- 4 months ago
- During the June Break, there will be an extra lesson on every Wednesday from 10am to 12pm. Attendance at the centre is not required which means that you are allowed to attend the lesson online. The focus of the four extra lessons will be on Market Structure. Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
Author archives: Edmund Quek
- 9 months ago
- Due to year-end festivities, and everyone’s well-deserved break, there will be no lessons this week and next week. Lessons will resume in the first week of 2023. New Class Schedule Friday 5pm-7pm (Starting on 6 January 2023) Saturday 1.45pm-3.45pm (Starting on 7 January 2023) Sunday 1.45pm-3.45pm (Starting on 8 January 2023) Note: The Tuesday Class will be moved to Friday with effect from the first week of 2023. There will be new classes opening up in March. Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
- 9 months ago
- Introduction A budget deficit occurs when government expenditure exceeds government revenue. Public debt refers to the amount of money that the government owes. It is also known as national debt, sovereign debt and government debt. Many students think that a decrease in budget deficit will lead to a fall in public debt. There will be a discussion on this economic misconception in economics tuition at Economics Cafe. Exposition When the government runs a budget deficit, it will borrow by issuing securities (i.e. bonds and bills) to finance the deficit, assuming it does not have sufficient reserves. When this happens, the public debt will rise. A decrease in budget deficit may occur due to a decrease in government expenditure, an increase in government revenue, or both. Many students think that a decrease in budget deficit will lead to a fall in public debt. This is erroneous. When the budget deficit falls, the public debt will not fall. Rather, a decrease in budget deficit will lead to a slower rise in the public debt. This is because when the government runs a smaller budget deficit, what it means basically is that it will borrow a smaller amount of money to finance[...]
- 1 year ago
- Introduction Labour productivity refers to output per hour of labour. Many students think that an increase in labour productivity indicates an increase in the skills and knowledge of labour. This is an economic misconception which will be discussed in economics tuition at Economics Cafe Learning Centre. Exposition An increase in the skills and knowledge of labour will lead to an increase in labour productivity. When workers become more skillful and knowledgeable, the amount of output produced with one hour of labour will rise resulting in an increase in labour productivity. The skills and knowledge of labour may increase due to education and training which will lead to greater human capital. Many governments provide education and training directly, by setting up educational institutes, and indirectly, by giving subsidies or tax incentives to firms to induce them to send their workers for education and training. Although an increase in labour productivity may be due to an increase in the skills and knowledge of labour, this is not always the case. There are various factors which will lead to an increase in labour productivity. Apart from an increase in the skills and knowledge[...]
- 1 year ago
- The Junior College 1 classes for 2023 will commence in the second week of November. Students can attend the first lesson on Saturday (12/11/2022, 10.45am-12-45pm) or on Sunday (13/11/2022, 10.45am-12.45pm). For more information, please contact us at our email or phone. Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
- 2 years ago
- Introduction Aggregate demand is the total demand for the goods and services produced in the economy over a period of time and is comprised of consumption expenditure, investment expenditure, government expenditure on goods and services and net exports. Imports are foreign goods and services which are produced in other economies. Many students think that aggregate demand includes imports. The Principal Economics Tutor will discuss this economic misconception in economics tuition with the students. Exposition As aggregate demand refers to the total demand for the goods and services produced in the economy, it does not include imports. However, the components of aggregate demand which are consumption expenditure, investment expenditure, government expenditure on goods and services and exports include imports. Therefore, to derive aggregate demand, imports are subtracted from consumption expenditure, investment expenditure, government expenditure on goods and services and exports. AD = C + I + G + (X – M) In the above function, aggregate demand (AD) is the sum of consumption expenditure (C), investment expenditure (I), government expenditure on goods and services (G) a[...]
