I think, therefore IB

The Economic argument in favour of mass immigration to EU countries

Professor Javier Díaz-Giménez, an expert in pensions at IESE Business School, highlights a pressing economic challenge for Spain as the “baby boom” generation approaches retirement. With an anticipated 14.1 million retirees in the next two decades, the country faces a significant workforce deficit due to the subsequent “baby crash” that resulted in fewer workers. To sustain GDP growth and ensure pensions for retirees, Díaz-Giménez argues that immigration from Africa and other regions is essential.

While investing in technology and automation could help, the immediate solution lies in attracting new talent through mass immigration, which is crucial for maintaining economic stability and growth. More workers means more tax revenue and that means Governments can continue to pay pensions to retirees.

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Introduction to IBDP Economics

The document/file below is an 15-page introduction to IBDP Economics and includes notes on Scarcity and the Economic Problem, Sustainability, the Production Possibility Curve Model, the Circular Flow Model (the 2 and 5 sector models) and a very brief introduction to the Supply & Demand Model of the free market. The document includes a 50-question multiple choice test on these topics. So, it’s all you need for the first 1-2 weeks of IBDP Economics.

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The Financial Times and IBDP Economics

The Financial Times has created a page of all the IBDP Economics topics with a link connecting every part of the syllabus to a relevant and recent FT article.

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The US Central Bank, monetary policy, inflation and unemployment.

Here’s a link to a detailed article about the US Central Bank announcing a likely cut in the interest rate and so help employment.

A few questions:

i. Why make this announcement? Why not just cut the interest rate now?

ii. How would a cut in the US interest rate affect other economies such as UK, the EU, Canada…?

iii. Won’t a cut in the interest rate generate inflation?

iv. What are ‘structural changes in the jobs market’?

v. ‘Stocks rose as he spoke.’ (Stock is the US term for what British call Shares.) Why would the price of stocks/shares increase after the Central Bank’s announcement?

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Tesla chopped down 329ha of forest in Germany?

“You always have trade-offs, so you need to be aware of what the terms of the trade-off are.”

Here is a link to a news article (including a short video clip) that raises a few fundamental Economic questions: scarcity, choice, opportunity costs, trade-offs, sustainability… it would be rhe basis of an interesting and contemporary discussion to IBDP Economics.

About 500,000 trees cut down at site of Tesla gigafactory near Berlin

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Teaching material: Introductory Economics

The IBDP Economics course begins with a unit on Introductory Economics topics, for example, scarcity, choice, opportunity costs, the supply & demand model, the PPC model, the circular flow model etc. The document below is a 9-page summary of these introductory topics and includes a short section showing assessment in Economics and the syllabus outline (for HL students).

And the document below is a 50-question multiple-choice test to assess students’ understanding of the Economics content in the ‘Introduction to IBDP Economics’ document.

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