Today in Focus (The Guardian): The global race for face masks

en-usSeptember 06, 2023

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

What was the main topic of the podcast episode?

Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?

Were there any notable quotes or insights from the speakers?

Which popular books were mentioned in this episode?

Were there any points particularly controversial or thought-provoking discussed in the episode?

Were any current events or trending topics addressed in the episode?

What was the main topic of the podcast episode?

Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?

Were there any notable quotes or insights from the speakers?

Which popular books were mentioned in this episode?

Were there any points particularly controversial or thought-provoking discussed in the episode?

Were any current events or trending topics addressed in the episode?

About this Episode

From Today in Focus (The Guardian):
The world economy may have dramatically dipped and the price of oil crashed, but one commodity is seeing an unprecedented boom: the face mask. Samanth Subramanian explores the newly distorted marketplace for masks and the lengths some will go to get them
When the coronavirus began spreading beyond China in January, the race to buy up any available protective face masks went global. It caused a frenzy of buying as prices rocketed and suppliers were overwhelmed by the demand.

For one man, Ovidiu Olea, a businessman in Hong Kong, it was the start of a wild ride from mask buyer to mask dealer to ultimately, mask producer. The Guardian writer Samanth Subramanian caught up with him as he begins production. He tells Rachel Humphreys about how distortions in the mask market have led to diplomatic incidents.

But with mask sales rocketing and many governments starting to either recommend or insist on their use, the evidence about their efficacy is still inconclusive. And some fear that widespread rush to buy up stocks will prevent them reaching the people who need them most: frontline workers and medics.

Recent Episodes from Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

Econtalk: Robert Frank on Inequality

From Econtalk:
Robert Frank of Cornell University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about inequality. Is there a role for public policy in mitigating income inequality? Is such intervention justified or effective? The conversation delves into both the philosophical and empirical evidence behind differing answers to these questions. Ultimately, Frank argues for a steeply rising tax rate on consumption that would reduce disparities in consumption. This is a lively back-and-forth about a very timely topic.

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usNovember 22, 2023

Vox Talks: Climate shock: the economic consequences of a hotter planet

From Vox Talks:
At the heart of policy debates about our collective responses to climate change is the issue of risk and uncertainty - ‘unknown unknowns’ about the impact of global warming. In this Vox Talk, Gernot Wagner - co-author with Harvard’s Martin L. Weitzman of 'Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet’ - argues for Pigovian taxes and carbon pricing, against geoengineering solutions, and why 'we need to stick it to CO2, not to capitalism’.

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usNovember 15, 2023

Planet Money: Quit Threat

From Planet Money:
On today's show, we ask: What does full employment really look like?

NPR sent reporters across the country, including to Ames, Iowa, the city with the lowest unemployment rate, to find out.

The unemployment rate is just 3.6% in the U.S., a 50-year low. People think we are at, or near, full employment. That's the lowest the unemployment rate can go without triggering inflation. And when the labor market is that tight, power shifts from employers to workers. When unemployment is low, workers can threaten to quit and their bosses have to take that threat seriously. That's what leads to raises.

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usNovember 08, 2023

Econtalk: Noah Smith on Worker Compensation, Co-determination, and Market Power

From Econtalk:
Bloomberg Opinion columnist and economist Noah Smith talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about corporate control, wages, and monopoly power. Smith discusses the costs and benefits of co-determination--the idea of putting workers on corporate boards. The conversation then moves to a lively discussion of wages and monopoly power and how the American worker has been doing in recent years.

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usNovember 01, 2023

Freakonomics radio: The Most Interesting Fruit in the World (Ep. 375)

From Freakonomics radio:
The banana used to be a luxury good. Now it’s the most popular fruit in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the production efficiencies that made it so cheap have also made it vulnerable to a deadly fungus that may wipe out the one variety most of us eat. Scientists do have a way to save it — but will Big Banana let them?

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usOctober 18, 2023

Freakonomics radio: Why Rent Control Doesn’t Work (Ep. 373)

From Freakonomics radio:
As cities become ever-more expensive, politicians and housing advocates keep calling for rent control. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. They say it helps a small (albeit noisy) group of renters, but keeps overall rents artificially high by disincentivizing new construction. So what happens next?

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usOctober 04, 2023

Planet Money: A Bet On The Future Of Humanity (Ep508)

From Planet Money:
A famous biologist, Paul Ehrlich, predicts that overpopulation will lead to global catastrophe. He writes a bestselling book — The Population Bomb — and goes on the Tonight Show to make his case.An economist, Julian Simon, disagrees. He thinks Ehrlich isn't accounting for how clever people can be, and how shortages can lead to new, more efficient ways of doing things.
So Simon challenges Ehrlich to a very public, very acrimonious, decade-long bet. On today's show: The story of that bet, and what it tells us about the future of humanity.

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usSeptember 27, 2023

WSJ - The Journal: The World Has Too Much Oil

From WSJ - The Journal:
Demand for oil has plummeted as the coronavirus has shut down much of the world, but most producers are still pumping. WSJ's Russell Gold explains the global game of chicken inside the oil industry.

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usSeptember 20, 2023

Planet Money: Why The Price of Coke Didn't Change For 70 years

From Planet Money:
Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn't change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of coke cost just a nickel.

On today's show, we find out why. The answer includes a half a million vending machines, a 7.5 cent coin, and a company president who just wanted to get a couple of lawyers out of his office

Oxford College Principles of Microeconomics Course

en-usSeptember 13, 2023