When crime doesn't pay
A bizarre London crime wave, thieves stealing car parcel shelves and reselling them on eBay, becomes a way into the economics of crime. Taylor sketches the Becker-style idea that criminals weigh proceeds against the costs of getting caught, then argues the numbers here do not add up: smashing a windscreen is conspicuous, the shelves are bulky and hard to store, and you do not strictly need one anyway. Useful for rational choice, cost-benefit analysis and thin resale markets,
Why Did I Buy All That – Egg and spoon race
Why do Easter eggs hit the shelves on Boxing Day? Taylor's answer is a tidy piece of oligopoly logic: once one supermarket brings Easter forward, rivals follow or risk losing not just the egg sale but the customer's whole shop, the same reasoning that keeps stores open 24 hours. She adds a behavioural layer on scarcity and FOMO around novelty products (a giant caramel croissant, a chocolate biscuit) that we buy early for fear of missing out. Useful for interdependence and str
Classroom Games and Experiments for A-level Economics Teaching
I found Chris and Matt's session at the Bank of England Teacher Conference really interesting. I'm wary of overgamification, but this wasn't the type of 'game' they mean at all: the games here are simulations forcing students to think about incentives and are pretty powerful. I'm really pleased to say they have agreed to join us at the November EconEdChat on Tuesday 3rd November In June, Aston University hosted the Bank of England Teacher Conference. The conference brought t