GSCE Economics

Demand and Supply in action - Dry Shampoo

2012-05-24T08:32:03+00:00

Sales of dry shampoo have rocketed in the past year. Sales have risen by 140% year on year, and research by industry analysts Mintel found 23% of women and 13% of men own a bottle. It is especially popular among younger women, with nearly four in ten of those aged 16 to 24 using it So why is there such a big increase in demand for this product?

Scarcity and the Basic Economic Problem

2012-05-21T10:58:48+00:00

When introducing pupils to this topic and looking for examples of free and economic goods, water often comes up as an example of a free good. Well, below (and found here) is an excellent image which illustrates the true scarcity of fresh water as the sphere represents all available water in comparision to the size of the earth.

How much for an olympic torch?

2012-05-19T16:58:21+00:00

I’ve just seen a great piece of topical demand and supply in action today. Just in case you’ve missed it on the news, the Olympic torch arrived in the UK and embarked on a 70-day tour in the run-up to the London 2012 games.

Will a fat tax work? Thinking Hat activity

2012-05-17T09:17:25+00:00

I don’t want to overhype this but the Grocer magazine is brilliant for interesting business and economics articles. Some articles require a subscription but it might be worth it for interesting lesson starters. Here is a fantastic article for debating the introduction of a fat tax to reduce health issues in the UK. I am going to use De Bono’s thinking hats activity to debate this topic in class. One group will wear the red hat meaning they have to go on their gut reaction and not read the article. White Hat – This group will use the data to back up all of their opinions and look for more data to make a decision. (More data could be provided) Black hat – They get to think of all of the negative aspects of a fat tax. Yellow hat – Only positives of an introduction of a fat tax will be discussed by this group. Green hat – The final group will try to look for alternative methods of solving the problem. Finally the groups will present their finding and a good class discuss should follow. This would be a perfect activity for year 10’s at the end of term or for a longer project style activity for returning year 12 students after their exams.

Snap crackle and pop! Supply and demand in the cereal market

2012-05-17T08:58:09+00:00

A farmer friend of mine recommended subscribing to the Grocer magazine for Business Studies stories and I am delighted to say that it has some fantastic articles for use in both economics and business classes. This example is perfect for a supply and demand lesson. It seems customers cereal tastes have changed with old favourites such as rice krispies loosing 11.8% of sales. A great starter for a supply and demand lesson would be to get students to read the article and find as many reasons for the drop in sales as possible.

Economy tracker

2012-05-16T12:27:26+00:00

The BBCs economy tracker has been updated with the latest unemployment figures. This is a great resource to use in the classroom. Click here to go to it. Particularly great for revision, students will be able to see what has happened to unemployment over time and also read about unemployment.

Euro 2012 rip off – Supply and demand in action

2012-05-16T10:14:50+00:00

Hotels at Euro 2012 are increasing their prices by as much as 1000% with some pretty shoddy rooms going for over £800. Students could try to show this using a demand and supply diagram. The most able students might also be able to talk about how the elasticity of demand and supply has caused the prices to increase so much. For an even more advanced student, you could ask whether the government setting a maximum price for hotel rooms would have solved this problem or just caused more issues

Video revision - Manufacturing coming back to the UK

2012-05-16T09:27:45+00:00

Another great video for revision. This one looks at why some firms are coming back to the UK to manufacture. It could also be a good one to do economics bingo with! Click here to watch the video.

Fine for texting whilst walking – negative externalities

2012-05-15T10:41:50+00:00

An American town has been so annoyed by people texting whilst walking that it has decided to fine anyone caught doing so. This is a perfect example for negative externalities Students could read the article and discuss the following points 1. What are the negative externalities of texting whilst walking? 2. Do you think a fine will be successful in reducing the number of people texting whilst walking 3. Discuss the possible effectiveness of other solutions to the problem

Demand and supply in action - minimum price on alcohol

2012-05-14T13:51:55+00:00

Another great revision story this time on minimum prices. The Scottish Government has announced it wants to set a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol. This will ensure that a standard bottle of wine at 12.5% volume is set at a minimum of £4.69 in Scotland. Compare this to the price of a similar bottle costing £3.49 in England. A 70cl bottle of whisky at 40% will cost no less than £14 - while you can pick up a bottle in England for just over £10.

