Economics class: teaching ideas
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 picked by our panel of teacher advisers to help improve study, exam and interview success, with suggestions on questions for class activities and discussion.
Read a selection of FT articles, sample exam questions and wider teaching materials produced in conjunction with Core (free registration required). Use FT articles mapped to the curriculum below:
Demand and supply: UK rental costs rise at record 9.2%
Scarcity and choice: ‘It’s too wet’: UK food security at risk because of record rain, farmers warn
Fiscal policy: Searching in vain for the Laffer curve boost
Efficiency and productivity: Europe faces ‘competitiveness crisis’ as US widens productivity gap
Exchange rates: China props up renminbi ahead of leadership summit in March
Demand and supply: Royal Mail could cut deliveries to 3 days a week, says Ofcom
Development economics: America should not allow its trade programme with Africa to die
Market failure: UK to ban disposable vapes as Rishi Sunak warns of ‘endemic’ impact on youth
Labour markets: UK migration reforms will not end lower pay for foreign workers, says top policy adviser
Fiscal policy: Jeremy Hunt predicted to win multibillion-pound boost for tax cuts
Global economy: Chile
Market structures: Barclays and Santander announce cuts to UK mortgage rates
Monetary policy. Charles Goodhart: ‘We’re in for a fiscal crisis down the road and we don’t know how to solve it’
Government intervention film: How Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act changed the world
Labour market podcast: Rishi Sunak’s big fat Greek row
Fiscal policy podcast: Autumn Statement Reaction
Demand and supply: UK government to increase offshore wind subsidies by 66%
Competition: Local leaders seek to reverse 40 years of UK bus privatisation
Monetary policy: Russia tightens capital controls on western companies
Inflation: Millions of UK families could face cuts to value of their benefits next year
Demand and supply: The hard economic reality for anyone wanting to govern Britain
Market failure: Rishi Sunak considers move to ban smoking for next generation
Monetary policy: How long will the Bank of England keep interest rates high?
Fiscal policy: Is the state pension really ‘a Ponzi scheme’?
Labour markets: UK wages: which sectors are driving up pay?
The Global Economy: Vietnam
Podcast: Rishi Sunak’s dash for oil and gas
Monetary policy: Why are interest rate rises not taming inflation?
Privatisation versus nationalisation: Thames Water crisis could hit UK investment, ministers warn
Video: Business Objectives — Why did Carlyle’s CEO resign?
Video: Behavioural Economics — Are high petrol prices killing the American dream?
Video: Business Objectives — The ESG investment backlash begins to have an impact
Economic growth: UK economy returns to growth driven by consumer spending
Video: Public goods — When water security runs dry
Cartels: Saudi Arabia seeks to boost oil price with output cut of 1mn barrels a day
Demand and supply: Why Britain’s households should expect energy bills to remain high
Labour markets: UK haulage industry forced to train army of homegrown drivers to cope with Brexit
Market failure: Fish exports are a drop in the ocean next to overseas student fees
Costs and revenues: Pret A Manger to increase cost of its coffee subscription by 20%
Market structures: Elon Musk signals willingness to sacrifice Tesla margins for market share
Monetary policy: Andrew Bailey raises prospect of increased UK bank deposit protection
Monetary policy: Yikes! What should I do with my mortgage?
Economic cycle: Are Jeremy Hunt’s plans really a ‘Budget for growth’?
Fiscal policy: UK prosecutions of tax evasion enablers drop by 80 per cent
Demand and supply: Tesla touts cost efficiencies as it gears up for more affordable model
Scarcity: Podcast — Northern Ireland — Rishi Sunak’s big test
Market structures: Profit motive to return to British rail network as part of long-awaited shake-up
Production: Is the IMF right about the UK economy?
Aggregate demand: China’s record $2.6tn rise in savings fuels ‘revenge spending’ hopes
Fiscal policy: The US hit the debt ceiling. What happens next?
