Cordelia Foo - Economics Students Society of Australia

Cordelia Foo

The Pricing Straightjacket

This week, I found myself pondering the future of $2 shops. While $2 shops are often associated with tacky, low-quality goods, they are also essential when the need arises for gift bags, wrapping paper and P-plates (am I correct?). $2 shops are an example of a price-point retailer, where all

The age of entitlement is over: A story of work ethic and generosity

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has declared that “the age of entitlement is over”, and most of us don’t like the sound of it. And why should we, when some of us will receive youth allowance rather than Newstart for a few more years, some of us will no longer

The transport debate: road versus rail

The main theme of the 2014-15 Victorian Budget is “Building a better Victoria”. A large part of how the government intends to do this is through investment in infrastructure, and particularly transport infrastructure. It has committed to four key transport projects: the Melbourne Rail Link (incorporating the Airport Rail Link)

How much will your coffee be tomorrow?

How much will your coffee be tomorrow?

Hey Melbourne, let’s talk about coffee. Well that got your attention quickly, didn’t it? Brazil, where one-third of the world’s coffee crops are grown, has experienced its worst drought in decades. The bad news is that it looks like you might be paying more for your coffee

The rise of the QWERTY keyboard

The rise of the QWERTY keyboard

If you look down at the keyboard you are sitting at right now, chances are that the first six letters on top row spell “QWERTY”. Conventional economics would tell us that the reason the keys on your keyboard are arranged in this way is because it is the most efficient.

Frontier Economics: An internship experience

This article was featured as part of ESSA’s annual Equilibrium publication. In semester 2 of 2012, for two days a week over 10 weeks, I weathered Melbourne’s bitterly cold winter mornings and made the trek by public transport into the CBD. Destination: Frontier Economics’ Melbourne office, corner of