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Lecture by Mr Guiseppe Zampaglione from the World Bank by Evan L

On the 12 th of March the Economics and Geography department was visited by Giuseppe Zampaglione, who currently works as a Senior Protection Specialist at the World Bank. Mr. Zampaglione opened with a brief overview of the different development projects and initiatives the World Bank supports and finances. This resonated with all students, as the topic of economic development and global governance is taught in both syllabi. Indeed, Kirsty Rogers remarked that “he made economics textbooks come to life”; this reflects the clarity with which Mr. Zampaglione progressed his ideas and theories on solving extreme poverty. The talk focused primarily on Chad and how the World Bank is trying to improve health care, infrastructure, and education. Interestingly, Mr. Zampaglione explained that the World Bank is changing its approach to development, as it realises migrational crises can no longer be considered short-term humanitarian issues: Chad, for example, has struggled to develop as
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Lecture by Mr Martin Cox, Director of John Locke Institute - Wednesday 8th November by Larry W

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On Wednesday, we welcomed Martin Cox from the John Locke Institute in Oxford to give two short lectures to 32 Fettesians. The first lecture was on the subject of ‘Game theory’, which was essentially a study of the mathematical and psychological models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers. Using the rivalry between America and USSR during the cold war as an example, Mr Cox explained the reasons behind some of the decisions made on both sides and the considerations for these decisions from multiple different aspects. An example being that during the Cold War, America wanted Russia to be as strong as America militarily, so Russia is less likely to pull the trigger of war, as they feel less threat from America and an equilibrium is reached. He concluded by saying that the Game Theory can be applied to other aspects in life, such as economics and different branches of sciences. The second part of lecture was an analysis over the morality of capita
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The Economics of Catalonian Independence - by Lily P

On the 2nd of October tears rolled down my face as I watched the BBC morning news showing images of riot police beating up old ladies for voting; I watched and wondered what on earth had happened to the world; Spain, a western democracy, was using force to stop people from voting. The referendum may have been illegal but in a Western Democracy we simply do not use force against our own people because they tried to vote. But politics aside, let’s talk economics. We do not know what is going to happen to Catalonia, but if independence is the outcome, what are the economic implications? Spain are Catalonia’s biggest trading partners consuming 35.5% of Catalan exports; indicating quite clearly that a break from Spain could have significant implications for Catalan exports, especially if trade barriers are implemented which may be the case. An independent Catalonia would not immediately qualify for EU membership and the EU market accounts for 65.8% of Catalan exports therefore, sugge
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New York Diary - Day 5 (final day)

Taking pity on our exhausted students, I have taken it upon myself to pen the final instalment of the New York Diary.  Day 5 began in typical fashion, a final potential heart attack on a plate at Mama S’Barro’s. A mixture of excitement for what was in store for the day and idea of going home to catch up on sleep was in the air. The first stop was a trip to CitiGroup, organised through the Old Fettesian network. This was a great opportunity for the students to see the inner workings of one of the worlds major financial institutions, gaining an understanding of what they do which included a visit to the trading floor as well as a detailed presentation from the graduate recruitment team. We were then met outside by our Wall Street Guide Jarred who entertained with his charismatic New Yorker tones as he gave us a detailed history of many of the key buildings. The obligatory photograph at the Wall Street Bull was followed by a visit to the New York Stock exchange building (deco
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New York Diary - Day 4

After yet another monstrous all you can eat buffet at the legendary Mamma Sbarro's, where Mr Duthie clinched the bacon eating contest, we boarded the bus for our excursion to Princeton University. We were met with $1 any size coffees and our cheery tour guide Tom Quirk who was well versed in the skill of walking backwards, even up stairs whilst touring us. We were led around the residential section of the campus while informing us of the rich history that this prestigious establishment had to offer. Not quite as rich however as the sweet and sour chicken buffet we were presented with on arrival at Whitman College for luncheon. Joining us for luncheon was a range  of faculty and students from the university who spoke to us about quick maths, economics and the wonder of general life as a Princetonian.  Aprés our delicious luncheon, we had the pleasure of hearing from a member of the admissions department on Academics, extracurriculars, residential life and financial aid. This wa
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New York Diary - Day 3

We were met by the New York autumn weather, the girls now understood gossip girls fashion with their amazing long warm coats and high covering boots.  First thing in the morning, we boarded the ferry to go to the Statue of Liberty. We were met by a gust of wind which led to Arran seeing the purchase of a rather large green blanket to be a perfectly inelastic good.  Everyone was very impressed by the Statue of Liberty as many did not know it was given as a present from the French 100 years after the revolution to celebrate their relationship created from the French’s aid so they could beat the British. The whole group of Fettesians were wanting to catch this unique moment by taking multiple photos, even the teachers wanted to catch this moment...with some interesting results from photo-bombers. Ellis Island was the next stop of our day. The buildings were screaming grand American architecture. The history of America is vast and diverse just like the volume of immigration. We we
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New York Diary - Day 2

Our motley crew had mostly managed to shake the crippling jet-lag by the time we assembled in the trusty YMCA in the morning. Following a walk through Times Square to a breakfast buffet, we were informed that only one solemn trip for the collection of food was allowed, leading to the heaping of an ungodly amount of food onto our small, struggling trays. From here we continued onto the interactive Maths Museum called Momath featuring a multitude of exhibits; the majority of which begged several explanations before they made sense. Several pupils and most of the staff members clubbed together to build a Menger sponge big enough to merit inclusion in the MoMath hall of fame - we still haven’t got word on whether we succeeded... There were several physical exhibits with all of us having the opportunity to test out bikes with square wheels; a running game that demonstrated the difference between position, velocity and acceleration; and a very competitive set of logic puzzles incl
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