EconomicsToo

This Guardian story outlines the plans of new NHS Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, to place a tax on sugar in hospitals. It is an interesting approach to combating the obesity epidemic sweeping the western world and is expected to improve the health of 1.3 million NHS workers by raising approximately £30m a year, and he is urging the government to force food firms into action. Image source:  http://www.ceresproject.org/Sugar.html  Hospitals in England, by 2020, plan to charge increased prices for sugary beverages and snacks that are sold in their cafes and vending machines. A tax of 20% has been suggested by medical groups and health charities but the figure is yet to be decided. This is likely to reduce the levels of consumption of sugar and is a good place to start if the UK is going to do something about the levels of obesity and diabetes, which are both  closely tied to sugar intake. I guess hospitals and government health facilities should lead by ex...

Originally posted by Year 12 Economist Jia Yi on her blog "Thoughts":  The Malaysian Ringgit: How to salvage a falling currency Before discussing on ways to salvage the plummeting Ringgit, I will provide a brief summary of the Ringgit's valuation in the last 8 months. In the summary, I will contextualise key valuations and dates to give readers a  deeper understanding on the concerns which the Malaysian government (and people!) are facing.  Summary: In 11th of March 2015, the Ringgit traded at RM 3.7105 to the dollar. It was reported that this was the weakest the Malaysian Ringgit has fallen since February 2010, foreshadowing a 'looming crisis', with the value of Ringgit close to  1997 levels (the Asian Economic Crisis). On 6 July 2015, it was reported that the ringgit had dropped to its  lowest level in 16 years , falling to 3.81 to the US dollar. When the ringgit was pegged to the dollar in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, it was ...

This is another wonderful video by Hans Rosling that discusses one of the recent Global Goals to end poverty by 2030. Hans explains why this is a possibility and demonstrates with his usual wit and super technology how it could happen.

The Chinese government have comissioned a rather trendy and catchy music style video to tell the world about their 13th Five Year Plan to be unveiled next year. This article by Richard Lorenc on the Foundation for Economic Education website gives a great market-based opinion, with some views of Hayek used to illustrate, how central planning might not be the best way to run an economy. A good read and a bizarre video; both well worth a look.

The Malaysian Health Ministry has shared a longterm plan to  ban vaping . Citing 'research' showing that 1 hour of vaping is more dangerous than 150 cigarettes and quoting a study from the University of Athens, conducted in 2012 , that showed that e-cigarettes cause harm to the lungs the government of Malaysia have said that vaping is more harmful than conventional smoking. However, this Medical Daily  story and video claims to have compiled all available data on e-cigarettes and the smoking of normal cigarettes and draws a different conclusion. Although it does state vaping is less harmful, it expresses this does not mean it is safe! Regulation might be a good idea as this US poll shows  and with a 50% adoption rate cited from the findings, until further studies are conducted in to the long term consequences, regulation would be sensible. So has the Malaysia government had a change of heart by deciding that the longterm health of its public is a m...

by Tasha Jayabalan Image source: Economics Society website , University of Edinburgh How do I even start? Ah, uni life. University life is amazing in all aspects, you’re constantly meeting new people from completely different backgrounds, engaging in sport and activities, and there’s just about 1000 societies that will cater to whatever your interested in. Not forgetting the drunken nights out, hungover mornings and laundry-filled weekends, and you’ll have your typical week at university set up.  In terms of economics, I feel blessed to have studied Economics at A level at GIS, because of the fact that so much of what I’m learning now, overlaps with what I’ve learnt for the last two years. In that sense, I already feel like I’ve got a mile head start for the semester, where we’re covering topics that we covered immensely at A level such as Theory of Consumer Choice and Competitive Markets. Don’t get me wrong, it is harder in the sense that the two lectures a week ...

So, given a choice, the people in this video all select the chocolate over a bar of silver. Is this a rational decision? You can sense a couple of them assessing (and rationalising) the utility they will derive from the chocolate bar. Or was there something else at play here? Mark Dice, the guy in the video, clearly knew the silver was worth $150 USD and you can tell a few of those approached felt there was a catch and went for the recognisable choice. Did they just want to get away? Does the fact that it is a free gift still mean that  asymmetric information  plays a role? Did he lead them?