People who compare their earnings with others are damaging their health, becoming less happy, more depressed, and less satisfied with life overall, according to new research by Professors Andrew Clark and Claudia Senik from the Paris School of Economics, to be presented at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society. (BBC report here.) This …
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Category:3 The World of Money
Looking for the bottom; but it’s not over yet …
The IMF is talking straight. That’s good because we need to be realistic. And realism will rejuvenate confidence. False starts just create pain. The IMF warns that the global recession is likely to be “unusually long and severe, and the recovery sluggish”. See IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) Crisis and Recovery April 2009 here. BBC’s …
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Opportunity in Crisis
Linked here is a presentation used in discussion with an audience of business owners on how to manage in the economic crisis. There is no simple solution for one business, let alone several, so the slides aim to stimulate discussion and thoughts which lead to business stability and prosperity. Opportunity in Crisis – A pocketful …
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A different approach – Irish emergency budget.
Ireland’s government issued a revised budget yesterday. It is an austere break from the model being adopted in many other countries. Ireland’s finances are in dire need of repair and the government has reacted by increasing taxes and reducing public spending. It is certain that we need to make adjustments and rebuild our economy to …
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Products for the other 3 billion
A couple of ideas about high tech products for emerging market consumers. Products for the other 3 billion A new breed of idealistic technologist is building ultracheap baby incubators, medicine dispensers, and solar-powered lamps. Welcome to entrepreneurship circa 2009. By Michael V. Copeland, senior writer, Fortune Magazine Jim Patell is perhaps the only member of …
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A single global currency.
China has suggested the adoption of a single global reserve currency citing the dangers of relying upon one national currency (US$). The currency would be underwritten by the IMF. It would certainly be helpful to move towards a more balanced global currency regime. The euro is a step in this direction because it is weighted …
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Shell dumps wind, solar, hydro
Shell oil company which has made a big deal out of its commitment to alternative energy for the past decade, has decided to deemphasise its investment in wind, solar and hydro technologies. Their rationale is economic and we may therefore conclude that the drop in consumption symptomatic of the economic recession is driving this decision. …
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Economic crisis? The ecological crisis is looming.
Growing world population will cause a “perfect storm” of food, energy and water shortages by 2030, the UK government chief scientist has warned. Global crisis ‘to strike by 2030’
A crisis of protectionism will escalate the economic crisis.
Protectionism has a track record of harming economies. It is harmful to those that implement protectionism and those that are targets of protectionism. It is contrary to the beneficial lessons of the past decades. It is the ideology of failed regimes such as North Korea and former Eastern Block countries. Protectionism exacerbates a downward spiral, …
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A monumental failure of management.
Another piece by a respected analyst describing the cause of the economic crisis – moral hazard. Of course, it is not just America’s failure, but one that has been made globally. America’s monumental failure of management. by Henry Mintzberg in The Globe and Mail “If you always do as you always did, you will always …
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