Dec 14, 2021 | Business & Economics
Since the COVID pandemic, the United States and other countries have faced challenges in terms of economic recovery. This has resulted in issues such as supply chain disruptions and what has been reported as high rates of inflation. What is inflation? What is causing...
Nov 7, 2021 | Business & Economics
By Stefano Riela As Covid-19 cases decline, capacity constraints and shortages should ease, spending on travel and entertainment should pick up, slowing demand for goods and taking some of the pressure off supply chains and delivery times. In recent months it has been...
Oct 5, 2021 | Business & Economics
By Alastair Smith Global food prices shot up nearly 33% in September 2021 compared with the same period the year before. That’s according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)‘s monthly Food Price Index, which also found that global prices have risen by...
Oct 5, 2021 | Business & Economics, Politics & Society
By Laurie Macfarlane Soaring gas prices have exposed longstanding vulnerabilities in Britain’s energy system. A radical overhaul is long overdue. “There’s absolutely no question of the lights going out,” the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, told the...
Sep 9, 2021 | Business & Economics, Politics & Society
By James Meadway From taming Big Tech to competing with China, Western governments are abandoning free-market policies. Could it be that the free-market policies that have dominated policymaking for the past 40 years are finally on their way out? In the past six...
Mar 8, 2021 | Business & Economics
By Stefano Riela Stefano Riela asks how big the economies are of authoritarian regimes. The economy of authoritarian regimes comprises 30% of the World economy (see the red line in the figure). This percentage is on the rise, in contrast to what Francis Fukuyama...
Mar 1, 2021 | Business & Economics, Politics & Society
The COVID-19 pandemic in America has exposed distinct economic divides throughout the country. But much of the issue of poverty in the US is based on public images rather than empirical evidence. What are the myths about poverty in the US? Can a better understanding...
Feb 24, 2021 | Business & Economics, Politics & Society
By Gilbert Wong New Zealand has its own world expert on the economics of happiness. Professor Robert MacCulloch says the pandemic is an opportunity to show how we could do a lot better. In the annual World Happiness Report, New Zealand consistently sits in the top ten...
Jan 21, 2021 | Business & Economics, Science & Technology
By Laurie Macfarlane COVID-19 and climate change are two sides of the same coin. To overcome both we must confront their root cause: an economic system that is killing the planet. Last year will be remembered for many things, and let’s be honest: most of them will be...
Jan 18, 2021 | Business & Economics, Politics & Society
By Edward Yiu Median housing prices across New Zealand increased by 19.8% year-on-year (YOY) in October 2020. It is one of the largest price surges in the world despite a global COVID recession. Median housing prices across New Zealand increased by 19.8% year-on-year...