedly positive activity which can increase wellbeing. However, Dolan has another trick for us: change your behaviour, rather than your mindset, by altering the environment around you - sometimes in extremely minor ways. The three steps he lays out to doing this are deciding, designing, and doing, showing how where we spend our attention - because focusing on one thing means we are unable, by definition, to focus on something else - is directly correlated to how happy we are. Scientific, amusing, and offering practical advice on how to change, Happiness by Design is a roadmap to creating a happy life, and turning off the autopilot with which many of us exist.
The current circumstances can be tough: being isolated from families and friends is difficult, and having to spend most of our time inside isn’t particularly healthy. However, there is one thing you can spend a lot of time doing which will improve your quality of life exponentially: reading!
The total income in an economy is distributed among its citizens and every one receives a certain share of this income. In most societies the majority of the people earn a comparatively low income relative to the average income. That is, in most countries the median income is lower than the mean (or average) income, implying that for the majority of people their share of the total income is small. At the same time, a few very rich people with extremely high salaries own a large share of the income in an economy. This means that income is distributed unequally, because a few people have a lot, while the majority of the population has very little. In a perfectly egalitarian world in which everyone earned the same, income would be distributed equally. Just imagine the economy as a whole as a small firm. The money that the firm earns is distributed among its employees. Usually the boss or CEO obtains the highest share followed by managers or employees in leading positions. The other employees receive lower shares depending on their position and the cleaning and maintenance stuff will earn the least. If you are studying economics (or had some economics courses during your degree) you will know that we economists usually care about whether the distribution of resources is efficient and whether redistribution can increase efficiency. An efficient distribution however does not have to be fair or just (see Pareto efficiency). While there is widespread consensus among economists that efficiency is a desirable property, economists do not agree on whether inequality is problematic or not. Or to be more precise, no one knows what would be a good level of inequality. Most economists agree that a certain level of inequality is necessary to make sure that individuals or firms have an incentive to innovate and exert effort, which is crucial for economic growth. The possibility to earn (and consequently consume) more than others provides an incentive for firms to invent new products or produce more efficiently. At the same time high levels of inequality may impede growth and many high-income countries have comparatively low levels of inequality. Besides this, countries with a high degree of income inequality might be more prone to social unrest, meaning more resources have to be dedicated to enforce property rights, and guarantee safety and stability. This is why many policymakers are concerned about the distribution of income and wealth and often use taxes to redistribute income and guarantee a certain standard of living to their citizens. Given the question of how much equality or inequality is desirable is a controversial one, many economists that study inequality focus on describing and analyzing the evolution of inequality over time or comparing how income is distributed in different countries or regions. How to measure inequality There are different ways of measuring and quantifying (income) inequality. In general, we say that the more concentrated the income (or wealth) is in the hands of a few, the higher the inequality in the society. When we are interested in studying the income distribution in an economy we often start by comparing the income being earned by different quantiles or percentiles of the society. These measures are also called share ratios. For instance, the 80-20 ratio compares the share of the total income that is earned by the top 20% of the income distribution to the bottom 20%. Another important measure of inequality is the Lorenz curve together with the Gini-coefficient which takes a value between 0 and 1. Higher values of the Gini-coefficient are associated with a less equal distribution of income. Besides share ratios and the Gini-coefficient, other important measures are the Theil-coefficient or the Palma ratio. As each of these measures has its own strengths and weaknesses it is usually recommended to use several of them together to get a more accurate picture of the distribution of income in a society. So far, we have only been talking about inequality from a purely theoretical point of view and many of you may be interested in looking at the data. Comparing income inequality across different countries, we can see that many countries with comparatively low levels of inequality (often with Gini-coefficients around or below 0.3) are in Europe as e.g. Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Norway or Sweden. High levels of inequality can be found in the South of the African continent (the Gini-coefficient for South Africa for instance is estimated to be above 0.6) or in Central America as in Brazil, Columbia, Mexico or Venezuela (see e.g. The World Bank – Gini index). In many Central American countries, however, inequality has (at least slightly) decreased over the last decades. While inequality in most high-income countries has decreased over the last century, some countries as e.g. the United States have experienced again rising levels of inequality during the last decades. Further reading One concern some economists share about high levels of inequality in a society is a possible positive relationship between inequality in crime. Choe (Economic Letters, 2008) investigates the relationship between income inequality and crime in the United States and finds that there is a strong effect of relative income inequality on burglary as well as on robbery. Enamorado et al (Journal of Development Economics, 2016) use Mexico´s drug war to study the relationship between income inequality and violent crime. They also find evidence of a positive relationship between higher levels of inequality and violent crime and show that a one-point increment in the Gini coefficient implies a 36 increase in the homicide rate. Good to know One main problem for economists interested in income or wealth inequality is the lack of availability of reliable data. Especially the comparison across countries can be difficult simply because different countries use different databases and some (developing) countries do not have reliable or consistent data at all. If you are interested in studying income and wealth distribution there are a few data sources you might be interested in having a look at. For example, the Luxembourg wealth studies attempt to construct a detailed database containing wealth data of most European countries. On the same page you can also find the Luxembourg income studies that provide the same information on the income level. Another database is the “Survey of consumer finances” that collects detailed information about the income and wealth situation in US households.
