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DURHAM ECONOMICS DIGEST
All the Latest
Welcome to the Durham Economics Digest, your weekly window into the ideas, trends, and debates shaping today's economic landscape- made by students, for students.
Here we break down complex concepts, highlight cutting-edge research, and showcase the work of Durham University's best and brightest, led by our expert writing team.
We also welcome contributions from all students, so feel free to submit an article here (if you are a Durham student) or here (if you are a non-Durham student). Further information is provided in the links above. We look forward to hearing from you!
A Theory of Kinked Marginal Utilities
It could be stated that economics, as a social science, is largely dependent on psychological findings. This is especially true when we consider the subject of consumption satisfaction. From Aristotle’s hints to Jevons and Menger’s propositions of marginal utility theories, the concept of satisfaction in relation to values has been a great area of interest. However, the focus has mostly been directed toward the mathematics of marginal utility diagrams and less to the behaviou
Ali Hashemifara
May 125 min read
The Perverse Economics of the Cycle to Work Scheme
The UK's Cycle to Work scheme, a flagship active travel policy, is an economically inefficient and socially regressive tax break that primarily benefits high-income, white men, rather than effectively promoting cycling. To a large extent, addressing cycling uptake effectively requires targeted investment in infrastructure, safety and equitable access. I love to hate the cycle-to-work scheme. Popular and politically untouchable, it has become what critics call a “sacred cow” o
Sophia Boiko
Mar 35 min read
Red Sea Shipping Returns, but Recovery Is Far From Certain
The global shipping industry is slowly returning to the Red Sea route after more than two years of disruption. Some sailings through the corridor have resumed, including by major carriers such as Maersk, signalling growing confidence that security risks are easing. The economic effects of this reopening remain complex and far from uniform. Global trade depends heavily on the Red Sea route. Around 12 to 15 per cent of global trade by volume passes through the Suez Canal, meani
James Smith
Mar 32 min read
Food for Thought: What Your Lunch Reveals About the Economy
Imagine this: you are handed a plain lunch. No menu, no story, no price. Just a plate eaten between lectures in an ordinary city. From that plate alone, what could you infer about the economy that produced it? You would notice globalisation before taste. Supply chains before preferences. Incentives before culture. How far the ingredients travelled, how much processing occurred, and whether the food required skill or labour: all reveal information about wages, regulation, tech
Sophia Boiko
Feb 163 min read
Dropping Cocoa Prices: Sweet for Consumers, Bitter for Farmers
With Valentine’s Day approaching, the prices of fancy chocolates and flowers skyrocket with the sudden influx of lovers demanding these goods to gift to their partners. In Ghana – the world’s second largest producer of cocoa – unpaid cocoa farmers are finding it difficult to put food on the table and pay for their children’s schooling. In 2024, Ghana ranked 81 out of 193 in terms of GDP, with most of its trade (16B) dependent on the export of gold (5.90B), cocoa (1.46B) and c
Gabby Wong
Feb 164 min read
Brazil at the Centre of the Global Rare Earths Power Struggle
Brazil has become the focal point of an intensifying geopolitical contest over rare earths, with the US, EU, and China racing to secure access to the country’s vast reserves. These minerals are essential for clean energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing, yet global supply remains heavily dominated by China. Holding the world’s second-largest reserves, most of them still underdeveloped, Brazil has emerged as a strategic prize at a moment of rising trade tensions. Washingto
Gayathri Sunil Pushpangadan
Feb 82 min read
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines to Shield Against Financial Stress
Many emerging markets have shown increased interest in using the expanded euro repo operations launched by the European Central Bank as a way of dealing with their financial liquidity and economic stability concerns. South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago recently suggested that South Africa would be “keen to utilise” these operations, symbolising a notable shift in the way emerging economies seek economic stability and how they can cope against market volatilit
James Smith
Feb 82 min read
There’s Only One Solution Ahead for the Russian Economy. It’s A Corridor.
On the much anticipated 25th of December, 1991, the indifferent Kremlin observes the Soviet flag lowered as Mr. Gorbachev’s televised resignation speech marks an end to the soaring inflation, unprofitable private businesses and sarcastic fixed prices of the USSR’s planned economy. Whilst stagnation is at its worst, the government insists on its high military spending. These qualities might resemble Russia’s troubled economy today, as the war in Ukraine continues. This resembl
Ali Hashemifara
Feb 66 min read
Why Box Office “Success” Doesn’t Mean Profit
Wait, Do Films Actually Make Money? Recently, I read an article that described acclaimed film Hamnet as a runaway success. In some aspects, this is correct. After all, eight Oscar nominations is nothing to sniff at. When I saw it at Vue – along with about half the middle-aged women of Norfolk – I was not the only one in floods of tears. What I held issue with was it’s describing Hamnet, more specifically, as a commercial success. As I will describe later, a film simply earnin
Emily Hatwell
Feb 25 min read
Intel’s Supply Bottlenecks Expose the High Cost of a Manufacturing Comeback
Intel is one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, designing and manufacturing chips that power personal computers, data centres, and critical digital infrastructure. Long dominant in PC processors, the company is now attempting a costly revival of its manufacturing capabilities to compete at the cutting edge of advanced chip production in the US. Recent market reactions show how difficult and economically risky that effort remains. Supply Constraints and Revenue Pr
Gayathri Sunil Pushpangadan
Jan 252 min read
Murk in Every Sense: Sewage, Debt and Reform in England and Wales’ Privatised Water
January 2026. Ofwat set to be abolished in what could be the most radical overhaul of the water sector since privatisation. The operations of England and Wales’ privatised water and sewage systems are murky in more ways than one. Polluted rivers and untreated sewage, opaque finances, blurred accountability, a regulatory system that struggles to see clearly beneath the surface. ‘Murk in every sense’ Does the government’s “New Vision for Water” genuinely cut through the fog, or
Sophia Boiko
Jan 253 min read
The EU-Mercosur Agreement: A New Chapter in Global Trade
After more than 25 years of negotiations, the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc, consisting of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, have taken a historic step towards a trade pact that could reshape global commerce. On January 9th 2026, the EU Council authorised the signature of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and an interim Trade Agreement, marking a breakthrough in discussions dating back to 1999. The agreement was formally signed in mid-January
James Smith
Jan 252 min read
Is the Study of Economics Always Political?
Following the marginalist revolution, the notion of positive economics as a "value free science with no place for value judgements of any kind" (Boumans and Davis 2011, p.169) began to emerge, diverging as a separate study from political economy. Many scholars began to argue that economics was a universal and objective science in which political considerations had no place. Keynes (1891) called economics a study of "what is" rather than "what ought to be". This essay seeks to
Ines Gueriri
Jan 196 min read
Pricing Sugar and Weighing Outcomes: Does Taxation Really Reduce Obesity?
Rising obesity levels are an issue growing in prevalence over the years. As NHS director for Diabetes and Obesity, Dr Clare Hambling states: “Obesity is one of the biggest threats to health in the UK – it affects every human organ system and can have a major impact on people’s lives”. Obesity has been linked to raising the risk of severe health problems like Type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, strokes, high blood pressure, etc. ultimately reducing life expectancy. Should the gov
Gabby Wong
Jan 183 min read
What "This Country" Says about Rural Life
“Can I just ask you an honest question: why would you want to leave the village when we’ve got a pub and a shop?” The last episode of sitcom This Country aired over five years ago, yet it has stuck in the imagination of many, myself included. Mundane premises go full circle into being downright hilarious with their dry quips. A part of this survivorship is also attributed to how This Country does not glamorize rural living, but presents it as it truly is for many young people
Emily Hatwell
Jan 183 min read
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