Written for ‘A’ & ‘IB’ level Economics.
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- How Governments Contract For Goods & Services.We continue on the matter of government provisioning, with the contracting method. The strengths and weaknesses of this method are not well-discussed in many textbooks, and worth a deep-dive here.
- How Governments Directly Provision Goods & Services.Direct provisioning is the default suggestion by most students in dealing with merit and public goods. Few could however write arguments for it, that can convince even themselves.
- Essential Economics Exam Cheat Sheet: The Circular Flow Of IncomeThe Circular Flow of Income is a concept that students frequently ignore, to ever-increasing risk. Find out why this shouldn’t be the case and how you can avoid being the exam’s victim.
- The Cognitive Bias Concept In “A” Level H2 Economics Exam (9570).The “A” level H2 Ecnomics syllabus has been revamped significantly for 2023. The explicit addition of Cognitive Bias to the concepts is one that students should pay particular attention to.
- What Non-Rejectability in a Public Good Means (H2 Economics 9570).2023 saw the first introduction of non-rejectability as a characteristic of a public good. Worried about the scant details in your school’s notes, learn the key details here.
- Weaknesses Of The N-Firm Concentration Ratio: Why The HHI Is A Better Indicator.The n-firm concentration ratio as taught to “A-level” and IB Economics students is known to have serious weaknesses. A better alternative is the HHI, which is discussed in detail here.
- Why Total Revenue Is Maximised When Demand Is Unitary Price Elastic.This is a concept commonly tested in “IB” Economics Paper 3. Avoid getting tripped up as a student by learning these simple proofs in this article.
- Is A Persistent Current Account Surplus Always Bad?Is a persistent current account surplus a boon or a bane? Consequences of economic policy choices are seldom neat, and this is no exception.
- The HDB Housing Grant As An Example of A Direct Subsidy.We haven’t seen much academic materials for direct subsidies in “A” & “IB” level Economics. What better way to talk about it than to wade into Singapore’s current hot topic about housing affordability?
- I Caught Up With Kelvin, The Economics Tutor.You have probably seen his books when you shopped around for supplementary materials for “IB” and “A” level Economics. See what else he has to say outside the classroom.
- Can Cutting Interest Rate Reduce Inflation Rate? The Turkish Experience.My students will know better than to agree with this statement in the exams. Yet, real-life economic decisions sometimes deviate from academic norms, as in the curious case of Turkey.
- Where is the Deadweight Loss for a Price Floor?Deadweight Loss continues to rankle students wherever it goes. This article is part of an ongoing series that derives it in great detail for various scenarios. Here we discuss about the case of price floors.
- When Textbooks Can Be Wrong!Using Oxford IB Diploma Programme: IB Economics Course Book (2020), by Jocelyn Blink and Ian Dorton, as your IB Economics coursebook? Here’s a serious error in the book that I would like to share about.
- Price Determination in a Market with Asymmetric Information.Most students know how asymmetric information afflicts markets. But few discuss in-depth about price determination in such markets. This piece aims to do more justice to that intriguing topic.
- Is Singapore’s GST a Regressive Tax?If the answer was that straightforward, I wouldn’t have bothered with dedicating an entire article to it.
- Proof of Diminishing Returns in a Concaved PPC.Every student recognises the traditionally-drawn concaved PPC, but many do not fully grasp the significance of the choice in shape.
- All About GDP and GNI DiscrepanciesIs it always true that the GDP must equal the GNI at the global level?
- Wage-Price Spiral and Singapore (Part 2 – The Solutions?)Direct responses to the fear of the Wage-Price Spiral? Or merely part of side-effects of broader economic wisdom? We explore the solutions to the problem from the previous article here.
- Wage-Price Spiral and Singapore (Part 1 – Is It That Scary?)Don’t underestimate the Wage-Price Spiral as a major consideration in considering how big a scourge Inflation can be. Singapore’s MAS had something to say about it.
- MAS’ Monetary Policy & Interest Rate ParityIt appears that interest rates in Singapore are generally lower than global rates According to MAS, this has to do with expectations of appreciating SGD. So why should that be the case?
- How To Draw The Kinked Demand Curve.The Kinked Demand Curve may not be as talked about these days. But it is a fun piece of framework to know more about. Read more about it here!
- Why Do Subsidies Give Deadweight Loss?A rather perplexing question for students that requires a very strong grasp of the demand-supply model to give a good answer.
- The Purchasing Power Parity Exchange Rate for “A” and “IB” Economics.This traditional blind-spot for students bit me recently. So this piece was created to save us all, for that next time.
- How To Draw the Marginal Cost Curve.Ever wondered why the MC curve looks like the Nike logo? There are some intriguing reasons behind it that every student should know!
- [An Update To] Proving Comparative Advantage Made EasyMore than 2 years ago, I had done an “exam-ready” write-up on the explanation behind the Theory of Comparative Advantage. It seems timely now to revisit and refresh it to greater effect.