Every year Christmas seems to become closer to the end of October. Retailers begin to signal the start of the season of Christmas. Illuminated Christmas trees begin to appear in shops and houses. Perhaps Christmas now commences on Black Friday. For 2018 this was November 23rd and next year it will be November 29th. One … Continue reading “Meditations on the Demise of Advent and the Commercialisation of Christmas”
Month: December 2018
Value and Valuing Christmas: Towards a non-price-based Theory of Value
In 2016 and again in 2017, I produced a Christmas blog that explored twelve economic impacts of Christmas. More recently, I commented on Small Business Saturday and the importance of responsible consumption during the December shopping Christmas frenzy. This year I am not exploring the economic impacts of Christmas, but I am interested in considering … Continue reading “Value and Valuing Christmas: Towards a non-price-based Theory of Value”
The 2018-2019 West Midlands Databook: Things Are Looking up for West Midlands, but How Does It Compare to Other City-Regions?
City-REDI have compiled a snapshot of key data for the West Midlands. Drawing on the success of the 2017 databook, the 2018-2019 edition provides up-to-date labour market profiles for the West Midlands Region, West Midlands Combined Authority, three Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and over 30 Local Authorities. Together, the booklet provides easy to access data … Continue reading “The 2018-2019 West Midlands Databook: Things Are Looking up for West Midlands, but How Does It Compare to Other City-Regions?”
The Birmingham Economic Review 2018: People – Inclusive Growth and Skills
This blog post has been produced to provide insight into the findings of the Birmingham Economic Review. The Birmingham Economic Review 2018 is produced by City-REDI, University of Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, with contributions from the West Midlands Growth Company. It is an in-depth exploration of the economy of England’s second … Continue reading “The Birmingham Economic Review 2018: People – Inclusive Growth and Skills”
The Implications of Brexit for the UK’s Regions
Our research for the UK in a Changing Europe (“The economic impacts of Brexit on the UK, its regions, its cities and its sectors”) has demonstrated that the implications of Brexit are profoundly different for the different cities, regions, and nations of the UK. Yet, the proposed UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement brokered by Prime Minister Theresa … Continue reading “The Implications of Brexit for the UK’s Regions”
The Exposure of the West Midlands Region to Brexit
There are many unknowns relating to Brexit, regarding (i) the nature of the final trade deal and (ii) the potential responses of firms and consumers to any major shock like Brexit. Nevertheless, “a partial but still very wide-ranging and impact assessment can be undertaken even without such specific knowledge of the final trade deal and … Continue reading “The Exposure of the West Midlands Region to Brexit”
Artificial intelligence and robotics: Greater Birmingham’s friend or foe?
This blog post has been produced for the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce to provide insight into the findings of the Birmingham Economic Review. The Birmingham Economic Review 2018 is produced by the University of Birmingham’s City-REDI and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, with contributions from the West Midlands Growth Company. It is an … Continue reading “Artificial intelligence and robotics: Greater Birmingham’s friend or foe?”