This is for students of IB and JC A Level Economics learning Market Structure / Market Power! How Technology can Affect Markets: It is important to note that technology’s impact on markets can be complex and multi-faceted, and its effects may vary across different industries and regions. Nonetheless, technology has the potential to fundamentally reshape market structures and dynamics, driving …

In a parliamentary speech by PM Lee Hsien Loong on 19th Apr 2023, he said that “countries are no longer talking about trade being win-win” and “we are heading towards…a world where protectionism is the default.” Indeed, this is also seen in the Straits Times article also on 19th Apr, “The Perils of the West Embrace of Industrial Policies.” We …

These are questions that have been on my mind and highly relevant to the J2 and IB Y6 classes that I have been conducting. Recently, the Straits Times published a really interesting article: “The Coming Creative Destruction From AI.” Goldman Sachs estimated that 300 million full time jobs could be replaced by AI. Reported by BBC. Mind Boggling. Macroeconomics students …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Whither inflation in Singapore? There are many factors affecting inflation in Singapore today, which is expected to remain high in the 1st half of 2023. We can break them down into Cost Push and Demand Pull causes. (If you are clueless what these mean, check out our Notes on Inflation and Deflation)  Cost push factors include the high food and …