Economics

By Philip Benton Recently I attended a talk here in London about digital currencies and how they could be the answer to our economic woes and the key to rebuilding our broken society. I went in with an open mind, keen to broaden my interest in the curious world of crypto currencies, but somehow came out with more questions than answers. The talk was hosted by ex-investment banker Simon Dixon and Max Keiser of The Keiser Report fame. The opening...

By David Binder The issue of economic inequality has once again been thrust into the spotlight by French economist Thomas Picketty’s new book ‘Capital in the Twenty-First century.’ Whilst his research has been discussed at great length elsewhere (the Washington Centre for Equitable Growth has produced a useful summary of some reviews) it is worthwhile to step back and consider the virtues of pursuing policies aiming to reduce economic inequality. In other words, is economic inequality in itself always a...

By Elsa Buchanan After a decade of anti-Western discourses, the world’s emerging economies have finally launched a pair of financial institutions they hope will challenge their pet hates, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Built on shared complaints and challenges, the new ‘mini IMF and World Bank’ has been billed as a historic challenge to the global financial order that has been dominated by the US and Western Europe since the 1944 inception of the IMF. But are...

  By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A senior academic has shown his approval of the CMA’s decision to investigate High Street banks over a lack of competition. The big four High Street banks, which provide 77 per cent of current accounts and 85 per cent of business lending, may ultimately be forced to divest businesses and allow new competitors. Dr Steve McCabe, economist, lecturer and active researcher from Birmingham City University’s Business School, said: “Learning that the Competition and Markets...

By Stephen Angus Peter Junor It is well-known that China has invested heavily in Africa for some years now and it is no coincidence that Africa is beginning to record increasing levels of growth. The World Bank estimated 2013 growth at 4.7 per cent with growth this year set to be around 5.2 per cent, supported by strong foreign investment primarily from China. The recently announced New Development Bank (NDB), founded by BRICS will further increase the influence of China on...

By Valentina Magri Money makes Brits happy, but what helps make Brits money? Schooling plays a pivotal role in earning a good income later in life. Better educated people enjoy better jobs and are more likely to take up managerial posts, but there are some schools that are more suited to helping you achieve this goal. A new report released by Sutton Trust, based on data analysis by the Social Market Foundation (SMF), has identified an imbalance in the way...

By Render Positive London was never a particularly cheap place to live – in fact, Rightmove’s figures suggest that the average asking price of a property in London has risen by £80,000 since the start of 2014. As a result, prices are now at an all-time high, and only look set to rise in future. However, as is to be expected, some boroughs are significantly more expensive than others, with some enjoying a meteoric rise in prices following different developments,...

By Marcus Hunt Peer-to-peer lending is a highly innovative means of businesses acquiring capital; crowdsourcing loans from dozens of small investors is a way for both parties to secure better interest rates by cutting out the cumbersome middle-men at the banks. From humble beginnings, sites like Zopa, Ratesetter and Funding Circle have now facilitated loans of over £1 billion to small and medium-sized British businesses. However, I think that there is good reason to believe that over the medium-term the...

  By Valentina Magri “Money doesn’t make you happy” is the typical saying that you state when you want to raise the spirit of people dissatisfied with their personal finances. But if you live in the UK, you should forget it, cash is king. Money and happiness Basically, there are two main views over the link between money and happiness. According to Easterlin, happiness comes from money until a saturation point (Easterlin paradox). Once you overcome this boundary, the correlation...