So What Next For The Euro?

by Hannah Gent

In my last article I described how the desire of European nations after World War II to prevent future conflicts led to increasing co-operation and integration with the ultimate formation of the European Union and the single European currency.  I looked at how, despite this having significant benefits, the ‘one size fits all’ policy was risky, tying nations at different stages of economic cycles to a fixed interest rate that could either prevent growth or over-stimulate economies.  The financial crisis of the last four years has exposed the weaknesses in this system and the next three months are going to be very interesting indeed.  So what is going to happen next?

Animal Testing: A Scientific Debate

by Clemency Flitter



Saturday the 28^th of April was the World Day for Animals in Laboratories. To mark the occasion there was a large protest and march in Birmingham and it was there where I found out more. When people think about these protests I can imagine many only think of the hard-core environmentalists and radicals. However, this didn’t appear to be the case from where I was standing. There were people of all types, all racial and social backgrounds. The speakers and leaders of the protest also made sure that it remained peaceful and even made a point of thanking the police presence; it was a far cry from some of the protests inner cities experience, where vandalism and violence are the order of the day.

Obama on Same-Sex Marriage

by Clemency Flitter

It has been a highly contentious issue in American politics for some years now, with many politicians using clever words and neat quotes to scurry around the topic but now President Obama has spoken outright that same-sex marriage should be legalised in America. Obama has himself seemingly been avoiding making a clear statement for some time; instead describing himself as “evolving” on the issue. This turn of events is sure to bring hope to supporters of same-sex marriage across America and in the wider world. However, this comes just a day after the state of North Caroline voted to ban same-sex marriages and similar amendments have taken place in roughly 30 other states, so is the issue any closer to being solved?

Euthanasia: Friend or Foe?

by Shireen Avasthi

Not many people are aware of the term ‘euthanasia’. It's derived from the Greek word euthanatos, which means easy death. Euthanasia is when a very sick person’s (they are often on life support) life is discontinued (at their request) in order to cease their malady. Someone who chooses to undergo euthanasia usually has an irremediable condition.
In most cases, euthanasia is carried out at the request of the person in question. However, from time to time there are cases when the person is much too afflicted to make the decision themselves, so in that case it is usually made by close relatives, sometimes made by doctors and, in very rare cases, made by the courts.

Should euthanasia be legalised? What are the pros and cons?

The Euro Crisis - How Did We Get To Where We Are?

by Hannah Gent

The world is in the middle of very turbulent financial times, particularly in Europe. In the first of two articles I will explain how the current situation has arisen.

In 1958, six European countries decided to join together for their mutual benefit. It was soon after the Second World War and it was thought that future conflicts could be avoided by greater cooperation. This was the beginning of the European Union (EU) although it was not known by this name until 1993. There are now 27 member states mainly within Europe. 

The Unexpected City That Changed The World

by Viva Avasthi





Do you live in a democracy? Are you American? Are you a female? Are you of African or Caribbean origin? Do you live in a country that manufactures goods?

If you can say yes to any one of those seemingly random questions, then you've almost certainly been massively affected by Birmingham, a British city that you might never have heard of.

From Pottery Shards To Phone Votes: Where Does The UK Fit In?

by Clemency Flitter

Two Campaigners

I like to think many people who live and work in the UK are very proud of the democracy we share in this country. Every five years we all get to vote and choose a party which will go on to represent us and make the decisions on behalf of the population. Many have striven and many have died for this right to everybody getting a free and secret vote, with first the push to get all classes an equal vote and then the protests and hunger strikes of Votes for Women. It’s been a pretty rough ride getting to where we are now, and I would say it has been worth it, for there is certainly more equality in the way the government is run now than ever before. But is it still truly a democracy?

 

A Visual Guide To Deflation

by Viva Avasthi

Here's the second part to the previous post: A Visual Guide to Inflation. This one's brilliant too! As with the inflation guide, this is apparently biased towards the Keynesian view. What's your opinion about this? Is this guide relevant? Which approach is the best towards deflation in your opinion?

Read on to see the guide.

A Visual Guide To Inflation

by Viva Avasthi

Check this out! It's a really entertaining guide :) I don't know much about the various economic fields of thought yet, but apparently this is heavily based on the Keynesian view. How effective do you think this guide is? Are there any changes that you would make to it?


 Read on to see the complete guide.

What Do Bank Holidays Mean For The Economy?

by Viva Avasthi

The biggest economics-related news for the UK today has been that bank holidays are costing the British economy about £2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) per day. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has suggested that bank holidays should be more evenly distributed throughout the year to stop businesses "losing momentum".

There has been a very mixed response to this by the British public as I have discovered by reading some comments on the BBC site under this article:

BBC News - Bank holidays 'cost economy £19bn'

My question: is there a correlation between the success of a country and the number of bank holidays it has? If not, what could be the reasons for such a large loss for the economy? 

Sweatshops: a Curse or a Boon?

by Viva Avasthi

Sweatshops have been branded as places where the poor in developing countries are forced to work under horrible conditions for massive multinational companies such as Nike, for example. But is this really the case? Are there benefits to so-called 'sweat shops'?

Contents of Investigation:

1. Introduction
2. The problems with sweatshops
3. An alternative approach to the issues surrounding sweatshops
4. Conclusion

How Does The Weather Affect The Economy?

by Viva Avasthi


Living in the UK means that the weather has really (annoyingly!) been playing up recently. Only last week the weather was lovely but this morning there was a full-blown blizzard outside my bedroom window...


The Telegraph - Britain to be battered by gale force winds, snow sleet and rain as Winter returns for Easter 2012

OK, such a short burst of change in weather may not affect the economy much. However, this led me to thinking: just how much does the weather affect the economy? I'll focus primarily on the UK economy, of course, but since the world is so interconnected - through globlisation as you will probably be aware - I might just check out the impact of the weather on the global economy too (in a different post, perhaps.)