On the money

Who I am, and what I want this blog to accomplish

Hi there! I’m Alex, a 16 year old student at Magdalen College School, Oxford. In September 2023, I will be starting my A level studies in Maths, Further Maths, Politics and Economics, seeking to gain a deeper quantitative understanding of the world we live in. I chose Maths and Further Maths in order to develop my skills in data analysis and problem solving, as well as economics to better understand both human behaviours, as well as the overarching concepts that govern the flow of money and capital in the era of globalisation. I also view politics as an important and insightful subject – I hope that by analysing political trends, and different schools of thought, I will be able to better understand the rationale behind major fiscal and regulatory decisions, gaining insights into how popular opinion is translated into economic policy.

To help deepen my understanding in all of these fields, I’ve decided to start this blog. In each post, I will be attempting to explore a concept, case study, or major recent event, examining causes, effects, and the insights that we can gain from each. My goal is to not only give myself a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted and dynamic worlds of finance, economics, and business, but to use this platform to educate and inform my peers by presenting events through an economic perspective and breaking down the meaning of complex data, whilst ensuring that my content is both engaging and easy to understand for those who (like me!) are relatively new to studying economics, or only recently began taking an interest in the finance world.

Some ideas I have for future posts are:

• Enron: The Energy Empire’s Downfall
• Does central bank regulation of monetary policy lag behind economic realities? If so, then why?
• Keynesian economics, and the death of the gold standard
• Covid stimulus packages vs. the war in Ukraine – which contributed more to global inflation from 2022 to the present day?

I will be trying to explore all of these ideas in a beginner-friendly way whilst also providing genuine insights with the help of visuals, clear explanations of technical terms, and listening to reader feedback. This has the potential to be a chance to enrich and deepen my own understanding of these things, and at the same time share my new knowledge with all of you. I hope you’re also looking forward to this journey into economics, business and finance – I look forward to learning together with you!

More to come: watch this space – Alex