The world’s population is aging. How are we to pay for the pensions and healthcare of a burgeoning number of elderly? Elderly exercise with wooden dumbbells in Tokyo, Japan, 16 September 2019. (EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON) Call it baby bust and oldster boom — two...
Population growth has long been seen as a threat to humanity, and government efforts to limit births have either failed (India) or led to imbalances and inequities (China). Bernd Debusmann takes a look at the problems that a slowing rate in population growth poses for societies — problems that younger generations will need to manage in coming decades. Global aging will require tough decisions so societies can support the elderly — decisions your students will be asked to make.
Exercise: Ask your students to examine their country’s demographic trends and to compare its policies with those pursued by nations with a similar demographic outlook.
Art and culture are integral to New York’s economy and sense of community. COVID-19 has hit the sector and its people hard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Upper East Side, Manhattan. Circles spaced six feet apart, marking where people were to stand while waiting...
China is punishing an “antagonistic” Australia with trade sanctions that many view as a test of Beijing’s geo-economic muscle. A man shops for Australian wine in Shanghai, China, 8 December 2020. Two days later, China imposed new import duties on...
The U.S. minimum wage has not changed since 2009. Joe Biden wants to raise it to cut poverty. Opponents say a rise would hit business. Who’s right? Activists appeal for a $15 minimum wage in Washington, DC, 25 February 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) A...
U.S. colleges can cost a lot, and many students take on debt. Is it really worth it, financially, to pay all that money for higher education? Let’s see. (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) It’s the time of year when millions of students in their last year...
For the fourth time in three decades, a divided Italy has named a technocrat as its leader. Is Mario Draghi a model for nations shouldering huge debts? Street art depicting Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi dressed as a magician pulling a rabbit out of the hat,...
Does a battle over GameStop shares that has pitted defiant online investors against big Wall Street firms mean we’re in a stock market bubble? GameStop logo and stock market symbols, 29 January 2021 (AP/STRF/STAR MAX/IPx 2021) There’s been a lot of news lately...
COVID-19 vaccination programs are moving slowly in poor nations, threatening the world’s health and raising risks for rich countries’ economies. From ourworldindata.org Sometime very soon, the world will reach a significant milestone in its battle to...
As nations struggle with the terrible health and economic consequences of COVID-19, the rush is on to roll out vaccines to as many people as possible. Leaders of developed economies might be excused for protecting their citizens above all — if it didn’t mean leaving out masses of people in the Global South. Jeremy Solomons taps official data and experts to spell out the dangers for both poor and rich nations alike if steps are not taken to ensure vaccines reach the four corners of the world. Ask students how they would ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines — and whether they would be willing to help pay for it.
On any day, the stock market can go up or down. But in the long run, a young person cannot afford to ignore the chance to invest in company shares. The effect of compound interest, with an initial investment of $1,000 and 20% annual interest, compounded at various...
Alan Wheatley’s article on stock markets touches on concepts of tremendous long-term importance to young people, such as compounded interest and interest rates. Wheatley has decades of experience covering international finance, and it shows as he connects investing fundamentals with economic growth and the current U.S. political situation. The article finishes with questions that can be taken up in a wide range of classrooms: Who would be better for stock markets — Trump or Biden? If you have $1,000, should you spend or save it? And why is Wall Street near a record high during the coronavirus pandemic? With Wheatley explaining matters, there’s no reason why economics should be “the dismal science”!
It makes potato chips crispier, soap frothier, lipstick smoother and fried foods crunchier. Consumers love palm oil — but at a cost to our environment. Environmental activists evacuate an orangutan whose habitat is threatened by oil palm plantations, rubber...
