This article is quite long, but has important modern implications.
QalamPensil
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Serial Returners
An excerpt from Econlife Blog:
"...Through Prime, Amazon just wanted to encourage us to buy more. However, a relaxed return policy has been costly for buyers, sellers, and the environment. On the demand side, returns take time while the supply side has a new expense and perhaps inadequate inventory for subsequent orders. And, as for the environment, we have wasted packaging and delivery mileage..."
Image credit: gettyimages.com
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Timeline: The Silicon Valley Bank
Read here for the timeline that lead to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was a state-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It operated branches in California and Massachusetts. SVB was a pioneer of what is known as venture debt, a type of loan offered by banks and nonbank lenders specifically designed for early-stage, high-growth companies with VC backing. The vast majority of VC-backed companies now raise debt at some point from banks such as SVB.
Image credit: visualcapitalist.dom
Monday, March 27, 2023
D-Index (Discipline H-Index) for Best Economics and Finance Scientists
D-Index (Discipline H-index) takes into account only papers and citation metrics for an examined discipline. I came across this information from Prof. Mankiw's blog. You can check the ranking for 2022 here. The top 3 scientists are:
1. Joseph E. Stiglitz - Columbia University, USA
2. Andrei Shleifer - Harvard University, USA
3. James J. Heckman - University of Chicago, USA
Image credit: TS Lombard - Internet
Inflation Has Uneven Effects
A 2-minute reading from this article and Econlife Blog. Excerpt:
"...The Boomers, having consumed food and alcohol in their youth, as the Gen Z group is now doing, are spending more on health care. That other category hides a lot of discretionary spending. The millennials trying to settle down are spending more on housing as their families expand..."
Source: Internet/NY Times
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Why Grocery Store Staples Are Expensive
The article in TIME suggest the following reasons why the cost of food are rising, particularly in the United States:
1. Chicken and eggs - avian bird flu epidemic in the United States and price gouging.
2. Butter and margarine - extreme heat and smaller cow herds; supply chain issue due to Ukraine and Russian war ; higher energy and fertiliser costs.
4. Vegetables and fresh fruit - dry weather conditions and insect-born virus have damaged crops.
Friday, March 17, 2023
Never at the Cost of Your Independence
An excerpt from a recent article in IMF Blog:
"A rapidly changing economic backdrop leaves less maneuvering room for policy, while structural forces—from deglobalization to climate change, aging populations, and the advent of digital money—have greatly complicated the underlying policy challenge. Central bank mandates and even their independence are under increasing political pressure. These new forces and others raise questions about how monetary policy may have to change going forward."
Due to the rising global inflation, monetary and fiscal authorities have to work together to bring inflation down, but never at the cost of their independence.
Image credit: New Year’s Inflation – By Christopher Weyant
Oppenheimer and Oscar Economics
This article is quite long, but has important modern implications. Source: Michael Ramirez, The Gazette.
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How are you going to contribute to the nations in terms of closing the wealth inequality gap?
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In Tinta Minda, BERNAMA. Malay article. Excerpt: "Laporan prestasi ekonomi negara pada suku ketiga pada 2020 yang diumumkan Bank Negara...
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Please read the article by Paul Krugman in the New York Times at the link given below and give your comments as what Malaysia had experience...