Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the sum of all goods and services that a country produces in a given year, adjusted - to make it comparable to previous years - for inflation. In many ways, though, it has become much more than that. It has become the barometer of a country’s progress, an indicator of a land’s prosperity, and the ultimate yardstick for assessing living standards. Some have even gone as far as describing it as 'the statistic to end all statistics'.

There are many excellent economics blogs out there. Whether you want to read commentaries on economic policy, find out what people are currently researching, or simply keep up to date with the latest economic happenings across the world, there are blogs for all tastes. Economics bloggers vary widely from individual students and professors sharing their thoughts on the state of the profession to blogging superstars like Greg Mankiw, Paul Krugman and Tyler Cowen, whose analyses are backed by years of experience and a deep knowledge of the field.

Few would contest it has been the ideology of our political age. Ever since the 1980s, it has dominated western politics, underpinning governance, influencing culture, and leaving its indelible mark across society. During this time its core tenets were rarely challenged and only its peripheral aspects tweaked. The 2008 financial crash, however, changed this, and for the first time confidence in neoliberalism was shaken. With the loss of savings, skyrocketing inequality and falling living standards that followed, people began to question the system that had facilitated such a calamity.

Podcasts are a great way not only to enrich your knowledge, but also to look at an already familiar matter from a different perspective. Normally, podcasts are issued in the style of lectures, talks, interviews or just short commentaries, and cover either current economic issues or pure academic topics.

Along with a border wall and vague promises of greatness, one of Trump’s key campaign pledges was to bring back jobs to the American people. He situated himself, in contrast to Clinton, as the protector of the everyman, a mystical demographic that were at the mercy of the Chinese, their jobs being poached from right under their noses. His plan – as far as he ever articulated it – was predictably grandiose, and in part based on the resuscitation of the dying coal industry. The mines, he promised, would be brought back, en masse, bringing with them jobs and prosperity.

There are lots of different types of academic event that you might want to attend, such as conferences, seminars, workshops and symposiums. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks, and generally they have a different slant. Size, for instance, is usually a big factor in whether something is regarded as a conference or a symposium. Usually the difference between a conference and a symposium is that a conference will be a larger event and a symposium a smaller one.

Having a Master's degree is a valuable way to advance your career and gain more knowledge in your chosen field. Unlike an undergraduate degree program, you may not have to go to school full time to achieve this step in your education. However, it does require some time and effort, which means you'll need to figure out how to fit it in with your lifestyle. If that lifestyle includes travel as a priority, you may wonder how you can complete your Master's without giving up your travel schedule. The good news is that you can do both.

As a policy, support for Universal Basic Income (UBI) flouts traditional political and social lines, making unlikely bedfellows of those on both the right and left wing. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, free-market evangelist Milton Friedman, and firebrand economist Yanis Varoufakis all count among its high profile, and rather disparate, champions. With the help of their advocacy the initiative has entered into mainstream consciousness, and widespread political discussion of its implementation, in contrast to a few years ago, is now readily had.

The Brexit clock is now deafening, and the British political and media establishments seem utterly consumed by its inexorable ticking. In the public realm, little else is considered, even less discussed. And yet, despite this obsession, with just 42 days before Britain departs the European Union, negotiations for a withdrawal agreement remain in deadlock, and the hopes of breakthrough seem to be fading. At the core of the dispute is the Irish backstop and, by proxy, participation in a customs union.

In the cacophony of the Brexit debate the names Phnom Penh, Dhaka and Addis Ababa, if ever spoken, are rarely heard. And yet, with the March deadline looming on the not-too-distant horizon, and little, if anything, seemingly agreed upon, it is they who stand to be most affected, particularly if a no deal comes to pass. And things in that regard are not looking good. For career opportunities and job listings in business, finance, and economics, take a look at our jobs section.

With every passing day - and they seem to be whizzing by now – the likelihood of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, known as a ‘no deal Brexit’, is increasing. For the large majority, the prospect of this is nightmarish. In the event, it is widely understood that there would be a number of inevitabilities: the economy would slump, possibly crash; many businesses would flee, and with them whatever tax receipts they hadn’t yet evaded; and the Tory hard right would sit back and revel.

As we can all envision, the world of cryptocurrency is most decidedly here to stay! Gone are the days of “we’ll just wait to see how things go” as the words Blockchain and Bitcoin more and more common in everyday conversations with both colleagues and friends. But as we look forward to upcoming trends or even attemp to develop a better understanding of cryptocurrencies and how they work, there comes a time when doing a few random Google searches just isn’t going to cut it any more when expanding your business or making an investment.

One area of life that is greatly influenced by economics but you might not think of as a typical economics topic is sports and match betting. Gambling on sporting events is a huge international multimillion dollar industry covering gambling from traditional betting events like dog or horse races to modern betting outfits that let you place bets on everything from how many goals will be scored in a given match to which players will be picked for a draft.

Can economics ever be ethical? This might sound like a strange question to an economist who focuses on collecting data, analysing it, and using that data to make predictions. What ethical considerations could be raised here? What do abstract theories of ethics have to do with cold, hard economic facts? Today we'll look at some of the ways that economics interacts with the topic of ethics.

‘Chance dominates the game’. This conclusionary remark to C. Reep and B. Benjamin’s 1968 study ‘Skill and Chance in Association Football’ stood until relatively recently as received wisdom, the phrase was deemed self-evident and its veracity left unquestioned. Predictions based on statistics were a folly they said, the sport was ‘too fluid, too unpredictable’. Browse our job listings for more opportunities

All academics know how important it is to get your work published. The journal which you publish your work in can have a big effect on how it is perceived and on how many people it reaches, so it’s important to make the right decision when submitting your work for publication. You want to make sure that you submit to a journal which has a strong professional reputation for your work to be taken seriously.

Although it is generally thought of mainly as a theoretical academic subject, economics has been a driving force in society for thousands of years. The exchange of money and the way that financial systems interact has lead to some of the most profound changes to the everyday lives of human beings across the planet. To illustrate how the practice of economics has changed the world, today we'll look at the role of economics in Western history from the 6th century BC era up to the present day.

The topic of economics is rich with great writing, and many books have been published over the years which tackle economic issues for a popular audience. Here is our list of ten of the best books in the area of economics. Many of the books here are bestsellers, but we have included a few lesser-known titles that have had an important impact on how the public perceives economics. Some titles, too, are interdisciplinary, combining science, psychology and economics to explain history and human processes; others are narratives of events.

Economics is a broad and always developing subject, and there have been many schools of economic thought over the years. Today we'll be looking at two prominent schools that are relevant for modern economists, Marxian and neoclassical economics, to see how they differ and why they both continue to be of interest despite their many differences. If you're currently looking for a PhD, check out our list of open PhD positions.

The holidays are coming up soon, with Christmas just around the corner. If you want to avoid last-minute panicked present-buying, you had better get to planning the gifts you'll be giving. And what if you have an economist in your life? What would be the perfect gift for them? We're here to help your Christmas gift woes with some fun suggestions for the 10 best gift ideas for an economist. Happy holidays!

Is economics a useful tool for maintaining peace? Can nations use economic policies to avoid war? With globalization an established fact of modern politics, this question is more important than ever. In this piece, we'll consider arguments both for and against. If you're looking for an event to attend this year, check out our conference listings