Another great video for revision - exchange rates

2012-05-12T10:13:09+00:00

The BBC have produced another great short video that could be used for revision. Here they look at the effects of a strong pound. Click here for the video Don’t forget the great mnemonic for remember the effects of a strong pound:

How do interest rates work

2012-05-12T07:00:53+00:00

Here is a great sort video for revision from Business Basic that explains about interest rates. Click here

Demand and supply in action - bikes

2012-05-11T09:34:38+00:00

Sales of bicycles are forecast to reach an all-time high this year. The reason is that we are gearing up for a summer of watching cycling champions Victoria Pendleton, Mark Cavendish and Sir Chris Hoy in action. Analysts at Mintel predict that bike sales will grow by 8 per cent on 2011 to £700million this year, rising to £800million by 2016. Another great one for students to practice their diagram drawing and explanation writing.

Competition in action - iPad mini

2012-05-11T09:10:26+00:00

Here is a great story on how firms compete. Apple is planning to launch an assault against the Android tablet market by releasing an ‘iPad Mini’ - at a loss-making price of around £150, new claims suggest.

Exam Question Practice: Market Failure

2012-05-11T08:13:34+00:00

After watching the video below answer the following questions:

Demand and Supply in Action - Potatoes

2012-05-09T08:13:26+00:00

A great demand and supply in action story as your Year 11 students revise. The price of potatoes is set to rise due to the weather. The wet weather is delaying planting and slowing down harvests. The rains and floods have delayed main crop planting, with total plantings currently estimated to run to just over 70,000 hectares compared with almost 100,000 hectares this time last year. Favourable weather in 2011 had led to unusually large crops across western Europe, which had kept prices down. Using this information you could get your students to draw 2 diagrams one for 2011 and one for 2012.

The north south divide

2012-05-09T07:55:20+00:00

This is a great piece of data to help you look at cost of living and the North/South divide.

Video case study – income elasticity of demand and franchising

2012-05-08T10:30:17+00:00

After a small break I’m back doing the blogs for GCSE Economics so expect more to come through this term. I’m aiming to increase the number of blogs that provide a longer activity for a lesson. One of my favourite activities on the business studies blog is the video case study so I’m going to start with that. Baskin-Robbins the world largest ice-cream parlour chain is set to double the number of stores in the UK over the next three years. This video could be used for a number of topics but I will use it for income elasticity of demand. Also for business teachers this is a great topic for franchising. Possible case study questions For income elasticity of demand 1.Define income elasticity of demand (2) 2.Using the concept of income elasticity of demand explain why the owner of Baskin-Robbins sees his product as recession proof (4) For franchising 1.Explain one disadvantage from the video of becoming a franchisee (2) 2.Explain why a franchisee may be attracted to Baskin-Robbins (2) 3.Explain one reason from the video why Baskin-Robbins may not be sucessful in the UK (2)

Demand and Supply in ACtion: Bulletproofing kit for cars woos middle class in Brazil

2012-04-19T13:41:09+00:00

After watching this BBC video and using the demand shifters PACIFICS and supply shifters PINTSWC, can you explain what is happening to the market for bulletproofing kit in Brazil?

Demand and supply in action - Rice Pudding

2012-04-18T10:59:09+00:00

The economic downturn seems to have caused a surge in demand for rice pudding. In the past year Muller Rice sales have grown 4% to £57.4million, data showed. Muller put this increase down to advertising and encouraging shoppers to reappraise the brand. but other makers of pot desserts, such as Rachel’s, Tideford Organics and Yeo Valley, have also seen good growth.

Great graphic - unemployment

2012-04-17T09:17:29+00:00

A greater starter for some revision on unemployment here: 10 worst cities for unemployment

Demand and Supply in Action: Rising Oil Prices Increases Demand for Cooking Oil - Substitute Goods

2012-03-18T20:03:02+00:00

Good example here of how the rising price of one good can increase the demand for (and in this case, the theft of!) another i.e. they are substitute goods (S in the acronym PASIFIC).

