Good Luck!

Just a quick one here, firstly I think its only right that we apologise for the shameful lack of posts. I'm afraid to say that revision has got the better of us, and as soon as exams are over we will resume our weekly posts! For everyone who sat the Unit1 on Monday I hope that went well and to all those sitting the Unit2 with us tomorrow,  good luck! Just remember to stay calm, keep an eye on the time and I'm sure everything will be fine! Good luck,
K+T 
Happenings

Exam Preparation Tips

So as the whole student population who are currently studying in this country know, exams are approaching faster than ever. This is blatantly an obvious fact which I'm sure has been drilled into your heads by teachers, parents, or even peers. For K and I, our exams start officially on the 13th of May, which gives us exactly under 2 months until we have to proceed with these examinations (eeek!!). As nerve-racking as this sounds, and despite how much we may want to avoid thinking about the fact exams are rushing towards us, there's nothing we can really do to avoid them. They are a basic 'perk' or getting older. So I think that now, the most important thing to do, is to not just tackle the shed loads of revision I have to do, but the make the most of these last (very) few weeks.

As well as wanting to achieve our goals and targets ourselves, we want to make sure you are able to make the most of the time you have left, and that you too can achieve your goals and targets, and come out of this whole exam process in flying colours!

As no two thumb prints are the same, no two revision techniques are identical either, and this is why it is essential to explore what works best for you. I have almost tried out every single revision technique in the book until I found that 'one' which worked ideally for me, but to be perfectly honest, I still haven't found the exact method which is perfect, and don't imagine I ever will as I keep learning different techniques which work best for me, and constantly improve them as time goes on.

So here are some revision tips and tricks which I think are pretty useful for me when preparing for exams, and which I feel would be worth trying out to see how they work for you as well!:

1) Approach-

• Proceed to do your revision in a determined and focus state of mind
• Feel motivated to get the work you need yo get done, done
• Think more of the benefits from you studying, and stay optimist than be negative
• Always remember the end goal of where you want to get to, and what you are studying to work towards
• Tell yourself that revision is 'fun' rather than frowning upon it (Despite this not really being the case in many scenarios)
• Don't try and study when you're tired as the work just won't go in/be processed
• Try combating the trickier work first as you will be more focused at the beginning of a revision session, rather than during hours into it

2) Organisation- 

• Organisation is key when revising
• Makes the whole process less tedious
• Makes it easy to access certain sections of your notes which you may need to get to
• An organised work place/ working equipment = a clearer state of mind which is ready to tackle work

3) Time Management- 

• Time management and planning the structure of the day is vital
• Dramatically increases the amount of revision you can fit in that one day
• Once you have a clear structure to your day, and know what work is going to be done when,
• You know how much time you have spent on a particular subject
• Draw up a timetable! This will put everything into perspective and help you achieve your targets
• Work in small chunks of maybe 25 minutes with a 5 minute break in-between 
• (Don't make unrealistic targets which you won't stick to! You will just be deceiving yourself) 
• Remember everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but it is now down to you to make the most of them, and make the best use of your time!

4) Note Taking- 

• Breaks down all the information you are gathering, in a very brief, and simple way
• Helps recap over the class work done
• Makes the work seem more approachable when having to read over as it is broken down to suit you
• Organise and prioritise your notes
• Mind maps | Cue-cards | PowerPoint presentations | Voice Recording | Video Recordings
• A bit of the obvious however revision is incomplete without it 

5) Environment-

• Study with minimal distractions around you (again this can be clutter)
• Make sure the room you are working in is away from noise
• Put all the potential distractions far from your reach, or even get a parent to hold onto it until you're done
• Try to avoid listening to upbeat/wordy music! If anything listen to classical music as it is proven to be the best type of music to accompany studying
• Keep the room you're working in at a nice comfortable temperature- not too hot neither not too cold

6) Past papers/Mark Schemes-

• Past papers and mark schemes are definitely essential if you're looking to achieve those top end grades
• Past papers prepare you for the style of question you're going to be asked and the extent of difficulty within them
• They help prepare you with timing for the real exam
• Mark schemes allow you to see where you're going wrong and help you to identify what the examine is specifically looking for in an answer (don't worry this isn't cheating!!)

