Income and Wealth (Economics A-Level): Current issues

Choose articles which are of interest to you from the list below and read and make notes on them using the Investigative Journal.  This will allow/help/encourage you to consider how what you are reading will help you answer the question you have been set. 

Working poverty 

Poverty rate among working households in UK is highest ever | Poverty | The Guardian

The Guardian is a left-centre source rated high for factual reporting.

Fuel poverty

Fuel poverty to affect 40% of UK households, energy bosses say | News | The Times 

This link will take you to the article in Access Global Newsbank but if you are not on the school network, you might need a password (see box on right).  If you have a personal subscription to The Times, click here.

The Times is a right-centre source rated high for factual reporting by mediabiasfactcheck.com .

Cost of living increase

Britain’s poorest left to bear brunt of squeeze on cost of living | Financial Times

You need to be a subscriber to the FT to access this article. It is easy and free, just follow the instructions in the second box down on the right.

The Financial Times is rated 'least biased' and high for factual reporting by mediabiasfactcheck.com.

Regional Inequality

UK’s regional inequality one of worst in developed world | Financial Times (ft.com)

You need to be a subscriber to the FT to access this article. It is easy and free, just follow the instructions in the second box down on the right.

The Financial Times is rated 'least biased' and high for factual reporting by mediabiasfactcheck.com.

Quantitative easing

‘They were like bandits’ - how did the rich get richer? - BBC News

The BBC is a left-centre source rated high for factual reporting.

Gig economy

What is the gig economy? The meaning and issues explained | WIRED UK

Wired magazine is a left-centre source rated high for factual reporting

Is Britain heading for the summer of discontent? | Business | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

This link will take you to the article in Access Global Newsbank but if you are not on the school network, you might need a password (see box on right).  If you have a personal subscription to The Times, click here. 

The Times is a right-centre source rated high for factual reporting by mediabiasfactcheck.com .

Access Global Newsbank (note the need for a password for access from home) contains the full text of articles from:

UK National Broadsheets including:

• The Daily (and Sunday) Telegraph
• The Guardian and Observer
• The Independent and Independent on Sunday
• The Times and Sunday Times

as well as a range of national tabloids, local papers and international titles including foreign language editions. This can be useful for finding newspaper articles which are otherwise hidden behind pay walls.

Many of these titles are available as image editions.

If you want some help with this database, have a look at the video tutorial.

The Financial Times offers free access to school students aged 16-19 (and their teachers/Librarians). Sign up for an individual account while you are logged on using a school wi-fi (or wired) connection:

• Click here.
• Scroll down to Check if your school is registered for free access to FT.com
• Type Oakham in the search box
• Click on Request your signup link in the Oakham School line, and follow the on-screen instructions

Once you have created your account, you can then use these log in details anywhere - in or out of school.

Use this journal to make notes as you read each article. One page per source.

• First note key ideas and quotes in the left hand column
• Then reread these and explain how they relate to the inquiry question in the right hand column.
• Don't forget to comment on the quality of the source.

You should make notes like this on both the Recommended Reading articles for each section. (If you choose to make notes by hand rather than on screen, use a shortened URL in the source description e.g. bbc.co.uk rather than the full URL of the article).

Once you have completed your reading for each area you can start to transfer your ideas to this summary sheet, which you will use as your notes for the Spiderweb discussion. Don't forget to explain the key Economic ideas for each area in the "basic explanation" box on the left hand side of the sheet, and highlight any key vocabulary so that you can make sure you use it in the discussion.

This sheet should be printed double sided on A3.

You may wish to use this sheet to collect a list of technical terms as you progress through this topic. You might find it helpful to have this list to refer to during the discussion.