Demand and supply: Copper rallies on hopes of China economic rebound
Taxation: Scotland top-rate tax rises widen gap with rest of UK
Demand and supply: Why the price of oil has dropped despite new constraints on Russian supply
Tariff: Carmakers warn on EU tariffs threat to electric vehicle prices
Video: Trading blocs Part 2 — The Brexit effect: how leaving the EU hit the UK
Video: Trading blocs — The Brexit effect: how leaving the EU hit the UK
Podcast: economic growth — Jeremy Hunt’s sombre Autumn Statement
Demand and supply: UK house-buying demand falls at fastest pace since 2020 lockdown
Inflation: BoE outlines two bleak scenarios for taming inflation
Podcast: fiscal policy — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Market structures: Yorkshire Water to pay down almost £1bn in debt to settle regulatory case
Unemployment: UK unemployment falls to lowest level since 1974
Video: Demand and supply — NZ housing — a canary in the coal mine?
Podcast: Fiscal policy — Truss vs the ‘anti-growth’ coalition
Podcast: Fiscal policy — Kwasi Kwarteng’s market meltdown
Video: Opportunity cost — Food and fuel compete for farmland
Balance of payments: UK’s yawning current account deficit raises financing risks
Video: Labour markets — Rising temperatures can prove fatal for farm workers
Video: Privatisation and Market Failure — Water: too precious to be just another commodity?
Fiscal policy: The mini-Budget is taking great risks with the public finances
Exchange rates: The bad news for the pound is not all in the price
Video: Externalities — Is luxury fashion resale losing some of its sparkle?
Video: Demand and supply — Can winemakers adapt to climate change?
Video: Demand and Supply — Music: the hot new asset class
Video: Synoptic — Can we avoid climate-related food shocks?
Demand and Supply: China’s ice cream brands outpace inflation with soaring prices
Market failure: Would carbon food labels change the way you shop?
Video: Market failure: Farming — the difficult first step towards net zero
Video: Business growth and demergers: The extraordinary Toshiba saga
Inflation: Boris Johnson makes boosting economic growth his top priority
Demand and supply: Price of UK pint up more than 70% since financial crisis
Market structures: Is the ‘subscription economy’ going to feel the Netflix effect?
Labour markets: Rise in UK minimum wage helped narrow inequality but failed to lift productivity
Regulation: Stagflation looms in UK as economic growth grinds to a halt
Inflation: Stagflation looms in UK as economic growth grinds to a halt
Monetary policy: Bank of England faces its biggest inflation challenge since independence
Living costs: Cabinet split on plan to cut UK food tariffs as grocery bills rise 5.9%
Exchange rates: Pound slides to weakest level since 2020 as British retail sales fall
Growth: Underlying UK wage growth lower than headline figures, think-tank warns
International trade: The UK is still wrestling with the incoherence of Brexit
Fiscal policy: Spring Statement: what’s in it for investors and householders?
Price mechanism: US farmers’ hands are tied as world braced for wheat shortfall
Externalities: We must pay the cost of carbon if we are to cut it
Unemployment: UK unfilled vacancies hit record as workers leave labour market
Budget surplus: Stronger UK public finances set to increase pressure on Rishi Sunak
Monopoly: English water companies face probe over sewage treatment
Financial markets: Cash Isas remain popular despite the drain of inflation
Market failure: Boris Johnson warns of UK energy price shock
Exchange rates: Turkish inflation hits 20-year high of 54%
Housing market: Asking prices for UK homes surge in February as demand rises
Merit goods: UK graduates to pay more as repayment threshold on loans lowered
Asymmetric information: Student loans — Should the Bank of Mum and Dad step in?
