Climate Change: Could it just be natural? Part 2

By Beatrice Omotosho Climate as a Phenomenon  Climate is characterized by mean air temperature, humidity, winds, precipitation, and frequency of extreme weather events over a lengthy period of time, at least thirty years scientists say. The climate forms and follows long term trends usually of periods of warming and cooling. Climate change is therefore a…

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Climate Change: Could it just be natural?

By Beatrice Omotosho The science of climate change is a field in which most laypersons are not knowledgeable in nor familiar with. Now this means if you: like I, are a fellow believer, you may find yourself faced with a situation where a climate change sceptic is disputing the facts you believe to know, and…

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Onions in India: A Political Economy of Layers

By Lawrence Ho Not one onion is leaving India. This is the policy implemented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government. You may think that this is a trivial issue, but is arguably a very scary prospect for the onion markets, as a country that exports 2.2 billion kilograms, worth around $514.3 million of fresh…

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Testing the Theory: New Research on Asymmetric Information

By Cassi Ainsworth-Grace Proposed by George A. Akerlof in his influential paper, The Market for ‘Lemons’: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism, the concept of asymmetric information has been a staple in the education of Economics students since 1970. Yet, a new study conducted in September by Richard Blundell, alongside four other co-authors, has challenged…

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Booze, Drugs, and Death

By Ryan Morrice Scotland is known for many things: its beautiful Highlands and lochs; its world-renowned whisky; its inventors who gave the world a multitude of innovations such as the telephone and penicillin; and lesser known is the great number of preventable deaths that happen every year: in 2018 there were 1,187 drug-related deaths. Per…

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Breaking down China and India’s Economic Rise

China and India are two economic behemoths who regularly make headlines around the world for their impressive development. However, flashback to thirty-nine years ago in 1980, they were among the poorest countries in the world in terms of per capita GDP1. In the span of an average adult’s working life, China and India have developed…

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Aldi and the European Disruptors of American Markets

By Charlie Whiteley German grocery chain Aldi is expanding rapidly in the United States and finding equally rapid success. It has doubled its number of stores over the last 10 years, totaling around 1,900 stores. The company is currently amid its five-year plan to become the third largest grocery chain in the US by 2022, a dramatic change in the market. Given…

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Vietnam: Reaping the Rewards?

By Bridget Websdane At the start of this month, the World Trade Organisation disclosed alarming information concerning the ramifications of the ongoing global trade wars. Notably, the organization cut its forecasted global trade growth for 2019 from 2.6% to 1.2%, due in large part to the continued slowdown of world GDP growth, the threats to…

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The Americanization of European Football

By Charlie Whiteley For decades, football clubs across Europe dreamt of competing in the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious club competition in the world. However, after the introduction of the UEFA Conference League in 2021, this dream will all but fade for Europe’s smaller clubs. On September 24, 2019, UEFA introduced the controversial new third tier competition at…

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The Mechanics of Trading

This content is published on behalf of the Economics Policy Research Group. By Pratiksha Saha The process of integrating technology and finance is not new and the threats that developments in software bring to the finance industry are well documented. However, the rapid innovation that is occurring in the field of Artificial intelligence demands a…

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Musk Effect: Social Media Influence on Share Price

This content is published on behalf of the Economic Policy Research Group By Dain Rohtla  Finance is an ever-changing field that shifts as the world around it does. With the growing presence of social media, it is indispensable in business. Behavioral finance takes people’s biases and judgement into account and assumes people do not always…

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Economic Peace-building in Syria

By Luca Delpippo With the Syrian civil war reaching its close, at least in terms of conventional warfare, a new battle to reconstruct Syria has begun. With costs estimated to be between $250bn and $400bn, it is likely that this new battle has little end in sight. Current western approaches have not only failed but…

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Not Having Children: Good for Environment, Horrifying for Society

By Lawrence Ho A lot of our public discourse this week has been about climate change: the irreversible effects, as well as our continuing impact of humanity on the world. Thanks to Greta Thunberg’s straightforwardness and David Attenborough’s relentless reporting, it has finally entered the public awareness and become one of the key issues of…

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The Renewal of Scottish-Independence

By Ryan Morrice With Parliament suspended and the chaotic government led by Boris Johnson dominating the headlines, it is easy to lose sight of the changing political attitudes in Scotland. In July, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), proclaimed that “Scotland is heading inexorably towards independence”. Polling…

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Creative Destruction: The Collapse of Thomas Cook

By Lucy Wright ‘Move fast and break things.’ The motto of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg encapsulates a sentiment which could be aptly applied to the attitudes the economic structure in which we currently reside. Our fashion is fast, our media is churned out by the minute, our transport uber quick. Yet this defining image…

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Behavioural Economics: how far has it come and what’s next?

This content is published on behalf of the Economics Policy Research Group By Valeria Ryabchina When I first came to St Andrews my degree was Economics & Psychology, and when asked to explain such an unusual choice, I would often say ‘I like behavioural economics’. Up until December 2017, many non-Economics students would have told…

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A ‘Missguided’ Marketing Stunt

Image source: The Guardian By Lucy Wright Clothing retailer Missguided has been recently subjected to scrutiny for their disregard for sustainability. The controversy surrounds a two piece swimsuit being sold at a scandalously low price of £1. The garment in question has become a symbol for the frightening trend within the industry of ‘fast fashion’ – the rapid production…

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A Report on the Condition of Student Housing in St Andrews

By Sam McGuire Member of EPRG Outreach   Researchers for the Economic Policy & Research Group (EPRG) recently published a report on affordable accommodation for students in St Andrews. The report found some startling results including that the average rent price for students in St Andrews was £542.57, for comparison London’s average student rent was…

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Student Accommodation in St Andrews: An EPRG Analysis

By members of the Economic Policy & Research Group   In this report, the Economic Policy & Research Group (EPRG) investigates the nature of high costs in student accommodation in St Andrews.  An initial analysis of the current housing situation shows that rents in St Andrews are abnormally expensive for a student town; overall St Andreans…

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