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From silicon chips to fertiliser, the last few years have shown us that where our materials come from matters massively to the stability of our economy.
How we get stuff out of the ground, processed and into complex global supply chains is a vital and oft-overlooked part of our economy - with ramifications for government policy across all sectors.
In this episode, we speak with Ed Conway, Economics Editor at Sky News and author of a new book Material World: The Making of Civilisation.
Zooming In: discussion questions
Every week, we share a set of questions designed for A Level economics students to discuss, written by teacher Will Haines.
- Why do some of the materials mentioned in this episode account for a small proportion of GDP, despite being very influential in our day to day lives?
- Having listened to this episode, how does an economy find a balance between the benefits of importing materials from abroad or producing these materials domestically?
Host
Paul Johnson
Paul has been the Director of the IFS since 2011. He is also currently visiting professor in the Department of Economics at University College London.
Participants
Ed Conway
Ed Conway is a writer and broadcaster. He is the Economics and Data Editor of Sky News and a regular columnist for The Times and Sunday Times. He has written two critically acclaimed and bestselling books and has won numerous awards for his journalism.
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