Coming up on IA final deadline…

February 15, 2016

Around this time of year we – students and teachers – are getting close to maximum stress levels. Syllabi need finishing prior to mocks, revision schedules need polishing, extended essay (EE) covers are being handed out for signing – and Internal...

Price discrimination online

December 21, 2015

Most of you students are pretty ‘switched on’ in terms of what we old people still marvel at; the Internet. You have never lived in a world without internet – which is pretty much what my dad said (he was born in 1928) to me about TV. No, relax, this...

New rule – old problem; rent ceiling

December 11, 2015

Around about this time during IB1, students should be well into the various forms of government intervention that are included in the IB syllabus. For micro economics, these include (indirect) taxes, subsidies, maximum prices and minimum prices. You may rest assured...

Eternal City

October 16, 2015

As the recently passed away Yogi Berra would say: “No matter where you go, there you are!” Undersigned has just moved from Shanghai to Rome (the one in Italy, not USA) and after some three months of living out of suitcases, I now have a place to put my...

Almonds, water and the paradox of value

June 17, 2015

Anybody following the news about California might think, on the surface, “Wow, time to get serious about global warming.” Anybody who’s read a few stories and has an inclination towards speculative behaviour might think “Ah, time to buy almond...

Oh no, not another Veblen good…

May 26, 2015

It seems that upward sloping demand curves (see ‘Veblen’ and ‘Giffin’ goods) have the tenacity of cockroaches and Area 51 conspiracy theories; the possibility of positive correlation between price and quantity demanded simply refuses to die....