Demand and Supply in action: the market for IPads

2012-03-17T08:32:27+00:00

This week sees the launch of the latest IPad to scenes of overnight queues and fanfares from Apple.

Demand and Supply in action - Beach hut for sale

2012-03-14T10:15:45+00:00

How much would you pay for this?

Supply and demand in action –No more battery hens

2012-03-13T15:50:41+00:00

Here is a great video as a starter for a supply lesson. Experts are warning an EU ban on battery hen cages could cause the price off eggs to sky rocket. Can your students draw a diagram to explain this?

Delicious data - mortgage lending

2012-03-13T10:03:25+00:00

A great piece of data to test your students on data description. It will also lead quite nicely in to a number of topics for revision.

Inflation basket

2012-03-13T09:32:55+00:00

The constituent parts of the basket that makes up the measure for CPI & RPI inflation is being updated to reflect changes in trends.

World Trade Organisation

2012-03-12T20:17:25+00:00

After a 7 year battle the WTO has now ruled that Boeing received illegal subsidies from the US Government

Demand and supply in action - Eggs

2012-03-05T12:30:42+00:00

An increase of up to 20p on a dozen eggs is likely amid shortages across Britain and Europe. Supplies have been hit by a combination of the ban on cruel battery cages, which came into effect in January, and rising costs for free-range producers. The wholesale price for a dozen of the cheapest large eggs has more than doubled in the past year from 45p to 97p, while the figure for medium is up from 40p to 83p.

Delicious data - supermarket market share

2012-03-01T21:28:49+00:00

Some great data here on the changing market share in the supermarket sector. Following on from this data you could ask students to think of ways which Tesco could try to gain this lost market share back.

Great starter video - nail varnish again

2012-02-29T14:49:00+00:00

A great little video to get students thinking about what products are likely to do well in a downturn and what might not.

Economics in the News

2012-02-29T14:04:10+00:00

Here is one of my favourite starters. Can your pupils guess the economics news stories from the pictures? I will be uploading a new one each week. Use the links for more detailed information about the stories. Economics_in_the_News_29-02-12.ppt

Fantastic Interactive Population Pyramid Website

2012-02-29T08:46:05+00:00

This website has to be one of the best I´ve come across, great for making country comparisons. Data exists from 1950 and predicts age distributions to 2050…and brownie points for anyone who can come up with valid reasons for Kuwait´s strange “pyramid” shape below.

Demand and Supply in Action - shoe polish

2012-02-19T20:05:15+00:00

A great demand and supply in action story to start the new half term off. The sales of shoe polish have risen 32% in the last year. One reason for this increase is the poor state of the economy. People are really looking after what they have. If you have a £150 pair of shoes, rather than scuff them to hell and get a new pair, they are cherishing them.” It’s the same phenomenon that saw Timpsons enjoy booming sales as people got their shoes re-soled in the recession, and sales of darning equipment increased at John Lewis.

The economies of Superbowl advertising

2012-02-05T22:50:15+00:00

A highlight of the year for many sports fans, the Superbowl presents advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach over 110 million captive viewers.

Demand and Supply in Action - nail polish

2012-02-02T20:15:36+00:00

Over the past year Superdrug have seen nail polish sales rise by 37 %. L’Oreal’s nail polish sales were up 24%, double the increase in lipstick and lipgloss sales. ‘We live in an image-obsessed world and nail varnish has become the ultimate accessory. Women want a quick and affordable way to get the latest look. A new varnish provides an expression of individuality and the same buzz as a new outfit for 10 per cent of the cost.’

Happiness

2012-02-01T14:25:57+00:00

The world of work has fundamentally; more part time and flexible working hours. However this is not a change which is making many of us happy, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. A report, published today, examines working life in 1952 – and what it is like for workers in this country 60 years later.

