In the aftermath to the abolition of slavery, about 2 million indentured workers travelled from the Indian sub-continent to the British plantation colonies between 1834 and the First World War….Read More >
economics
India’s terrible roads: how to build a world-class network and still reach net zero
One of the keys to China’s economic renaissance over the past couple of decades is often overlooked. Namely, it has built a lot of roads. China’s highways have more or…Read More >
India COVID crisis: four reasons it will derail the world economy
The second wave of the pandemic has struck India with a devastating impact. With over 300,000 new cases and 3,000 deaths across the country each day at present, the total…Read More >
Oil: why higher prices will complicate the energy transition
The oil price is on a rollercoaster. Having crashed into negative territory just last April, the price of Brent crude climbed all the way to US$70 (£50) earlier in March….Read More >
COVID stamp duty holiday reveals big problems in the housing market
The UK housing market has been affected by the pandemic, but in ways that were not anticipated at the outset. Initially, forecasters thought that the sharp reduction in economic activity…Read More >
Nature: how do you put a price on something that has infinite worth?
There’s a new nature conservation strategy in town – and it means business. During the 1970s, 80s and 90s the main tactic to protect wildlife was to highlight the plight…Read More >
Cocaine: falling coffee prices force Peru’s farmers to cultivate coca
A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants and replace them with coca leaf – the raw material used in…Read More >
Four-day week: how workplaces can successfully establish it
Many workplaces have been experimenting with different types of flexible working arrangements for years now, but the pandemic has made the need for flexibility far more pressing. This has led…Read More >
Bitcoin: why the price has exploded – and where it goes from here
Bitcoin achieved a remarkable rise in 2020 in spite of many things that would normally make investors wary, including US-China tensions, Brexit and, of course, an international pandemic. From a…Read More >
Why England’s Premier League should bail out the lower leagues
Uncertainty is what makes sports entertaining. If you always knew who was going to win a match, that would be boring. In the 1960s, an economist called Walter Neale said…Read More >