‘Open Access’ has been a bit of a buzzword in academic circles over the last couple of years. Its rise to popularity has come from a combination of factors including the increased price to access academic journals, as well as increased access to the internet, which has had the effect of speeding up the rate at which information travels.

With English being considered the “must-have language”, is there a need for economists to learn a foreign language, or does it concern only those who work or want to work in the business field in a non-English speaking country?

Three Economists go out hunting

In between the common subdisciplines of economics like international or financial economics, lie many much smaller specializations, for example the economics of language. The term “economics of language“ is defined by François Grin, to be “the paradigm of mainstream theoretical economics and uses the concepts and tools of economics in the study of relationships featuring linguistic variables, it focuses principally, but non exclusively, on those relationships in which economic variables also play a part”.

The Tilburg University Economics Ranking Sandbox For anyone that doesn’t know it, the Tilburg University Economics Ranking, which ranks economics departments based on contributions to articles published in any one of 62 (mostly English-language) economics-related journals, is well worth a look.

The cost of education varies enormously depending on what one studies and where. In the last few years, there has been plenty of hype about the ‘Higher Education Bubble,’ brought to the attention of the media by the Economist last year. This phenomena seems to be particularly prominent in the business-oriented fields worldwide and as an overarching situation in the US.

The move from high school to university or college can be a daunting one, often made more difficult by the question ‘what am I going to study.’ This is naturally influenced by personal interests, past experiences, parents, friends, and teachers, but when it comes down to it, it is the student that has to decide what is interesting for them. I have taken a troll around the Internet to see what people have to say in favour of studying economics and come up with some interesting answer.

Every year, Max Bazerman, a Harvard Business School professor runs the exact same experiment with his students. In short form, he auctions off a $20 bill but places strict rules on how the betting can take place regulating who pays, and who wins.

You've been accepted to give a talk at a conference, you've worked on your presentation, and you're ready to go – now you just need to keep your nerves under control! It's very common to struggle with nervousness when presenting, so consider these tips to help you deal with this.