Slo outline

The Dark Side of the Euro
Case of Slovenia

Developed country, high GDP etc. First one to join eurozone, sees 6%inflation in the year that it adopts the Euro --> coincidence?

• short history of developments in the past 1-2 year (inflation affects sensitive products like food and sensitive groups of the society such as the low-income). What causes it?
• was it the Euro? --> directly? --> thru high growth, which was coupled with the lack of monetary instruments?
• Was it increase in price of oil and lack of competition? (official gov't explanation) – political economy aspects!!
• Was it the increase in the factors of production? (explanation by the industry and food retailers)
• Aftermath and solutions (workers demand higher wages --> spiral?), how can it be stopped, what is the government doing?

Comments welcomed.

(outline submitted by Igor Cesarec)

Call for News and Analysis Blurbs

All blurbs only need to be around 150-200 words. Please add or delete topics to this list as you see fit.

Topics:

- US recession
- Northern Rock
- Yahoo, Microsoft and Google
- Rogue trader
- Sarkozy and Carla Bruni got hitched!*
- Britain's low emission zone
- Impending settlement in WGA strike
- Is Angelina pregnant again?*
- First 'low emissions zone' in London
- Slower economic growth in China
- Adverse weather conditions in China
- Cloverfield monster attacks!*
- China and Rio Tinto
- Egg cards and credit-worthiness
- Football transfer fees
- New York Fashion Week!*
- Sovereign wealth funds
- Cuts and Puts from the Fed

(* Yeah, just wanted to check whether anyone was reading...)

HIV/AIDS article outline

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the greatest threats to Africa's economic development. The issue of economic development in Africa is a contentious one, and so this article tries to be as objective as is possible in its analysis. This article is, on the one hand, a summary of a growing literature examining the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The economic impact of the epidemic is analysed at the aggregate level, in terms of its effect of levels and growth rates of GDP, and at the level of individuals and firms. The role for economic growth is itself a controversial one in development debates; here growth is taken as a useful indicator of development, whether growth should therefore be the focus for policy is not an issue I will take up here. Secondly, I analyse the means through which HIV/AIDS affects growth prospects in sub-Saharan Africa in the near and long term.

To summarise these two strands: Sub-Saharan Africa contains almost 26 million of the 40 million people world-wide infected with HIV. Although prevalence varies across the region, Southern Africa remains the epicentre of the epidemic. The economic impact is widespread and potentially disastrous. It is estimated that HIV/AIDS is already reducing sub-Saharan growth by up to 1.4 points annually; over two decades this would reduce a typical sub-Saharan economy to less than two-thirds of what it would have been without HIV/AIDS. It has been argued that this makes it impossible for Africa to achieve the MIllenium Development Goals. Perhaps most significantly, the effects are expected to increase over time, as the economic impact itself fosters an environment in which the epidemic proliferates. The means through which HIV/AIDS affects growth is the labour market; the supply of labour across the economy is vastly reduced by illness and mortality from HIV/AIDS. This affects individuals, households, firms and the government, and spills over into the factors influencing the long run growth potential of an economy.

outline by tom yeomans

'Cost of AIDS to Africa' outline

'Cost of AIDS to Africa'
Use HDI figures as a basis for current life expectancy and compare it to before the HIV crisis.
Examine the economic effects (in terms of wages lost; wages spent on the sick; state healthcare; international efforts) of the disease.
Prevalence amongst age bracket 1-16yrs.
Instead of generalising for the whole continent, cover the most affected nations and the least affected nations, to attempt to get a decent coverage.
Both the positive and negative effects of medical treatments, i.e. do they just cause the sick to prolong their life (as a further economic drain on the household/state) or do they create individuals who can actually contribute to the economy?
The future.
Does AIDS explain limited international investment (i.e. compared to Civil War, Bad institutions etc.)
outline by Ossie Christopher Fikret

Econ Soc Events

Obviously we've got our first event tomorrow....

Maybe get somebody to cover events... anecdotes from each one? Nothing too substancial.. just to keep what we organise 'fresh in the memory'?

Important Dates for Issue 2

28th January (Monday Week 4): Outline deadline

11th February (Monday Week 6): Article deadline

Brainststorm pool for Issue 2

Ideas for features (or news blurbs, but they can all easily work as features)

Please add to list (we should put abandoned ideas from last issue on the list too) and put (TAKEN - ) next to article idea if/ when someone snaps up topic:

Globe-trotter:
- Kenya
- Slovenian economy and implications of EU presidency
- China - price controls? ( + little box on HK's predicament?)

- An article on a LAtin American country

Tangents:

Current affairs (can be features, can be blurbs):

- an in-depth analysis of the still on-going writers' strike in the US
- cost benefit analysis of hosting sporting events (eg. Olympics, World Cup)

- Nuclear power plants in the UK
- Kevin Rudd, Australia and Kyoto; implications?

Politics

- UK politicians profiles

-US presidential elections:

1. candidates' economic policies?
2. what is/ can there be an "efficient" election?
3. political betting/prediction markets

Finance:

- Between a rock and a hard place: Northern Rock's predicament

- Constant vigiliance!: How to read Fed and BoE interest rate decision press releases

Technology:
- death of DRM-ed music
- end of format contest: and the winner is Blu-ray

- world's cheapest car and what it means for India

- France's internet tax

Others:
- how do people outside the discipline view economists?

- students' opinions on Econ courses

Dear Economist:
- should I just wait until the after-Xmas sales to do my Xmas shopping? :P

Careers:

- interviews

- CV tips