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Wealth, Happiness, Heartening Banalities

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It’s once again approaching the end of the academic year and to offset the inevitable onset of melancholy associated with plugging away at too many practice exams I thought it’d be a good idea to try and finish on a note of relative cheerfulness.

The relationship between a country’s GDP and its average level of happiness is a concept that is introduced to macroeconomics students from pretty much day one. It is, at its core, a lighthearted way of reinforcing to students that despite everything, money does not, in fact, buy you happiness.

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The Time Inconsistency of Dietary Policy

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While dieting and health are issues that have long been dominated by nutritionists, physiotherapists and personal trainers, I thought it was high time that the field of economics took a crack at it.

Essentially, I believe that the logic behind a healthy lifestyle is not too dissimilar from that of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy decision. While the RBA has to balance the levels of inflation and unemployment within an economy, the health-conscientious individual has to manage the amount of exercise and healthy eating that occurs in their lives.

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How To Be A Millionaire! (Three out of four times)

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Can statistical inference beat the system?                     

The room is dark. A spotlight shines down on you. This is it, the million-dollar question. You have no idea what the answer is so as always, when in doubt, you’ve guessed ‘C’.

You use your 50-50 lifeline.
It’s not very effective. C and some other letter remain.
Eddie McGuire flashes a cheeky grin in your direction, ‘you’ve picked C… Lock it in?’

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How to eat an Apple

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The technology sector- what’s a firm to do?

Hot off the heels of the recent Apple vs. Samsung trial in the U.S. there has been heated discussion over what implications this ruling will have on the future of technology companies. While Apple walked away from the trial with a definitive victory and another $1.05 billion to add to its already overweight piggy-bank, could this triumph actually be a curse in disguise?

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Why Being Irrational Saves Lives

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Let’s get back to basics- the study of game theory is, for all intents and purposes, the study of strategy. It reveals to us what is, and how to, execute the best possible plan given a particular scenario. This field of study applies to a ubiquitous range of situations- from childhood board games such as Monopoly or Risk, to heavyweight financial issues such as monopolies or risk.

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