- 2 years ago
- Due to the Preliminary Examinations, there will be no lessons from 13 Sep to 19 Sep. The lessons will be brought forward to the September Break (i.e. next week). In other words, in addition to their regular lesson during the September Break, each student should attend the brought-forward lesson ONLINE on Monday (6 September, 10am-12pm), Tuesday (7 September, 10am-12pm) OR Wednesday (8 September, 10am-12pm). There will also be an extra ONLINE lesson on Market Structure for H2 students on Thursday (9 September, 7.30pm-9.30pm). Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
- 3 years ago
- Due to the upcoming Common Test 1 from 22/03/2021 to 26/03/2021, the lessons from 22/03/2021 to 28/03/2021 will be brought forward to next week (i.e. March Break). In other words, during the March Break, there will an ONLINE lesson on Monday (15 March, 10am-12pm), Tuesday (16 March, 10am-12pm), Wednesday (17 March, 10am-12pm) and Thursday (18 March, 10am-12pm). JC2 students need to attend ONLY ONE of the four brought-forward ONLINE lessons in addition to their regular lesson. There will be no lessons in the week from 22/03/2021 to 28/03/2021 due to Common Test 1. Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
- 3 years ago
- Introduction Public goods will not be produced in the absence of government intervention. Public goods are goods that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous. A good is non-excludable when it is impossible or prohibitively costly to prevent non-payers from consuming the good once it has been produced. A good is non-rivalrous when the consumption of the good by a consumer will not reduce the amount available to other consumers. Examples of public goods include national defence and street lighting. As public goods are non-excludable, consumers can consume them without paying for them. Therefore, consumers will want to consume public goods without contributing to their production which is known as the free-rider problem. In other words, the non-excludability of public goods leads to the absence of effective demand. Since consumers have no incentive to pay for public goods, private firms which are profit-oriented have no incentive to produce them. Therefore, in the absence of government intervention, public goods will not be produced due to the non-excludability. Furthermore, as public goods are non-rivalrous, the marginal cost of provision, which is the additional cost resulting from pro[...]
- 3 years ago
- Due to the upcoming Chinese New Year which falls on 12/02/2021 (Friday) and 13/02/2021 (Saturday), there will be no lessons on the two days. JC2 students who usually attend the Saturday classes will attend an ONLINE make-up lesson on 09/02/2021 (Tuesday, 5pm-7pm), 10/02/2021 (Wednesday, 5pm-7pm), 14/02/2021 (Sunday, 1.45pm-3.45pm) or 15/02/2021 (Monday, 11.30am-1.30pm). JC1 students who usually attend the Saturday class will attend an online or onsite make-up lesson on 14/02/2021 (Sunday, 10.45am-12.45pm) or 15/02/2021 (Monday, 9.00am-11.00am). Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
- 3 years ago
- The JC2 classes on Tuesday (5pm-7pm) and Wednesday (5pm-7pm) will commence on 12 January 2021 and 13 January 2021 respectively. Students who wish to switch to a weekday class can so do simply by informing Mr Edmund Quek through email. Like the classes on weekends, students who choose to attend a weekday class can do so online or onsite. The login details will be the same as those for weekend classes. It is important to note that Mr Edmund Quek teaches in a cycle which starts on Tuesday and ends on Sunday. Therefore, students who are unable to attend their regular classes and wish to come for a makeup lesson should do so in the same week. To put it somewhat differently, a student should not attend two lessons in the same week as the same content will be taught in all the classes in the same week. Economics Tuition @ Economics Cafe Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek
- 3 years ago
- Introduction Income inequity may lead to failure of the free market to allocate some goods and services to the people who need them more. Effective demand is the desire to buy backed by the ability to pay. Ineffective demand is merely the desire to buy not backed by the ability to pay. The free market only responds to effective demand which means that it only distributes goods and services to the people with the willingness and the ability to pay for them. However, the ability to pay for a good does not reflect the need for the good. Therefore, individuals who need some goods and services but do not have the ability to pay for them have to go without the goods and services. In the free market, the prices of goods and services are determined by the market forces of demand and supply. If the income gap is large, high income individuals with a high willingness and ability to pay may push up the prices of some goods and services to the levels which make the goods and services unaffordable to low income individuals with a low ability to pay. This is a matter of concern particularly if the goods and services are necessities. For example, education is a necessity particularly to low incom[...]