Real income: UK inflation climbs to 30-year high of 5.5%
Economic growth: UK price rises outpace wage growth despite labour shortages
Merit goods: NHS waiting lists will grow for 2 more years, health service admits
Monetary Policy: Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey dishes out tough love to British public
Aggregate demand: UK homeowners secure £800bn windfall with house price rise
Fiscal policy: Lower public borrowing gives Sunak room to stall national insurance rise
Government failure: Airlines forecast increased ‘ghost flights’ to retain UK landing rights
Labour market: Get ready for the four-day working week
Consumption: China’s record trade gap a symptom of struggle to rebalance its economy
Inflation: The fight over measuring UK inflation
Subsidy: Farm subsidy reform in England aiming to return land to nature
Market failure: North-south divide emerges as UK electric vehicle sales hit record high
Demand and supply: UK house prices rise at the fastest pace since 2006
Demand and supply: Champagne sparkles as low supply and fizzy demand boost prices
Demand and supply: Beware the property trap ensnaring young buyers
Monetary policy: Turkey’s lira tumbles after central bank cuts rates
Demand, supply: Coffee hits 10-year high as shipping bottlenecks squeeze supply
Demand, supply: Opec+ sticks with oil supply increase after US overture to Saudi Arabia
Aid and development: China cuts finance pledge to Africa amid growing debt concerns
Competition: Collapse of Bulb highlights failings of UK’s retail energy sector
Exchange rates: Euro hit by bets ECB monetary policy will diverge from major peers
Measuring National Income: UK statisticians juggle contradictory data on recovery from pandemic
Market failure: Windfalls for heavy industry in EU carbon scheme are a moral hazard
Fiscal policy: Sunak defies hawkish instincts to oversee massive expansion of state
Labour markets: Kellogg’s cereal strike is latest sign of pushback from US snack makers
Economic growth: Switch to value stocks to prepare for inflation
Inflation: German workers strike for higher pay as eurozone inflation surges
Demand and supply: BP service stations close as driver shortage hits UK fuel supplies
Inflation and monetary policy: Is it time for the Bank of England to start tightening monetary policy?
Government intervention in markets: US clean-energy blueprint contains 40% solar goal for 2035
Fiscal policy: Who are the winners and losers from the UK’s £12bn social care tax raid?
Fiscal policy: Rishi Sunak has strong fiscal cards waiting to be played
Employment and unemployment: Partisan fight over US labour market jolted by strong hiring data
Circular flow of income: Nissan unveils first UK battery factory in £1bn Sunderland plan
Demand and supply: Russian supply curbs exacerbate squeeze on European gas market
Government Intervention: Cost of polluting in EU soars as carbon price hits record €50
Inflation: UK inflation jumps to 2.1% and tops Bank of England target
Economic growth: The Fed risks reacting too slowly if inflation keeps rising
Market failure: UK carbon trading system likely to lead to government intervention, traders warn
Financial markets: UK government to sell next £1bn stake in NatWest
Fiscal policy: Gary Lineker in £4.9mn tax battle with HMRC over freelance earnings
Market structures: Ethiopian telecoms sell-off flops in wake of economic and security concerns
Exchange rates: Turks chase missing billions in foreign exchange reserves
Aggregate demand & supply: Global savers’ $5.4tn stockpile offers hope for post-Covid spending
Fiscal policy: The case for taxing the rich more
Demand & supply: Boris Johnson to announce £3bn shake-up of England’s bus network
Demand & supply: Investors see ‘gold rush on steroids’ for green battery metals
Fiscal policy: Japanese investors buy UK government bonds at record rate in early 2021
Fiscal Policy: ‘Stealth’ raid on income tax thresholds
Monetary and Fiscal Policy: Joe Biden’s $1.9tn package is a risky experiment
Demand & supply: Extra stamp duty holiday would raise house prices, say lawyers
Exchange rates: Pound hits $1.40 for first time since 2018 as vaccine boosts UK outlook
Demand & supply: White House scrambles to address global chip shortage
Competition policy: UK and EU to open probes into Nvidia’s $40bn acquisition of Arm
Market structure: UK watchdog to investigate Uber’s acquisition of Autocab
The financial sector: Nine banks ate into capital buffers under ECB’s pandemic relief
Fiscal policy: Biden to push $1.9tn stimulus for pandemic-battered US economy
International trade: African countries not ready to implement free trade from January
Economic development: West Africa vs Big Chocolate: Battle over price sours relations
Unemployment: Ineos abandons Britain to build flagship off-roader in France
Demand, supply, elasticities: Lithium market recharges as electric vehicle sales rise
Economic development: Business groups call on Johnson to rethink overseas aid cuts
Fiscal policy: Sunak funds schools and police in last hurrah before tax rises