Tesco’s market share drops

2012-01-31T21:09:12+00:00

Tesco’s market share has fallen below 30% for the first time in 7 years. This time last year Tesco commanded a 30.5% market share. Sainsbury’s and Iceland both saw their market shares rise.

Great video - Widening gap between cities

2012-01-23T14:26:11+00:00

This is a great short video on the widening gap between UK cities. Lots of key terms for your budding economists to listen to.

Perfectly price inelastic supply

2012-01-20T15:30:07+00:00

What cost $10 in 1937 and would now set you back $1 million?

Introduction to globalisation via the UK car market

2012-01-20T14:56:08+00:00

For those of us eagerly awaiting the release of the Case Study for OCR GCSE Economics Unit 593, the topic of globalisation provides a nice stepping stone to the more challenging material. Data out this week from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders gives an insight into the motor industry and shows an increase of 5.8% in production by Britain’s car assembly plants.

Sales will take their toll

2012-01-20T10:09:31+00:00

Interesting figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that retail sales, excluding fuel, grew 0.6% in December 2011 compared with November 2011. These figures represented a 1.7% increase from December 2010. This seems to paint a rosy picture.

Demand and Supply in Action - what’s in a name?

2012-01-20T09:12:26+00:00

It has been suggested in a new report that Skegness should change its name to boost demand in the ailing resort. This links really well with fashion and trends in demand. Skegness has become less popular with the rise of the package holiday (substitute) and younger people seeing Skegness as a less desirable place to go on holiday.

Delicious data - UK debt compared

2012-01-19T20:49:23+00:00

Here is a great graph for using with your students to do a delicious data question.

Figure of the day - unemployment

2012-01-18T19:57:51+00:00

Just watching the news and I heard a great statistic that you could use with your students this week. For every job vacancy in the UK there are 5.8 unemployed people. Five years ago this figure was 2.8.

End of the line for the staycation?

2012-01-18T14:51:35+00:00

The staycation became the answer to recession blues. It was cheaper to stay here in the UK than go abroad at a time when real incomes were falling. The cost of taking a holiday in the UK is the highest in Europe, given the price of accommodation, food, attractions and petrol.

House prices fall

2012-01-18T10:01:57+00:00

According to official figures, house prices declined in all areas of Britain except London, East Midlands and the North East over the last year. House prices in Britain fell by 0.3 per cent on average in the year to November 2011.

Should the Pound shop be renamed?

2012-01-17T09:52:52+00:00

Supermarket price wars cause inflation fall

2012-01-17T09:47:30+00:00

Figures released today show that inflation has fallen to 4.2% in December. Many retailers, in particular the supermarkets launched heavy tactics to ensure sales in the run up to Christmas. A supermarket price war broke out after Tesco announced a £500 million price-cutting campaign, Asda guaranteed to be 10% cheaper than its rivals and Sainsbury’s launched its own brand price matching scheme.

Demand and Supply in Action - Recession boosts fast food demand

2012-01-15T21:38:27+00:00

The recent recession has led to a surge in demand for fast food. This means that 50.4% of all meals eaten out of the home are now at a so-called quick service restaurant, up from 47.3% just two years ago. The term quick service restaurant is used by the industry to describe any outlet where the consumer queues to buy take-away food so includes coffee shops.

Global house prices

2012-01-09T14:48:18+00:00

Some really interesting data here on global house prices. It shows that the UK is ranked 30th in terms of how house prices have changed in quarter 3 of 2011.

Christmas 2011 - who were the winners and losers?

2012-01-09T12:08:28+00:00

The Guardian has done it again with a brilliant interactive guide to the winners and losers on the high street this Christmas.

Fun with Widgets

2012-01-09T11:57:12+00:00

Here are some interesting widgets that you could get your website administrator to put on your economics page of the school website. This site has a widget for US national debt and this one shows UK national debt. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget(‘383109ce-1c24-4ed5-b0d2-0aba2ac9b1ac’); Get the UK National Debt Clock - Small widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) Please Enable Javascript for this Finance widget to work

The grocery shop is getting cheaper!