7) Food/ Well being-

• Cut back on the sugary drinks in exchange for water when revising
• Water is essential as it helps hydrate you the correct way and sharpens your attention
• Snack on nuts and all those 'healthy brain foods' you hear about
• Get regular fresh air
• Do sufficient exercise to keep your body on track and alert
• Avoid eating big heavy meals as it sharpens the responsiveness of your brain as your body will be focused on digesting rather than learning
• Get a good nights sleep! Everyone knows it is virtually impossible to study properly when tired- you just don't absorb anything in and it feels like the biggest punishment ever to try and fight your way through tiredness!

I hope these tip are useful and you apply them right away as exams are approaching! Don't be discouraged or give up on all the hard work you have put in as you have come so far! Always remember that you are so close to the end of this section of school/work, and that you have these next few weeks yo give it your all, and feel proud satisfied in August (the dreaded month of results)! I hope for the best with you all, and happy revising :) !!!

T
Happenings

London Student Conferences: Economics Day Conference

Last week T and I took a trip up to Russell Square in London, accompanied by our fellow economics classmates, to attend a day of economics-based conferences. The conference was hosted by Jonathan Brill in the Royal National Hotel, and included lectures from four different speakers. 

The first of which was Alex Hurrell, who as a representative from Resolution Foundation, spoke about 'Economics in Professional Work: Examples from UK policy and International Development'. He spoke about the type of work that the foundation does, and what he in particular does. This included the application of economic frameworks to design and analyse policies and the application of statistical techniques to inform policy design and evaluate policy impact. Alex Hurrell told us about micro-simulation models which predict policy impact and the importance of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) , for example the placebo effect. He then continued on to ask us thought provoking questions, such as 'Why is government policy required at all? Why not leave it all to the market?' 
This talk was an appropriate opener to the day, it got us all thinking straight away and confirmed our thoughts that an interesting day would be to follow. This talk was especially appealing to me, as it gave me some ideas as to the type of career a degree in economics, specialising in public economics, can lead to. 

This was followed by a special conversation held between our host Jonathan Brill and journalist and political commentator Peter Kellner. Jonathan Brill asked intriguing questions about: J.M Keynes, the UK's deficit and the history behind Hayek's and Friedman's moral objections Keynes' theories. Peter Kellner enlightened us all with his intellectual and witty answers, and had us all gripped on his answers about the economics of higher education! 

Lunch (Nandos of course!) was followed by a third session with Simon Smethurst-McIntyre titled 'Economics experts – behavioural economics in action'. This session taught us about 'homo economicus' which, for those of you who are unaware,  is the 'economics man'. He spoke about the Rational Choice Theory, and the reasons behind the creation of 'bubbles'. A key reason behind the 2008 crash, according to Simon, was the 'Bystander Effect', which explains that how when more people are involved in something, the less are willing to intervene. 

The final session of the day was by Dr. Helen Paul on the topic of 'Economic history: what it is and what it can do.' Dr. Helen, who is a lecturer at Southampton University, firstly gave us some tips on applying to uni, and advice about what is best. She then continued to talk about the productivity of slavery and best was to analyse tools such as historical images.

Overall the day was very interesting, both T and I enjoyed it thoroughly, not only due to information we learnt, but it was also nice to have a break of the monotony of school life! 

Thanks for reading, please don't hesitate to comment below any questions or opinions!
K

Happenings 

We Are Now On Twitter+ Announcement

Great news!

You can now follow us on twitter and keep up to date with us on the go.
Our twitter name is: @HappeningsEcon
You can also search/use the hashtag #happenings to tweet us/ to get easy access to our latest tweets.

