In class, I have always been citing the US as a large economy and Singapore as a small economy (both are developed economies), with population size being a key reason for the difference. Recently, it struck me that Japan is not that highly populated, yet is the 3rd largest economy in the world. Hmmm…that prompted me to ask Chat GPT …
Real World Economics Applied – Crying Over Spilt Milk? Reining in US$55bn Formula Milk Industry
An excellent article from the Straits Times recently: How the $73.5 billion infant formula industry milks new parents’ anxieties, and what S’pore is doing about it Some facts gleaned from the article: In Economics, we learn about non-price competition. There are two key ways: Through Product Innovation (typically via R&D) as well as through Marketing. Clearly, the formula milk industry …
5 Ways Learning Economics Can Help You Become Financially Savvy
2 interesting Straits Times articles in the short span of 1 week. According to a survey conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), around 25% of adults in the 20 countries surveyed have low levels of financial literacy, which can lead to poor financial decisions and negative financial outcomes. Please, students of economics, realise you are in …
Real World Economics Applied – Bike Sharing Negative Externality and Singapore’s Policies
A few years ago, it was prevalent. All over Singapore as well as many other cities in the world, bike sharing was the rage. And so were all the bikes strewn on grassland, pedestrian pathways, canals and bus-stops. How awful! One of the negative externality problems with bike sharing services is the issue of “parking clutter”. Since bike sharing services …
Is Public Housing a Public Good? What is a Public Good?
This post is triggered by this Headline in today’s (10th Feb 2023) Straits Times article: It is a very good, very thoughtful article. But Public Housing is NOT a Public Good. What is a Public Good? There are 2 main characteristics: Non-Excludability, which means that once the good is provided, it is impossible or too expensive to prevent anyone from …
