Resources and teaching ideas for US high school economic classes
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This article is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.
Recommended FT articles and tasks have been picked by MRU’s Econ in the News to help in US high school economics, with suggestions on questions for student assignments, class activities and discussion.
Micro
Basic Economic Concepts
Economists are overly reliant on rules
Are economists selfish? Not according to Monopoly
Behavioural economics
Luxury car sales plunge as buyers put off by South Korea’s neon green licence plates
Institutions, marginal thinking
Outlook. Baseball tries to beat the clock to appeal to younger fans
Incentives
Internet ratings get only three stars from me
Supply and Demand
Ozempic is transforming your gym
Soaring olive oil prices hurt sales of ‘liquid gold’ in Mediterranean heartland
Coffee prices set to rise even higher, warns Italian roaster Lavazza
Orange juice crisis prompts search for alternative fruits
Wall Street turns to ‘solar grazing’ sheep in its push to go green
Legoland and Madame Tussauds owner to roll out surge pricing
Demand shifts, inflation
Introducing the ‘TSwift Lift’
Supply shifts
Russia bombs Ukraine grain silos in ‘barbarian’ attack on food supplies
Price controls
Europe’s airlines clash with Italian premier over planned fare cap
Price controls: elasticity
Pepsi revenue declines after US consumers flinch at higher prices
Taxes and Subsidies
Externalities
Why are caps now attached to bottles? Blame the EU
Denmark to charge farmers €100 a cow in first carbon tax on agriculture
The hidden cost of your supermarket salmon
‘Easier than pensions’: why electric cars are the hot company perk
Ursula von der Leyen calls on EU to subsidise defence production
Video: Could a tax curb meat’s health and environmental problems?
It is time to fix Britain’s broken tax system
Trade and Specialization
How national security has transformed economic policy
EU to hit Chinese electric cars with tariffs of up to 48%
International trade
US sharply raises tariffs on Chinese EVs and semiconductor imports
Are there any steaks left to be discovered?
What the birth of the spreadsheet can teach us about generative AI
Martin Wolf: the world economy’s story remains one of integration
Comparative advantage, specialization
Adam Posen: ‘Russia and North Korea worked hard to be self-sufficient, it has not turned out well for them’
Costs of Production and Competition
Primacy in pickleball could push Asics over the ‘funish’ line
How hardware is (still) eating the world
Monopolistic competition
Why United Airlines’ huge bet on Newark airport is not paying off
Externalities
It’s up to governments to declutter space
UK set to push back new recycling scheme amid industry concerns
Macro
Economic Indicators
US economy is heading for soft landing, FT survey says
What burger flipping tells you about the US economy
Chocolate lovers given taste of inflation as Freddo frog prices jump
Markets slash bets on rate cuts after US inflation rises to 3.5%
European Central Bank holds interest rates at 4% in contested decision
US inflation eases to 2.4%, according to Federal Reserve’s target index
UK economy slipped into recession in 2023
Companies’ reluctance to roll back price rises poses US inflation risk
Is deflation really China’s next big export?
China’s deflation worsens as economic pressures mount
Should we believe Americans when they say the economy is bad?
Inflation
Global inflation tracker: see how your country compares on rising prices
UK inflation highest for mortgaged households
US inflation higher than expected in September
How the UK’s radical data revisions shattered its economic narrative
Just blaming wage growth for inflation is misleading and dangerous
Beyoncé, statistical nightmare
Argentina risks hyperinflation after election giveaways and dollar pledge
Money and Banking
The meaning of the market sell-off
Did summer holidays make the market turmoil worse?
Monetary policy, inflation
US Fed will cut interest rates just once this year, say economists
Zimbabwe launches ‘gold-backed’ currency to replace collapsing dollar
Milei clashes with Argentine province over plans to issue its own currency
Companies rush to take advantage of sharp drop in borrowing costs
Payment systems
Federal Reserve launches real-time payments system in first big upgrade since 1970s
Government debt
US Treasury’s $1tn borrowing drive set to put banks under strain
Saving
Cash is no longer king in Japan as use of coins drops sharply
Fiscal Policy
Ireland’s luxury problem: what to do with its €8.6bn surplus
US faces Liz Truss-style market shock as debt soars, warns watchdog
Argentina’s Javier Milei says he doesn’t need congress to save the economy
How Germany’s ‘debt brake’ broke the budget
Housing policy
Economist Kate Barker: ‘To tackle inflation we should put taxes up for the better-off’
Monetary Policy
Jay Powell signals Federal Reserve will revert to quarter-point cut in November
ECB to rely more on bank lending as it shrinks balance sheet
Switzerland makes surprise cut to interest rates
The risk of premature central bank celebrations on inflation
Is the last mile really the hardest?
Economists see Fed keeping rates at 22-year high until at least July
Yes, the US economy looks resilient now — but that may not last
When presidents lean on Fed chairs, everybody loses
Christine Lagarde: ‘I should have been bolder’
Can corporate America cope with its vast debt pile?
US Federal Reserve holds interest rates at 22-year high
Bets against shekel heap pressure on Israeli central bank
Adapting to a higher-for-longer world
Higher rates for longer are a good thing
ECB raises interest rates to all-time high
Central Banks debate: an ‘high for longer’ substitute for rate rises?
Economic fluctuations, monetary policy, inflation
Interview. John Williams: ‘I don’t have a recession in my forecast. I have pretty slow growth’
Economic Growth
Can Europe’s economy ever hope to rival the US again?
The weakest links in the global economy are on the mend
Declining fertility rates will transform global economy, report says
Long run growth
China’s leaders sweat over ‘difficult to heat’ economy
(Mis)remembering Chile’s military coup
It may not feel like it, but the planet has many reasons to be cheerful
How is the US economy managing to power ahead of Europe?
Nigeria’s economic reforms need to regain momentum
Obesity drugmaker’s expansion raises dominance worries for Denmark
Personal finance
How can we defuse the household debt time bomb?
Late payments rise on US loans tied to inflated pandemic credit scores
Consumers cut back on credit cards as repayment charges hit record high
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