We would love it for you to mention us in your tweets, and tweet us about anything you're finding interesting in the news, and to help sustain the relationship with our followers.

We are also pleased to inform all the Economics students who follow our blog, that we will soon be featuring exam revision notes/techniques! As much as this will be beneficial for us, we hope that it will certainly be as helpful for you, and keep you on track with Economics revision! (Especially as exam season is approaching!! eeek!)
And for those of you who don't currently study Economics, the notes are still a great way to have some insight into what we learn in Macroenomics. We hope this can give you some understanding about the economy and how what we hear in the news applies to the work learnt in the class-room.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow!
@HappeningsEcon

K&T
Happenings

Because Thursday Is One Step Closer To Friday..

"The only way of finding the limits of the impossible is by going beyond them into the impossible- Arthur C. Clarke"

We hope you liked this motivational quote!
It's always nice to have something keeping you going!
Never give up.

K&T
Happenings

What Is To Blame For The UK's Low Productivity?- Hot Topic

The UK's productivity is something which can be highly debated about, mainly due to the fact that in recent years it has been surprisingly low, and not showing many signs of an increase. It has been mentioned in the news, and not to talk about it being a very 'hot topic' between K and I, and within our AS classroom.

So for starters, what is productivity?

Productivity is an average measure of the efficiency of production. It is the total output per man per hour. 

Productivity has a great impact on the amount an economy is able to produce, and also determines the amount of growth which an economy can experience as a whole. High productivity means that an economy like the UK can produce more goods and services, which can then be available to sell. By exporting these products it can help reduce a balance of trade deficit (when the amount of imports is more than exports). 

It was reported that productivity in the private sector dropped to its lowest levels since 2005, as companies continued to hire new staff, despite there being a reduction in the demand for goods and services.  It was then said that the output per hour of private sector workers fell by almost 4% reported by the ONS. 

These figures are in no way promising to the economy, and it raises the issue which frequently makes me question - what exactly is causing this slump in productivity?

For starters (and in my opinion), it is the work ethic which we have in the country which really pulls the UK behind many other countries. This does not apply to all, but in the UK, the motivation to produce more and work harder is not present in comparison to countries like China and India. Countries like this are able to maintain extremely high levels of productivity which benefits the country, and makes them more internationally competitive, as they have more goods and services to offer. 

The amount of work man is producing in the UK per hour is not living up to the standards of firms, and it is these firms who should be the ones to take action. If they want to see their workers being more productively efficient, then they need to promote a higher standard of working expectations. This could be done by rewarding staff more and using forms of encouragement to increase their amount of labour per hour.

The increase in productivity could see a rise in the aggregate economy if more firms choose to adapt to this hard working lifestyle. 

However this is easier said than done, and despite many companies taking to this style of work morale boosting, it doesn't have the desired outcomes as productivity still remains shockingly low. So instead of trying to help the work force grow and promote workers to increase their output, are the workers themselves in the first place the issue? Should firms look into investing in more capital machinery to increase productivity? 

Well as harsh as it sounds, replacing workers where machinery can be used would definitely have an impact on the amount produced, and firms would see their prices shrinking as they wouldn't have to be concerned about paying as many workers. It is however due to the welfare of society that firms use every opportunity to create jobs as the unemployment rate is tremendously high at around 7.7%.

And it's not just the workers who suffer from investing in capital machinery. Firms have been faced with difficulties when trying to invest in capital machinery as banks are less willing to lend out money to them. This again creates more difficulties, and puts productivity at stake of growing. 

Paul Gregg, a labour market economist, said that companies could be opting to hire more staff for extra shifts, and to delay purchases in new machinery. But would this be a bold move?

By companies choosing to employ more staff would mean they would have to face more costs, and have the same issue of low output per worker per hour, yet just on a greater scale. In the short run shouldn't firms aim to invest in capital machinery to help boost productivity  and maybe even use that as a wakeup call the potential employees that their job can be easily replaced? It may sound radical, however at a time like this, anything is needed to try and help the UK economy recover. 

