There's a massive cost that every developed economy has to deal with that nobody talks about... Infrastructure maintenance. It sounds boring but all of those developments that governments love to talk up can end up costing a fortune to maintain. So what can we do about this and why is this such a problem?

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Sometimes as economists we need to analyse complex decisions to understand what the outcomes might be. On the more baffling end of the scale we have Saudi Arabia spending billions on football, golf and Formula 1 stars who are mostly a little past their prime to come and play in the largely unknown Saudi leagues. Is this simply sports-washing (a PR stunt) or is there something more clever going on?

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Niger's coup has set a lot in motion. It's rich in uranium which has gotten France involved, and China's belt and road initiative was set to draw oil from Niger, which could help grow their desperately poor economy, and somehow Russia's Wagner group is involved. But with its suspended membership of ECOWAS, things are about to get much worse.

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Trade wars are costing the world trillions of dollars every year, but far less attention is paid to the movement and control of the movement of skills and labour. It is much easier than ever before to take an education and move to a country where workers can benefit personally, but at a certain cost to the country that trained them. Skills wars may be the new trade wars.

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Brunei is a welfare state, where the government basically pays for everything from national defence to schools, energy to heavily subsidised housing. But their oil reserves are running out and they aren't diversifying their export industry quickly enough to prepare for the day when they no longer have a free lunch.

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We wanted to highlight the paradox of global economic growth alongside isolated national crises. Why do certain economies like Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan face collapse when the global economy is reaching unprecedented highs? We'll identify common factors behind these failures, and discuss potential solutions to safeguard other nations from similar fates.

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Economists can't seem to decide if we need more or fewer children? Does overpopulation drain Earth's resources too much or does an ageing population threaten economies? What challenges does either option present and can we solve this paradox?

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AI raises concerns for jobs and society. As machines surpass human abilities, a growing number of complex jobs are being outsourced to machine who can do better work for a lower cost. This prompts questions about how economic systems can adapt to most people having a net negative economic value."

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What has prevented Iran, teeming with natural resources and a young, educated population, from becoming a world-leading economy? How did it go from rapid growth to economic failure, and why is it still unable to fulfil it's potential?

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BRICS, an influential economic alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is reshaping the global economy. Plans for increased trade and a common currency may challenge the West, leading to concerns about political and economic shifts globally.

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