As part of the ongoing development of Why Study Economics and Studying Economics, we are now looking for student contributors. Because the websites are aimed at Economics applicants and students respectively, we think it is very important for us to have students’ views reflected in our content.
The content provided can be in any format about anything related to Economics: current affairs and politics to day-to-day activities, such as analysis of economic concepts in movies and music. We also encourage entries about the social life of Economics students. Most entries will go to Economics in Action blog, but there is a possibility to write a material for other sections of the websites.
Being a contributor for us will be beneficial for you in many ways. Firstly, if you want to pursue journalism, this is a great way to start. The websites are very popular with lecturers and students, so you will have an audience. If you become a frequent contributor, we will make sure your name appears on the websites, and this will look great on your CVs. Finally, writing something contemporary and interesting will widen your views about Economics as well as distract you from all the maths you have to do for your course.
If you are interested, please email Anh with your details and a possible entry. We can also discuss what sort of material you would want to write or feel comfortable writing.
In his Spending Review yesterday, George Osborne announced a 40% cut in the teaching budget for universities. This is part of the coalition’s plan to tackle the UK’s historical deficit. Universities now have no other option than increase tuition fees in order to fill the new gap in funding. This will be possible if Browne plan is implemented. Essentially, the implementation of this proposal will create a free market for higher education in the UK, very similar to what already exists in the US. However, this also signals the end to a great education system that used to be free and available to everyone. So, what do we take from this?
The cost of teaching a degree is estimated to be around £7,000. Under the current system, universities are allowed to charge students up to £3,290, which most of them do. The remaining cost is then subsidised by the government. If the cap on tuition fees is removed, we can expect most elite universities to raise their fees without facing a decrease in demand for places (demand for places at big universities is indeed very inelastic). This will enable them to invest more in researches and compete with big American universities.
However, there is also a downside to this. Firstly, creating a market place for higher education will benefit only a certain group of universities. As in any other competitive market, smaller and less prestigious universities will struggle to compete and shut down eventually. This will increase unemployment level in the public sector (not every lecturer can go and work for a private company), which in turn will have a wider adverse effect on our newly recovered economy. Furthermore, bright students from poor families will no longer be able to go to places like Oxford or Cambridge simply because they cannot afford them.
In the end, higher education is a public good that will always be under provided in a market system. This is why government provision of education is so vital. However, a market for higher education now means it is money that gets you into the best universities, not your real academic potential.
Please comment below to let us know what you think.
Nowadays, environment and sustainability is on everyone’s mind. The idea of not having clean water to drink or clean air to breathe is terrifying, yet we are not doing enough to make significant changes. Governments of the world are still fighting with each other instead of working together on the issue. Perhaps it is time we took the matter in our hands and started acting. Luckily, there is an organisation dedicated to this cause.
Oikos is an international student organisation for sustainable economics and management. They have local chapters located at universities in Europe and beyond, counting more than 50’000 students of Economics and Management. In addition Oikos is working with PhD Students and Faculty from across the globe and welcomes a growing Alumni community.
Visit their website to find out how you can get involved.
Sheila C. Bair, who chairs the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), has another string to her bow: she’s the author of Isabel’s car wash, a children’s book in which little Isabel borrows money and washes cars so she can buy a doll.
It’s not every day you see a children’s book taken apart for its assumptions about consumer behaviour and the private sector, but that’s just what reviewer Glenn Fleishman does, with tongue somewhat in cheek. Fleishman seems exasperated that plenty of adults’ understanding of money and markets is no more sophisticated than Isabel’s Car Wash, and that some of those adults have responsible jobs.
If there is anyone who should know, it’s Andrew Bailey, because if you look at the bank notes in your pockets and wallets, his signature will be on all of them. Robert Peston, the BBC ‘s business editor, went to the Bank of England to chat to the man who makes the money we use. He examines how we got into the recent financial crisis and what you can do to protect yourself.
With Greece’s debt rated ‘junk’ what effect will it have on the rest of Europe and the UK?
Stephine Flanders writes that
“Like other governments that are borrowing a lot, ours would be vulnerable if international investors decide, overnight, that sovereign debt isn’t a safe bet after all. We recently won the chance to host the Olympics. But there the similarity ends…
That may change. We may, after all, have some serious political uncertainty coming down the track. But market movements today are a good reflection of the distance between London and Athens.
Investors may worry a lot more about Britain’s public finances than they did a few years ago. But they worry half as much about it as they worry about Greece.”
Why does this matter? Well think back to the banking crisis two years agoand the knock on effect that one shake can have on a nation. Imagine rather than banks whole nations collapsing. Economist Jonathan Loynes, of Capital Economics, said that Greece could be a “sovereign equivalent” of Lehman Brothers; the bank which started the collapse.
Will we have to bail out a whole country? Several countries? Time will tell.
Britain’s next Chancellor will oversee the start of most sustained squeeze on public spending in at least 60 years.
Without huge tax rises, government departments will have to cut around £37bn from their budgets by 2013-14. Yet all three main parties refuse to explain how at least £30bn of these savings will be found.
To illustrate the scale of the challenge, the Financial Times has simulated the next three year spending review, highlighting the type of decisions the next chancellor will face if taxation stays on the same path.
You need to register to play (but it’s free).
It’s a good introduction to the tough decisions that the next chancellor will have to make.
In this fun video, chocolate enthusiast James Ward describes how he visited more than 140 locations in London checking the price and sale condition of Cadbury’s Twirl chocolate bars. One of his slides includes the economist Adam Smith, and Ward sees his Twirl project as providing consumers with the information they need for the market to function smoothly. With his Google Map, you can save yourself as much as 10p by locating the cheapest Twirl on your street.
Ward even generated some statistics from his data, although he admits his correlation of shop name and Twirl availability is “worthless”. No one can accuse him of taking himself too seriously.
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