Also should it be that the government continue to try and invest in the younger generation of today? If enterprise and business incentives are introduced at a young age, then this could give us hope for the future of our economy, as younger people are being trained from a younger age on how to address the current situations we face today.

There has been no immediate reaction by the government to try and recover the UK's low productivity, however the sooner they react, the better, because in the long run, it would damage our ability to trade effectively, and weaken the image of the UK economy as a whole.

Photo taken from google images

Thanks for reading, and please leave your comments down below on what you have to say about this 'hot topic'

T
Happenings

What Would Hayek Do?

Last Monday T and I took a trip up to Holborn to see Dr Eamon Butler at London School of Economics. He was giving a public speech named ‘What Would Hayek do to Sort out this mess?’.

For those of you who aren’t as clued up on historical economists, Friedrich Hayek was Austrian born economist born in 1899. F.A. Hayek, as he is frequently known, was in fact a British economist and philosopher. He is perhaps best known for his defending of classical liberalism, and in 1974 he shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is also known for being the arch rival of fellow economist J.M. Keynes, due to their conflicting objectives, however they are known to have been great friends outside of work.

Now, onto the lecture itself, Dr Butler opened by showing this clip, which amused us all greatly and from then on had us hooked on his every word. After a brief introduction on F.A. Hayek he began to explain exactly what Hayek would do. According to Dr Butler, Hayek would say that you cannot cure a recession by trying to recreate a boom, and that in actual fact it is the boom that is more problematic than the bust. The longer the boom is, the longer the recession is. In order to prevent the bust from occurring, it is austerity during the boom that is needed, not during the recession. Price signals should be taken into greater account, and government prices should be removed, as it is the bad policy that leads to a recession. Hence 'free' markets are important. Hayek believed that growth comes from saving, and investment and postponing consumption. Therefore interest rates should be a true reflection, not fixed to try to encourage spending.

So what would Hayek do to sort out this mess?

•  Savings are a key element that is needed. 
• A reduction of marginal tax rates to provide better incentives, for example; cutting tax on a capital and inheritance.
• Some methods of deregulation are needed, with the view to cutting the cost of new ventures, making starting new businesses cheap and easy.
•  A slightly more controversial policy, removing price laws, therefore no minimum wage.
•  An altering of the banks’ policies, to prevent them earning so much, a mechanism to curb the central bankers. 

Some form of reserve banking is proposed, as forcing banks to keep capital prevents the money multiplier effect, which as a result, encourages entrepreneurs to build up capital.

Although Keynes’ plans to invest in infrastructure may be good in the short term due to the direct creation of jobs etc., in the long term, the money borrowed must be paid back, meaning raising taxes, de-stabilizing the currency, more borrowing, all of which destroy jobs in the long term.

Another point which Dr Butler raised was the fact that the current situation we are in is causing people not spend, as people are afraid of spending. This is mainly due to the fact that people face such uncertainty about what the future might bring, and are uneasy about even spending the money they have. The fact is that the only people who are spending right now is the government, and not enough on the part of everyone else.

Finally, it was mentioned that government shouldn't be taking business, and put taxes on capital gain. This gives people a disincentive to start up their own business, fearing that the tax which would be imposed on them would not make it worth their while in the long run. Dr Butler mentioned that we need concentrations of wealth to build up capital, and in fact taxing the wealthy is not the greatest idea. Things like cooperation tax also produce the same out come as it is 'damaging' to the economy and people incentives, and that the government shouldn't be taxing company's, but instead tax people. 

We both really enjoyed the talk, and it helped broaden our views on the current economic crisis, and the factors which could maybe help curb us from entering what is said to be a 'triple dip recession'. The views of Hayek and Dr Eamon Butler were clearly addressed in order to give us insight into what Hayek would do..

 F A Hayek: google images

Thanks for reading!

K

Happenings