2012-01-08T01:41:35+00:00

A great article here for students to get to grips with what real terms is. Comparing the grocery shop today with what it would have cost in1862 shows that A Victorian shopper would have needed £1,254.17 in real terms to fill their weekly basket with a selected range of food, drink and house-hold items, compared with £93.95 today.

Demand and supply in action - oil prices

2012-01-04T08:34:45+00:00

A great demand and supply in action story to start the year off. Oil prices have risen by 4%. The cost of Brent crude jumped $4 a barrel to $111.4 by yesterday. The reason is the tensions between Iran and the US.

Starting a business - video

2012-01-03T14:42:45+00:00

This video clip is more of a business one but still great for Economists as well. Deborah Meaden on BBC news this morning talking about entrepreneurs and starting a business. Click here to see the video

Unemployment rises again

2011-12-15T08:06:31+00:00

With the news yesterday that unemployment has once again risen there is a huge number of useful articles to use with our students. First of all here is a great short video.

Eurozone in charts

2011-12-14T11:49:42+00:00

Another great set of interactive graphs here. This set allows you to compare all EU countries deficits, GDP, debt and unemployment. Not only is this great for starting up some discussion but also could be used for some delicious data questions.

Best and worst case scenarios for the EU

2011-12-14T11:45:15+00:00

Here is a great interactive graphic from the BBC to show the best and worst case scenarios for the EU. A good resource to be using at the end of term!

Great graphic - European debt

2011-12-13T10:49:12+00:00

It can be quite hard for students to understand the European debt crisis. This interactive graphic from the Telegraph is great for showing students.

Demand and Supply in action - chocolate prices soar

2011-12-13T10:38:00+00:00

Here is a great demand and supply in action story to get students practising their diagrams and explaining them. The price of chocolate is set to soar over the next decade. This is due to a worldwide shortage of cocoa beans. In addition growing taste for cocoa in China, rising demand for dark chocolate and an awareness of its health benefits are forcing up demand.

Structural Unemployment

2011-12-08T15:22:50+00:00

Sticking with the unemployment theme, this article would be useful for explaining structural unemployment. Many businesses are complaining they need workers but they are finding it hard to find suitably skilled staff. After reading the article students could discuss ways in which the government could reduce this type of unemployment. Link

Jobs for Christmas - Seasonal employment

2011-12-08T15:10:29+00:00

Here is a video to show season employment. Before showing the video I asked my class to think of companies that only require extra workers at Christmas. Link

How happy are you?

2011-12-01T22:44:51+00:00

British people rate their life satisfaction as 7.4 out 10 in the new flagship happiness survey. The poll of 4,200 adults was carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Can you crack the code? Recruitment in action

2011-12-01T14:52:44+00:00

This is Business Studies but it would make an interesting starter for a lesson on recruitment. GCHQ has released a matrix style code which visitors of the site are given 7 hours to crack. Anyone successfully unearthing the word will be directed to the GCHQ recruitment website. This is a clever way of ensuring they are targeting the right potential employees. Can anyone in your class crack the code! Code website Sky News

Demand for Christmas

2011-11-28T16:41:31+00:00

What does Call of Duty have in common with a four-pint bottle of milk?

Update on working walls

2011-11-28T10:58:11+00:00

For all of the delegates at the TEBBLE conferences this year I thought I’d give an update on the state of my classroom walls.

Supply and demand in action – are the Aussies going off beer?

2011-11-28T10:38:59+00:00

Here is a good example of supply and demand in action from Australia where despite having a reputation as beer lovers, demand for the drink has slumped to a 60 year low. I am going to ask my class to discuss what the cause of this could be and draw a diagram to show how it might affect prices of beer. Link

Price Elasticity of Supply

2011-11-27T15:37:37+00:00

Heston Blumenthal’s Hidden Orange Christmas pudding is expected to sell out once again at Waitrose as the last few reach the shops next week.

Stat for the day - housing market

2011-11-24T09:13:21+00:00

According to new research from the Bank of England young people should be prepared to rent until the age of 44. A leading member of the Bank said homeownership in Britain is set to fall sharply and the number of people forced to rent will rise. Homeownership has fallen from 70.9% in 2003 to 67.4% today with the rest of people renting.

