Posts

Influences on the Economy: Immigration

-
Immigration is simply the movement of people from one country into another host country. Whilst the benefits to the economy include contributions to the labour market and filling the gaps in necessary skills, the costs of increased housing and services have garnered lots of controversy. In the first quarter of 2024, studies showed that foreign-born workers made up over a fifth of the working population. Given that around 60% of immigrants are working age, this therefore seems beneficial to the national workforce. The UK, for example, is suffering extreme job shortages:     - Over 40,000 nursing vacancies      - Cybersecurity workforce shrunk by 65,000     - Need for 700,000 new technicians The influx of skilled workers may be able to fill the void, reducing pressures on companies and public services. This means that extreme cost-cutting measures, such as the significant lay-offs and redundancies, as well as stagnated wages, can be curbed. Productivity of organisations can improve whils
Post a Comment
Read more

Influences on the Economy: Natural Disasters

-
Image
Natural disasters are any natural events which cause damage or harm to people, the environment, and in turn, the overall economy. Occurrences of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions across the globe have wreaked not just direct implications on human life and loss of industry, but long term secondary impacts on financial stability and diversion of funds. At face value, natural disasters present many challenges to an economy, though it also provides scope for new opportunities and innovation. The direct costs of a natural hazard are always a significant effect. The most expensive disaster in history was the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, as the damage was estimated at $235 billion (though other sources claim it was upwards of $360 billion). This means that government funds cannot be directed towards more economically progressive areas such as technology and other financial industries. The immediate costs are further compounded by the rebuilding costs to construct houses and buildings aga
Post a Comment
Read more

2008: Crash, Bank, Wallop

-
Image
We often associate banks with strength, rigidity and control. Images of money, Roman architecture and unintelligible line graphs (which claim to represent the stock exchange) inundate the mind. But even institutions as robust as banks aren't invincible, a reality we ended up learning the hard way in the years of 2007 to 2008. It's common fact that these were the years in which most banks found themselves barely managing to stay afloat, and the word "Recession" appearing on the front page of pretty much every newspaper. But what really happened? More importantly, however, why? Before we dive into the intricacies of this complexity, let's talk about houses. Most of the times, people borrow money from the bank or lending firms in vast amounts to secure the purchase and ownership of a new house, otherwise known as a mortgage. Naturally, the new homeowner is required to pay back the loan over a several year fixture, repaying small deposits on a monthly basis with added
Post a Comment
Read more

Young Carer's Project Kingston: The Support That Changed My Life

-
Image
  "You can't achieve anything entirely by yourself . There's a support system that is a basic requirement of human existence. To be happy and successful on earth, you just have to have people that you rely on." - Michael Schur I've spoken a lot about my experience as a Young Carer, and how having a younger brother with Special Needs has made my life, well, different. From feeling agonizingly lonely as a result of not having a brother to make memories with to getting my arms tied together and head smashed in what seems to be his way of "play": I've gone through all of it. I usually describe how I changed my view on my relation with my non-verbal sibling by stepping out of my problem and, with a lot of resilience, treating it as a unique, amusing reality.  However, to say that my self-revolutionising (in the humblest way possible), stemmed from me and only me would be far from the truth. In fact, it's nowhere near the truth. True, I did learn my wa
Post a Comment
Read more

My Journey As A Young Carer

-
Image
  November 11, 2015. The diagnosis results from Achieving For Children came through to our inbox. What we discovered was not just surprising, but life-changing. At only two years of age, my brother was diagnosed with severe Autism. Now at the outset, this may not seem like a colossal setback. After all, we now know 1 in 100 people are diagnosed with ASD and that we should become more acceptable of people with disabilities. However, this day saw what was once a peaceful and close family almost collapse. My hopes of experiencing   the love and affection of a younger brother would be washed away. At the time, I will admit, I had very little knowledge about the situation, but for all I knew, I was back to being that lonely child. Not having what you desire most is painful, but having something you desire but can never use is even worse. It seemed as if everything could only go downhill from there. Not only had my idea of the life ahead for me seem restricted and isolated, but we were a
8 comments
Read more

Norway: The Perfect Economy?

-
Image
In the past, we've seen how countries that have struck the jackpot with economic matters can easily fall victim to corruption and financial instability, put forward Venezuela ( Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 ). A lot of the times, this is because countries forget to diversify their economy and focus on only a few sources of income. Also, they may be tempted to go on a mass spending spree, resulting in lower taxes, fancy infrastructure and everyone getting their hands on supercars and mansions. Whilst this is desirable for everyone in the country, we've also seen that this golden standard of living only lasts in the short term.  Today, we're looking at a country often swept under the carpet in terms of economics and financial prosperity: Norway. This small, socialist, Scandinavian nation seems to have got almost everything correct with their fiscal framework both in the short and long term. In fact, they have one of the highest: GDP per Capita University graduates Life Expectancy
Post a Comment
Read more

The Rise and Fall of Venezuela: Chapter 2

-
Image
  (Note: This is the second part of a two part series. The first chapter can be read here ) Previously, we looked at the rise and fall of Venezuela between 1960 and the 1990s. The story of how this country drowned in their own success. What followed was a series of famine, riots, corruption, and hyperinflation, with the government continuously making poor decisions driving the nation into turmoil.  We continue our exploration in 1998, when a military lieutenant by the name of Hugo Chavez decided to take advantage of the current public anger towards the government. An already known figure, he used his popularity and left-wing ideas to gain the confidence of the Venezuelan people, and eventually rise to power in 1999.  Chavez started his Presidential leadership by going on a massive spending spree on social programs in an attempt to better the quality of living for the Venezuelan citizens who had previously been victim of extreme poverty and hyperinflation. Unsurprisingly, he had to use
Post a Comment
Read more