Category: Economic Development
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Runaway World – It Is Here
The following quote comes from Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives. It was written in 1998, by British sociologist, Anthony Giddens. What Globalisation is, and whether it is in any way new, are the focus of intense debate. I discuss this debate in Chapter I, since much else hangs upon it. Yet the…
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“Is Fair Trade Fair?” – Primer on Free Trade Coffee
What are the economic merits of Free Trade Coffee? In this video, my friend Victor Claar (professor of economics at Henderson State University) gives a 25 minute presentation about the economics of fair trade. It was originally presented at the Macmillan's EconEd Conference last year. The audience is economics teachers, but the presentation is accessible…
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Why Are We Not Running Out of Farm Land?
One of the most persistent worries about population and economic growth is that we will eventually use up all our resources and land. It is based on the intuitive (but false) assumption that if it takes X acreage of land to feed a person today, then it will take two times X acreage to feed…
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Half of Global Wealth Owned by 62 People: How Oxfam Lies While Telling the Truth
Once again, Oxfam is circulating that 62 people have as much wealth as the bottom half of the world's population. Think about that for a moment. When you read that, what do you think that means? Particularly, what is wealth? Many people will interpret "wealth" as financial assets. Many others realize wealth includes the value…