Britain v Germany - The Economic Fight!

2011-11-23T10:41:40+00:00

Another great interactive guide from the Guardian. This one is comparing Britain and Germany in terms of who is better off. This could be a great starter activity, getting students involved.

Tax - do you pay in more than you get back?

2011-11-23T10:35:45+00:00

This is a great tax calculator from the BBC. You could make up some fictitious households for your students to compare. A great tool to look at tax and benefits in the UK. There is also a short video to introduce the topic.

Web of debt - interactive data

2011-11-18T10:42:37+00:00

Some great interactive data from the BBC on who owes who and how much. A great way to show GCSE (and A Level) students.

Delicious data - UK GDP growth

2011-11-16T07:52:52+00:00

Great graph here showing UK GDP growth between 2007 and 2011.

Inflation - great short video

2011-11-15T14:46:20+00:00

I showed my class this really good short video on inflation this morning. It is great as a recap or a starter on inflation. Lots of the key points students need to know are in there.

Petrol prices - a breakdown

2011-11-14T15:21:10+00:00

Last week I blogged about the prospect of increasing petrol prices. I have just found some useful information on the breakdown of the price at the pump. This would be really useful for teaching indirect taxes.

Demand and Supply in action - The Christmas turkey

2011-11-14T09:20:52+00:00

The cost of the Christmas turkey could be as much as 25% higher this year. As a result you will pay about £50 for an average 12lb turkey, up from £40 last year.

Costs of Production - iPhone 4S

2011-11-13T10:03:22+00:00

The graphic below is a great way to help to explain to students about costs of production and value added. The iPhone 4S costs £499 in the shops. However you may be surprised to hear that the total cost of producing it is £112.89.

Will this stop people buying cigarettes? Market failure in action

2011-11-11T11:36:50+00:00

When I teach the cures of market failure I always say LETS intervene. This means governments could legislate, educate, tax or subsidise to reduce the market failure. This video shows a great example of the Australian government using legislation to reduce consumption of cigarettes which are a demerit good. Do your class think this is a good solution or can they think of anything better? Sky News

EU growth rates - delicious data

2011-11-11T10:14:40+00:00

A great graphic here on growth rates in the UK, Germany, France and the EU as a whole.

VAT relief on DVDs

2011-11-09T10:12:06+00:00

The Treasury is scrapping an exemption on VAT for goods valued at less than £15 dispatched from the Channel Islands

Mnemonic Monday - Party Season Nearly Christmas!

2011-11-07T09:53:13+00:00

It seems that Christmas festivities start earlier and earlier each year, so this mnemonic is rather fitting at the beginning of November. This is a great one for remembering cross price elasticity.

Demand and Supply in action - petrol prices

2011-11-07T09:40:57+00:00

News coming in today suggests that we are going to see prices at the petrol pumps rise considerably over the next few years. The reason behind this will be increasing demand from the fast growing Asian economies.

What is QE?

2011-11-04T13:34:48+00:00

I am sure many of us have had students coming and asking what quantative easing is. Here is a great short clip explaining it.

Delicious data - petrol prices

2011-11-03T19:06:57+00:00

Fuel prices have risen by an eye watering 49% in the last two years. Experts are predicting prices to go up another 10p next year. It begs the question - when will fuel price increases ever stop? Data found that the cheapest region for petrol is Yorkshire and the Humberside, with the average price 132p per litre. Whereas the most expensive area for petrol is London and the South East, with an average price of 137p per litre.

Is the Euro crumbling?

2011-11-02T18:03:33+00:00

This may have happened to you recently. A student asks you what caused the crisis in Europe and you try to explain but fail to make it sound particularly interesting. This quick animation from the BBC is much better at explaining the situation than me and would be a great starter for any lesson this week. Link

Mnemonic Monday - Supply factors

2011-10-31T06:23:22+00:00

This weeks mnemonic hopefully will help students remember the factors which cause the supply curve to shift. PINTSWC

Top Toys - fashion and trends

2011-10-25T06:10:36+00:00

On Monday we looked at the mnemonic for remembering the factors that cause the demand curve to shift. This story nicely illustrates the fashion and trends factor. Here are the top 12 toys for this Christmas.