Inflation: UK’s poor GDP performance rooted in weak household spending
Demand and supply: UK set to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030
Aggregate demand/supply: UK shipyards owner looks beyond building vessels
Elasticity of demand: Pandemic sets off a scramble to snap up outdoor heaters
Monetary policy: The great MMT debate, again
Demand and supply: Beijing’s first bond offer to US investors draws record demand
The housing market: Banks rebuff Boris Johnson’s call for low-deposit mortgages
Labour markets & employment: Britain’s over-50s rethink plans as virus takes toll on retirement
Supply and demand: Harley-Davidson to pull out of world’s largest motorcycle market
CAP: Ministers seek to plug subsidy gap for struggling English farmers
Shares: Peloton shares reach high as more users take up home workouts
Aggregate demand: What the latest data on activity are signalling
Exchange rates: Sterling’s faded illusion of sovereignty
Development: Pandemic brings Italy’s black market out of the shadows
Economic development: Latin America’s taxing problem
Competition/market structures: Pain in Spain for telecoms groups as competition heats up
Economic Development: Zambia feels the way for distressed nations in seeking debt talks
Distribution of Income and Wealth: Spain to push through minimum income guarantee to fight poverty
Trading blocs: The chain of events that led to Germany’s change over Europe’s recovery fund
Public goods: Any Covid-19 vaccine must be treated as a global public good
Inflation: A return to 1970s stagflation is only a broken supply chain away
Theory of the firm: Ryanair to axe up to 3,000 jobs as it warns over slow recovery
Competition & regulation: Britain’s private schools warned against fee collusion
Price mechanism: Oil-producing nations grapple with latest price fall
Money: Rishi Sunak prepares to offer 100% guarantees on small business loans
Market failure: Boris Johnson can now redeem his debt to the NHS
Circular Flow of Income: India’s exporters face crunch as coronavirus pummels economy
Market structures: British Airways to suspend more than 30,000 staff amid coronavirus crisis
Unemployment: US jobless claims surge to record 3.3m as America locks down
Exchange rates: Why the Fed is trying to tame the dollar
Oligopoly: Eight days that shook the oil market — and the world
Employment: Germany’s minimum wage boosted productivity but hit small companies
Labour markets, government intervention: Income inequality increases in UK
Aggregate demand: Italy unveils €3.6bn stimulus to tackle coronavirus
Elasticities, Market Structures: Can £5bn revitalise England’s bus services?
Economic growth and development: Restructuring Argentina’s debt will require IMF support
Market structures: Climate change and the prisoner’s dilemma
Labour markets: The unions taking on the gig economy and outsourcing
Demand & Supply, Exchange Rates, Elasticity: Commodities may not stay cheap
Monetary policy: US debt investors seek protection against inflation
Market/government failure: Air quality remains dangerously low
Supply side policy, capital flows: Tide turns for Polish émigrés
Distribution of income and wealth: Before we soak the rich
Supply & demand: Fortnum & Mason boosted by demand for loose leaf tea
Macroeconomic objectives: Iran’s economy strangled under US sanctions
Financial markets, exchange rates: Dollar shortage shakes confidence in Lebanon’s banks
Competition and market structures: Sony pulls plug on PlayStation Vue
Developing economies: Ethiopia’s path to prosperity is opening up
Economic Growth, macroeconomic objectives: UK economy to avert recession
Demand & supply, taxation: UK’s slowing housing market hits stamp duty
Market failure: French tobacconists fear business will go up in smoke
Objectives of firms: The limits of the pursuit of profits
Labour markets: How does British Airways pilot pay compare?
Introductory economics: China acts on pork prices
Fiscal policy: Javid shift in strategy after decade of austerity
Economic cycles: A long economic recovery is not necessarily a better one
Demand and Supply, Market Structures: Iran warns Opec ‘might die’
Trade policies and negotiations: Mexico ratifies Nafta’s replacement
Economic development: CDC to invest $300mn in Africa’s power networks
Allocation of resources: Old economists can teach us new tricks
Financial markets: China dumps US Treasuries
Allocation of resources: EBRD mulls sub-Saharan Africa loans
Demand and supply: Iran’s economy slumps on US sanctions
Circular flow of income: Fear over UK’s low national savings rate
Financial markets: US mortgage reform
Macroeconomic policy: UK inflation rises 1.9%
Money: The continued appeal of cash
Monetary policy: Monetary policy has run its course
Inflation: UK basket gains popcorn
Balance of payments: US trade deficit
Financial markets: Zimbabwe’s currency reforms criticised
Externalities and traffic congestion: Luxembourg tackles congestion
Demand and supply, externalities: university applications rise
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