housing | The Curious Economist

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America’s housing market: increased demand but no response from supply

May 7, 2020 TheCuriousEconomist Comments Off

The housing market in the US has had a strong rebound since the financial crisis of 2008. After house prices plummeted just over 10 years ago, the last decade has seen a strong and steady […]

Economic News

Philippines Introduces Rice Import Quota to Balance Farmer Protection and Food Security

November 10, 2025 Comments Off

The Philippines has announced that it will reopen rice imports in January 2026, allowing 300,000 tonnes of rice to enter the country after several months of import restrictions. The move comes as local rice stocks […]

Balance of Payments

Kenya and the US look set to sign a free-trade deal despite Trump’s attacks on global trade

February 7, 2020 Comments Off

Under President Trump, the US stance towards global trade has become increasingly protectionist, with billions of dollars of tariffs placed on goods from countries all over the world, engagement in a devastating trade war with […]

Aggregate Demand and Supply

UK government to step in and pay people’s wages

March 21, 2020 Comments Off

In yet another unbelievable day of economic policy in action, the chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced yesterday the latest measures to protect people’s income, keep businesses alive, and encourage spending in the economy. […]

Consumer and Business Behaviour

VAT to be tripled in Saudi Arabia to 15%

May 11, 2020 Comments Off

Saudi Arabia, the second largest oil producing nation in the world, has for the last few years been trying desperately to diversify its economy and reduce their dependence on the export of oil. Despite being […]

Economic News

China makes pledge to be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2060

October 20, 2020 Comments Off

In what some commentators are calling a bold and audacious pledge, President Xi announced to the UN that China will be carbon neutral by the year 2060. That gives the world’s second largest economy, and […]

Balance of Payments

A trade deal between the US and China seems imminent… But what even is a Trade War and how do they fight?

January 4, 2020 Comments Off

Trade wars are not fought with guns, missiles, planes, or ships. Instead they are fought with the raw power of economics, and in particular a special type of tax called tariffs. These are taxes which […]

Consumer and Business Behaviour

Why does the recession proof Coca-Cola have so much cash?

June 25, 2020 Comments Off

As economies around the world continue to be shattered by the economic consequences of Covid-19, millions of business have found themselves running out of cash. Stemming from huge declines in demand for almost every good […]

Basic Economic Concepts

Ramen: the inferior good behaving like an… inferior good!

April 8, 2020 Comments Off

For a student of economics, one of the first concepts we learn about is the different types of goods. That is a normal good, a luxury good, and an inferior good. By normal, we don’t […]

Economic News

Rising Fuel Prices Create a ‘K-Shaped Economy’ in the United States

May 12, 2026 Comments Off

As petrol prices continue to rise in the United States, not all consumers are feeling the impact equally. New research from the Federal Reserve of New York shows that lower-income households are cutting back sharply […]

Economic News

Luxembourg Cuts Upfront Costs to Encourage Solar Energy and Sustainability

January 19, 2026 Comments Off

Luxembourg has introduced a new solar subsidy scheme designed to accelerate the transition to renewable energy by reducing the upfront costs faced by households. Under the new pre-financing system, which came into force on January […]

Economic News

BP’s Brazil Oil Find Tests the Trade-Offs Between Growth and Sustainability

August 13, 2025 Comments Off

BP has announced its largest oil and gas discovery in a quarter of a century, this time in deep waters off Brazil. The “Bumerangue” field could become a major new production hub and marks BP’s […]

Economic News

South Korea’s ‘Youth New Deal’: Can Government Intervention Fix Youth Unemployment?

May 5, 2026 Comments Off

South Korea has launched a major new policy, the “Youth New Deal,” aimed at tackling rising youth unemployment. Despite overall employment increasing, the proportion of young people (aged 15–29) in work has fallen to 43.5%, […]

Economic News

Luxembourg Cuts Upfront Costs to Encourage Solar Energy and Sustainability

January 19, 2026 Comments Off

Economic News

Freeze the Rent: Zohran Mamdani’s Bold Bet on Price Controls — An Economist’s Dream or Nightmare?

November 11, 2025 Comments Off

New York City has a new mayor, and his signature promise fits on a protest sign: Freeze the Rent. Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and former state assembly member from Queens, swept into office by […]