Russia has nominally committed to cutting its oil production by 300,000 barrels over the first few months of 2016. How did oil and financial markets react? How will they react in the near future?
Year 2017
The two biggest electoral shocks this year were unquestionably the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, and Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections. A key issue among voters was the perception that migrant workers depress the wages of low-skilled nationals, because of their willingness to work for a lower wage.
The primary factors that govern a worker’s wage are the worker’s ability to generate revenue for the company and the degree of competition from other workers. Sometimes, this organic wage determination process results in a wage that society regards as “too low to make a living”, leading to calls for a minimum wage.
Raising female labor force participation from 22% to 30% represents one of the Saudi Arabian government’s goals in its Vision 2030. All advanced economies feature strong female participation in the labor force, as robust economies make use of all available resources, male and female.
One salient difference between economists and non-economists is that the latter are often observed describing prices, including wages, as being “fair” or “unfair”, whereas economists will scarcely use such terms.