The World this Week with ESSA
ESSA, 26 August 2012
– World Economy
Unemployment Will Plummet in 2014 – Wonk Wire
Economist Timothy Taylor has a deep look at the Beveridge curve, a subject often found in 2nd year intermediate economics, and its significance for the future of unemployment.
China Confronts Mounting Piles of Unsold Goods – New York Times
GUANGZHOU, China — After three decades of torrid growth, China is encountering an unfamiliar problem with its newly struggling economy: a huge buildup of unsold goods that is cluttering shop floors, clogging car dealerships and filling factory warehouses. Reports at the NYTimes examines the causes.
Republicans Eye Return to Gold Standard – CNBC
The gold standard has returned to mainstream U.S. politics for the first time in 30 years, with a “gold commission” set to become part of official Republican party policy. The move shows how five years of easy monetary policy — and the efforts of congressman Ron Paul — have made the once-fringe idea of returning to gold-as-money a legitimate part of Republican debate.
R. Glenn Hubbard and the Republican-Democratic fiscal divide – Reuters
If you aren’t American, the possibility that this election could hinge on abortion rights may seem absurd. Surely the stagnant world economy, the relative decline of U.S. power and climate change, just to name three, all trump reproductive freedom as issues that should be at the top of the national agenda. Find out how controversial issues have sidelined the important ones in the upcoming American Election.
Apple’s $1b win tipped to push up prices – The Age
APPLE won a sweeping $1 billion victory in its landmark patent dispute with Samsung when a federal court jury in the United States ruled that a series of smartphone and tablet features – from the rounded rectangle shape to the way screens slide and bounce to the touch – are Apple innovations.
– Here in Australia
Tony Abbott says carbon tax introduction not catastrophic – The Australian
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has conceded that the introduction of the carbon tax had not immediately been “catastrophic”, but he remained adamant that its long-term effects would eventually spell disaster for Australia’s economy. The Australian Reports.
– For your interest
The Economics of The Hunger Games – Slate
At first glance, the economic landscape depicted in Suzanne Collins’ best-selling Hunger Games trilogy doesn’t make much sense. Despite its post-apocalyptic condition, the fictional nation of Panem is quite technologically advanced. It has high-speed trains, hovercrafts, extraordinary genetic engineering capabilities, and yet Panem is also a society of tremendous economic inequality. Could any real country have an economy like Panem’s? Actually, yes.
Weekly Comic Strip – by Dilbert
See you next week!
The ESSA team