Mnemonic Monday - Demand factors

2011-10-24T06:03:38+00:00

So as we all embark on teaching demand and supply I thought it would be a good idea to remind ourselves of the useful mnemonics for this topic. This week we will look at the factors which cause the demand curve to shift.

Inflation - interactive guide

2011-10-18T12:08:08+00:00

The updated inflation interactive guide is here. Following the announcement earlier today that inflation has jumped to 5.2%. The interactive guide is a great way for students to get an idea of what has been going on with inflation since 2006.

Luxury items buck the trend

2011-10-12T13:54:37+00:00

We are expecting demand for goods and services to be dropping as the economic outlook worsens. Not so says Burberry, makers of expensive luxury items such as the trench coat and handbags. They have seen revenues rise 30% in the six months to September 30th.

The Superstar Doughnut

2011-10-06T16:18:21+00:00

Here is a nice example for supply and demand. Greggs have managed to fight the recession with one very successful product, the superstar doughnut. You have a choice of strawberry milkshake, triple choc vanilla, jaffa cake or coconut snowball doughnut, personally I’d have the jaffa cake. Demand has shot up for the product due to a very successful advertising campaign aimed at Greggs 280,000 Facebook fans.

Demand and Supply in action - fish and chips

2011-09-21T12:14:01+00:00

1,200 people queued to get their hands on a fish and chip takeaway meal for just £1. Fosters Fish and Chips shop in Didsbury, Manchester, was offering the special promotion to celebrate its first birthday. And the £4.75 savings on the usual price appeared to be reason enough for 1,200 customers to wait hours in line.

Demand and Supply in action - pumpkins

2011-09-19T22:14:00+00:00

The recent hurricane on the East Coast of America has seriously affected the crop of pumpkins ahead of Halloween. The US is facing a shortage this year after Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches across the region. Wholesale prices have doubled in some places as farmers nurse their surviving pumpkin plants toward a late harvest.

Where to shop if Poundland looks a bit pricy

2011-09-09T09:23:00+00:00

When a pound shop appears across the road there are a number of strategies that you could use to compete. Stocking better quality products or employing a more knowledgeable staff would be obvious options. Less obvious would be to try and compete on price. Do your students think this is a viable strategy?

Unemployment hot spots

2011-09-08T16:02:00+00:00

Liverpool, Nottingham and Glasgow have found themselves, for the second year running, with the highest level of households where no-one is in work. Liverpool and Glasgow the figures actually fell in the past year from 32.1% and 31.1% to 31.9% and 30.7%. However in Nottingham it increased from 31.3% to 31.6%.

Tax meters for German prostitutes

2011-09-05T15:39:00+00:00

A new school year and I’m starting with a bit of a controversial blog. With the Eurozone in crisis Germany are looking to increase their tax income by targeting a previously tax dodging industry. This video is a great starter for any lesson on tax.

Cost cutting at Cadbury

2011-09-05T08:51:00+00:00

In an effort to maintain profit margins as the price of commodities rise Cadbury are cutting the number of chocolates in their tins of Roses and Heroes but keeping the price the same. The weight of a tin of Roses is to be reduced from 975g to 850g. This means 11 fewer chocolates.

Great graphic for a starter

2011-08-27T20:23:01+00:00

As we all start to think about the start of term here is a good graphic that could be used for a starter lesson for getting the students to start thinking about macroeconomics.

How much of our spending goes on food?

2011-08-23T15:23:00+00:00

Food and the proportion of income spent on it is a common theme in GCSE Economics often showing up in the multiple choice paper. Generally speaking the lower your income the higher the proportion of your income is spent on food. Below is a great infographic looking at the percentage of people’s total expenditures spent on food in the countries of the world (source: civileats) Unsurprisingly, the more developed the country, a smaller proportion of their income is spent on food.