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Category Archives: Economics
Globalisation is a Myth
Globalisation, this concept that everyone writes about and that many people blame for their woes or use as an excuse for their policies, is in large parts a myth. Who am I to claim this? Having grown up in a … Continue reading
Posted in China, Economics, Politics, Travel
Tagged China, Europe, geography, globalisation, globalization, Statistics, trade, universities
6 Comments
If you don’t read my blog, you will die.
That caught your attention, didn’t it? And on the face of it, it’s true and backed up by facts and statistics: About 150,000 people died worldwide yesterday. Of these, none had read my blog yesterday. The few people who did … Continue reading
Print is King
I have some information stored on 3.5-inch discs, but I can’t find a computer that still has a slot for these floppy discs. With my old phone, I had taken some cool photos, but I can’t retrieve them because I … Continue reading
Assessing the risk of nuclear technology
The nuclear industry is keen on coming up with probabilistic risk assessments that show that a serious accident at a nuclear power plant can only happen every 20,000 years or so (admittedly this number is from a somewhat outdated report … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics, Technology
Tagged Chernobyl, Fukushima, Japan, NASA, Statistics, Wackersdorf
13 Comments
The real explanation for the gender pay gap
Women have consistently been earning less than men, even in highly developed countries, and even in 2011. This is still true in most industries, even for women with the same qualifications as men. (For the related topic of female under-representation … Continue reading
Merger Control of a different kind
With merger control, governments and courts usually try to prevent companies from joining forces and forming a monopoly that would have negative effects for the market and for consumers. A court in Germany has now stopped a merger of a … Continue reading
Frauenquoten – warum nur in Vorständen und Parlamenten?
Die deutsche Bundesarbeitsministerin will Unternehmen zwingen, ihre Vorstände und Aufsichtsräte mindestens zu 30 % mit Frauen zu besetzen. Dies führt zu offensichtlichen Fragen, die schon vielfach diskutiert wurden: Was wenn sich nicht genug Frauen bewerben? Was wenn diese Bewerberinnen nicht … Continue reading
Lottery of Life
From the advertising campaign “Lottery of Life” by the charity “Save the Children”: If you think that your wealth, your health, your education and your prospects in life are something that you have earned yourself, think again. Links: If you … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Life, Philosophy, Politics
10 Comments
A literary explanation of the US housing bubble.
I am currently reading – among other books – “Parrot and Olivier in America“, a novel by Peter Carey which is based on Alexis de Tocqueville‘s travels to the early United States of America and his research for “Democracy in … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Economics, History, USA
Tagged Alexis de Tocqueville, credit crisis, debt crisis
3 Comments
What do the Students want?
Ever since the UK government announced its plan to raise the cap of tuition fees that British universities are allowed to charge and to introduce changes in the student loan scheme, British students have filled the streets with protests, have … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics, UK
Tagged higher education, LSE, student fees, student protests, students, tuition fees, universities, university fees
10 Comments
The Happy Hermit 