Inequality in economics refers to the study of the (unequal) distribution of resources within a society. Usually when economists talk about inequality they mean income inequality, i.e., the unequal distribution of the total income in an economy among its citizens. Sometimes the term inequality is used in other contexts as e.g. wealth inequality or also inequality of opportunities or consumption.
Applied Statistical Modelling & Health Informatics MSc, PGCert, PGDip
You will receive world-class training in core statistical, machine learning and computational methodology, and you will have the opportunity to apply your skills to real-life settings facilitated by the world-leading Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. The course will apply to a broad spectrum of graduates preparing for a career in medical statistics and health informatics, or professional methodologists and clinical researchers working in the private or public health sector. This course is also suitable if you are a graduate in/work in the fields of computer science, maths, physics, engineering and natural science, including psychology and medicine. Key benefits Specialist careers for those interested in applied statistical modelling and health informatics within a modern information and knowledge-based medical research setting. Valuable insight from those working at the cutting edge of these fields. A unique flexibly-structured programme ideal for researchers in industry and academia hoping to obtain methodological skills to boost their research excellence and employability. Develop your skills in multimodal and big data analysis techniques. Learn how omics, electronic health records, social media, wearables and smartphone data are used to benefit the patient. Apply your skills to real-life health settings facilitated by the world-leading Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. Access the IoPPN’s statistical and health informatics research groups and benefit from our links with industry and the NHS. Benefit from outstanding career, networking and mentoring opportunities.
This course has been created to deliver a skill set and knowledge base in “multimodal” and “big data” analysis techniques, which are a recognised scarcity within UK Life sciences.
Global Finance & Banking MSc, PG Dip, PG Cert
King’s Business School is the new hub in London for engaging with business, finance and government; where game-changing research informs a contemporary approach to business education, creating socially responsible leaders of the future. Learn from leading academics and active senior finance professionals who will give you the right knowledge and tools to effectively tackle business challenges and support your career aspirations. There will be a strong focus on practical skills, giving you the right knowledge and tools to effectively tackle challenges in the global finance and banking sectors, and support your career aspirations. Fit your studies around your work and life commitments without taking a career break, and start to grow the essential research, analytical and critical thinking skills that you will need to succeed in your future finance career. Why study with King’s Business School? King’s College London has been ranked top in London for business & management studies (The Complete University Guide 2019). The course aims to develop practical skills and maximise employability. Course modules are led by industry leaders to ensure that there are real world applications for all of your learning. King’s Business School provides a highly stimulating intellectual environment, where students access unparalleled academic excellence and study alongside international peers from over 50 countries. Achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in as little as 8 months, a Postgraduate Diploma in 16 months and an MSc in just 2 years. Become part of a large and active community of alumni worldwide. Benefits of online learning: Access world-class teaching and excellent student support, from anywhere in the world, without leaving home. King’s online courses offer the same rigour as on-campus courses. Six intakes per year for maximum flexibility. Small class sizes allow close instructor interaction and collaboration with other professionals from across the globe.
The 100% online MSc, PG Dip & PG Cert in Global Finance & Banking from King’s Business School allows you to explore advanced financial and banking principles, such as investment analysis, analysis of financial statements, models of asset returns, optimal investment & risk and portfolio management.